Obviously Sean Payton has long been his biggest advocate, so in that regard, it hurts Taysom's chances.

But here's the other reality. The Saints are already $73M over the cap for 2022. They have stud LT Terron Armstead, stud S Marcus Williams, potential starting QB Jameis Winston and current starting LB Kwon Williams as free agents. They have performed salary cap magic the past few seasons, but are running out of road to push the future reckoning down to. Extending and restructuring contracts (like Michael Thomas') just cuts further into future flexibility and means they can't get out of those contracts at the appropriate times.

If Sean Payton were there and the team could make a move for a top QB (Rodgers, Wilson, etc) it would make sense to keep pushing and leave the bills for later. But if the team is going to be mediocre-at-best anyway, this is the right time to clear the books and get out of their ongoing cap nightmare.

Cut or trade Michael Thomas, eat the cap hits and just be bad. Don't make big money signings, but just fill in with cheaper options. And in that case, Taysom Hill might not be your top choice, but he's the guy who is already there, so let him be a bridge through the bad years until you can get a new franchise guy.

That's not the most appealing sales pitch obviously, but it does give him the chance to show what he can do.