Payton: Saints would keep all 3 QBs in perfect world, 'yet we don't live in one'

The New Orleans Saints' 2019 season ended earlier than anticipated, and now the team must determine how to proceed with its quarterback quandary.

Drew Brees, Teddy Bridgewater, and Taysom Hill are all eligible to hit free agency in March, though Hill will be restricted. And all three passers played pivotal roles in getting the Saints to a 13-3 regular-season record and a home game in the wild-card round.

"I like the perfect-world scenario and yet we don't live in one," Saints head coach Sean Payton said Tuesday when asked if the team could retain all three pivots this offseason.

"We haven't even got that far down the road yet. (General manager) Mickey (Loomis) and I will spend a lot of time meeting - we'll meet on all these topics."

Brees just completed his 19th NFL season at the age of 40. As usual, he put up sparkling numbers, which included throwing 27 touchdown passes against just four interceptions. His contract will automatically void on March 18 and he cannot be franchise tagged.

On Tuesday, Payton couldn't say how talks with his longtime starting quarterback will go.

"I can't speak for Drew as to his wants. I think he wants to play some more and I think that, shoot, we saw him play at a high level," Payton said. "We'll discuss every player on the roster, himself included, but I don't anticipate this grandiose meeting or phone call anytime soon."

For his part, Bridgewater started five games while Brees was injured during the season, winning all of them. By doing so, he may have put himself in a position to command a rich free-agent deal after signing a one-year, $7.25-million contract to remain with the Saints in March.

Meanwhile, Hill proved to be an invaluable asset for the Saints in 2019, particularly in the wild-card loss to the Minnesota Vikings. In that contest, he recorded a 50-yard pass, ran for 50 yards, and caught a fourth-quarter touchdown reception.

"He was exceptional Sunday, he was outstanding," Payton said of Hill. "He's an exciting football player and he does a lot of things well. I'm glad he's on our team."

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