NEW ORLEANS -- Taysom Hill held it together until Sunday's game was over.
The 35-year-old quarterback said he was fine the morning before the New Orleans Saints home finale against the New York Jets, even when his wife, Emily, asked him how he was doing. On the ride to the Caesars Superdome, he felt nostalgic, thinking about his nine seasons in New Orleans.
But in front of the media in the hour after the game, Hill got choked up as he recalled a day in which he had 12 rushing attempts for 42 yards, four receptions for 36 yards and a 38-yard touchdown pass to Chris Olave in the Saints' 29-6 Week 16 win.
"Excuse me," he said, pausing to collect himself. "I didn't really feel any type of way this morning, but as I was driving to the stadium today, you start to think about the last nine years and what it's meant to me and my family, this city and stuff. I think for me personally, you just try to take it all in."
Hill, like several others on the Saints roster, said he doesn't know what the future holds for him. Hill's contract is set to void in the offseason along with defensive end Cameron Jordan and linebacker Demario Davis, both of whom are 36 years old. Tight end Foster Moreau, whose contract voids as well, left the game with an ankle injury Sunday.
That means Sunday's win might have been the final home game for Hill, as the Saints (5-10) will not make the playoffs and will play the final two games on the road (at Tennessee and at Atlanta). Hill admitted that he and Jordan each had a large contingent of family in attendance at the game -- just in case.
"It was a special day for me and my family," Hill said.
It has been a difficult season for Hill, who sustained a serious knee injury last December and returned 10 months later, starting with the Saints' fifth game of the season. He ran for a touchdown against the New England Patriots in his second game back, much to the delight of his teammates. But the yards that used to come easy for him, such as fourth-and-1 conversions, proved more challenging.
Hill had three straight games leading into Sunday's home finale in which he had less than 3 rushing yards and had trouble hanging on to the ball in the rain against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. When handed the ball at the beginning of the Jets game, he fumbled.
But Saints coach Kellen Moore was clearly determined to make Sunday's game special for Hill. He went back to him on the next drive and kept calling plays for him, admitting later that it was orchestrated on purpose.
"The opportunities were certainly going his way towards the end of the game, yes," Moore said with a smile.
Hill converted a fake punt in the second quarter and had a fourth-quarter receiving touchdown that was nullified by a teammate's penalty.
The next two plays were called passes to Hill, and the final one, a 7-yard pass from rookie quarterback Tyler Shough, was enough to get him over 1,000 receiving yards for his pro career. Hill, who has been the Saints' "do-everything" player since he was claimed off waivers from the Green Bay Packers in 2017, is now the only player in the Super Bowl era to have more than 1,000 career passing, receiving and rushing yards.
When the Saints got one more opportunity with the ball with 2 minutes and 50 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, every play went Hill's way.
"It's funny because I've not had any conversations about any of this, but I was laughing in my head. We had the touchdown, then the next play he tried to get me another one and then the next play he called the screen to me. I was laughing in my head and it was like 'Kellen knows,' Hill said. "So those things don't go unnoticed."
.@T_Hill4 on the past 9 years in New Orleans and what this city means to him pic.twitter.com/xSyUa2O99c
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) December 21, 2025
Hill said he was surprised by the call for the Saints' final play, which ended up being a 38-yard touchdown pass from Hill to Olave.
Hill joked the coaches' initial plan was to keep Olave on the sideline with the game in hand, but the wide receiver lobbied to play a role in Hill's moment.
"I definitely wanted to be a part of that, especially I knew Taysom, they wanted to get him a touchdown, so I wanted to be a part of that," Olave said. "And it was a deep ball too, so I definitely wanted to be in there."
Hill has often remarked that this was a season of gratitude for him because of the uncertainty he would even be able to return from injury to play in 2025. Hill has a lengthy list of injuries in addition to the recent knee injury, including four-season ending injuries as a college quarterback at BYU (knee, leg, Lisfranc and elbow injuries). In the NFL, he's had multiple chest injuries, a concussion, hand and finger injuries and a Lisfranc injury on the other foot.
He plans to savor every moment of the next two weeks before thinking about what comes next.
"I have so much love for the city of New Orleans and this fan base and the way that they've embraced me and my family. It's been really special," Hill said. "So I wouldn't want to play somewhere else, but there's a lot of circumstances that are out of your control too, right? And I understand the nature of this business and I'm not thinking that way right now, but we'll tackle that when we get there."