Saints quarterback/tight end Taysom Hill and tight end Foster Moreau will make their 2025 debuts against the Giants on Sunday. The team announced that it has activated Hill and Moreau from the reserve/PUP list. In corresponding moves, the Saints placed wide receiver Trey Palmer on injured reserve, waived tight end Moliki Matavao, and called up linebacker Eku Leota from the practice squad as a standard gameday elevation.
Hill suffered a season-ending ACL tear last December, limiting him to a career-low eight games in 2024 and shelving him for the first four contests this season. The ninth-year man and career-long Saint returned to practice this week alongside Moreau, who’s also coming back from a late-2024 knee injury. Moreau hauled in 32 passes for 413 yards and five touchdowns in 17 games last year. In addition to the torn ACL, Hill informed Mike Triplett of NewOrleans.Football he tore all four ligaments in the posterolateral corner of his knee.
Without Hill and Moreau around, tight end Juwan Johnson has gotten almost 94 percent of offensive snaps early in the season. He leads the 0-4 Saints in receiving yards (204) and trails only No. 1 WR Chris Olave in catches (22).
In 2023, his most recent healthy season, Hill recorded personal bests in receptions (33), targets (40) and yards (291) over 16 games. Hill was featured more prominently in the running game, as he piled up 81 carries for 401 yards and four touchdowns. He was on an even better pace as a runner in 2024 (39 attempts, 278 yards, six TDs) before his season ended prematurely.
Known for his versatility, Hill is expected to function as the Saints’ backup quarterback behind Spencer Rattler on Sunday, Jeff Duncan of NOLA.com reports. That will relegate rookie Tyler Shough, a second-round pick, to the No. 3 role. The 35-year-old Hill has completed 193 of 302 passes for 2,369 yards, 11 touchdowns, and nine interceptions in the NFL.
Meanwhile, guard Cesar Ruiz – one of Rattler’s key protectors – has avoided the IR and is recovering well from the high ankle sprain he suffered in last week’s loss to the Bills, according to Triplett’s colleague Nick Underhill. Ruiz won’t play on Sunday, but it appears he’ll miss fewer than four games.