Allen, whom the Saints elevated from defensive coordinator final month after Payton stepped down in January, and General Manager Mickey Loomis indicated they view Jameis Winston as their beginning quarterback. Brought again to New Orleans final week in free company, Winston beat out Hill in coaching camp final 12 months for the beginning job however performed simply seven video games earlier than struggling a season-ending knee damage.
“I think Jameis gives us some stability at the position,” Allen instructed reporters Tuesday at the NFL’s annual league conferences in Palm Beach, Fla. “I thought there was a lot of things that we saw Jameis do in those first seven weeks that gave us a lot of optimism about what we can be as a team with him, so we’re excited about that moving forward.”
“I think the role for Taysom,” Allen added, “is going to be a lot more of the [pass-catching] F tight end, move tight end. I think that’s the direction that we need to move with him, because I think he can be one of the better players in the league in that role.”
An damage to Brees in 2020, his remaining season, and Winston’s damage final 12 months enabled Hill to make 9 begins. He went 7-2, finishing 65.1 p.c of his passes for 1,906 yards, eight touchdowns, seven interceptions and an 86.5 passer score in these video games. But his efficiency dropped final 12 months. All the whereas, he continued to often run with the ball, and over the previous two seasons — together with numerous video games when he didn’t begin at quarterback — he racked up 831 yards and 13 touchdowns on the bottom.
The 31-year-old additionally has caught 34 passes over the previous 4 seasons for 388 yards and 7 touchdowns, and Allen reiterated Tuesday that he desires to benefit from Hill’s playmaking skills.
“If Jameis is out there playing quarterback,” the coach mentioned, “I don’t like Taysom standing next to me on the sideline.”
Assuming Winston is wholesome and maintains the promising degree of play he confirmed final season, Saints followers can count on to see Dalton on the sideline. An 11-year veteran who has made 148 begins within the NFL, Dalton spent final 12 months with the Chicago Bears after a season with the Dallas Cowboys.
“He’s an experienced quarterback who’s started a lot of games in our league,” Loomis mentioned of Dalton, 34, who spent his first 9 seasons and made three Pro Bowls with the Cincinnati Bengals. “I think he’ll be a help to Jameis, and in the event he has to play, we can win games with him.”
The Saints even have Ian Book, a fourth-round decide final 12 months out of Notre Dame who struggled in a begin he made when Hill and then-backup Trevor Siemian had been on the NFL’s covid-19 reserve checklist. Book might be in a coaching camp battle with Blake Bortles, whom the Saints signed in January to a reserve/future contract, for the No. 3 spot on the depth chart.
New Orleans was thought to be within the working to land Deshaun Watson till he determined to waive his no-trade clause for the Cleveland Browns, who put collectively a blockbuster bundle to purchase him from the Houston Texans.
“There was an interest on our part,” Allen mentioned Tuesday whereas declining to go into element about how vigorously his group pursued Watson. “We did our due diligence, did our homework, and he ended up going somewhere else. So we’ve moved forward from there and went full speed ahead with Jameis, and we’re excited about that.”