Why Kellen Moore sees more involvement ahead for Taysom Hill, Foster Moreau

METAIRIE, La. -- New Orleans Saints tight end Foster Moreau felt the nerves when he and Taysom Hill walked side-by-side to the middle of the field last Sunday.

Both had been chosen to lead the fans in the pregame "Who Dat" chant, signifying their return after nine months of rehabbing knee injuries together. Hill had also been tasked with breaking down the team's huddle prior to the game, a task usually reserved for linebacker Demario Davis.

Those gestures were a sign of the respect the two players had been granted by the team and fans after coming back from serious knee injuries. Fans haven't had much to cheer about after the team started the season 0-4, but when Hill and Foster led the chant, the crowd at the Caesars Superdome went wild.

They'll have more to cheer about starting on Sunday's home game against the New England Patriots (1 p.m. ET, CBS). Saints coach Kellen Moore said the players' roles are expected to grow as they get more practices behind them.

"I thought they came out pretty well, so obviously the more time on task, the more we'll be able to build those roles for those guys," Moore said on Monday.

The pair's roles in the 26-14 win against the New York Giants last week was fairly small by design. That was both to ease them back and also because they had little time in practice with the new coaching staff.

"The reality is I've had three days of practice with his coaching staff and they've had three days of practice with me," Hill said last week. "Everyone's still learning through this process. I think it'll be one of those things that just evolves through time."

Hill played 11 total snaps (nine on offense and two on special teams), while Moreau played 30 (22 on offense, eight on special teams), according to Tru Media. Almost all of Moreau's snaps came as an in-line tight end and he ran four routes with no targets. Hill had six snaps at quarterback, one snap lined up in the backfield, one snap lined up at tight end and one snap lined up in the slot.

Hill did convert two third downs -- one with his legs on a 2-yard run and another on a 19-yard pass to Juwan Johnson on third-and-2.

Saints wide receiver Rashid Shaheed said after the win that it was "insane" of both players to come back after just three practices.

"Yeah, not a lot of people can do that," Shaheed said. "So it shows how much heart and how much courage they have and how much they love the game of football to be able to come back and have an impact on the team, first game back."

But for Moreau and Hill, that wildness was based off an entire offseason of rehab, much of it spent together. Hill had not played since he was carted off at the end of the Saints' game against the Los Angeles Rams on Dec. 2, 2024.

Moreau was injured with less than two minutes remaining in the season on Jan. 5, 2025. Because the injury occurred so late, his entire offseason was rearranged around rehabbing.

That meant a trip to the training room every day for eight and a half months, Moreau said.

"It's brutal, because... rehab is just pain dosing. It's, 'Hey, we're going to be careful with you. But how much can you take before your knee says, hey, you need to stop?' And that's tough," Moreau said. "That's brutal for anyone. But, I mean, I'm extremely fairly compensated, and I'm extremely grateful to be here."

Moreau, whose locker is next to Hill, jokingly called him his "PUP brother" after both started the season on the physically unable to perform list. Neither knew if and when they would be getting off that list, which they were placed on when training camp began in July.

Hill said he didn't even know if he'd be playing in 2025 because of the severity of his injury. Doctors told him in December that the next season was a question mark, but Hill wasn't ready to be done.

"I love playing football. Football has given me and my family some incredible experiences and given us incredible opportunities," Hill said last Friday. "And you realize that football is, there's a shelf life to doing this and had a lot of conversations with the organization this offseason and ... I wasn't ready to walk away and they still had a vision for me here, and so I told them I was going to do everything I could to make sure I could still help the team win."

Helping the team win could mean a lot of different things for Hill. Moore on Wednesday did not rule out the possibility of Hill backing up Spencer Rattler at quarterback. Hill is listed as the third quarterback behind rookie Tyler Shough, but he has experience at the position, having started nine games as the primary quarterback in 2020 and 2021.

"Yeah, he's done it plenty of times in his career," Moore said. "He's been taking reps in that position certainly plenty through the last couple weeks and so he's definitely available to be a backup quarterback."

Moore said he wouldn't be concerned about Hill taking a potential backup role despite limited time in practice, saying both Hill and Moreau were ready to be back because of their work behind the scenes. Hill worked with the quarterbacks all summer.

"They were chomping at the bit last week when they had a chance to finally play, and so they were ready; they've done so much work on their own, and so I feel like (Hill has) progressed really, really well," Moore said. "He leans on a lot of experience that he has ... He can play quarterback in this league. He can obviously play all the other fun tool pieces that he's done in the past, and so we'll continue to utilize all of it."

Hill, who ranks ninth in franchise history with 44 total touchdowns, was a key part of the team's offense last season, but missed time with three different injuries -- including a bruised lung and rib fractures.

Moreau started all 17 games before his injury in the final game of the season.