Could Taysom Hill could make sense for the Broncos if the Saints cut him?

Not all reunions make sense. A Von Miller-Denver Broncos remarriage, for example, might provide fan service, but would hinder the development of young players such as Jonah Elliss and Dondrea Tillman, both of whom proved worthy of longer looks after their initial NFL seasons.

But a Taysom Hill-Sean Payton recoupling? That might make sense.

The New Orleans Saints are expected to move on from the versatile Hill in the coming weeks as new coach Kellen Moore and general manager Mickey Loomis navigate would could be a significant reshaping of their roster. Listed officially as a tight end, Hill has long been one of the league’s most unique players, even starting at quarterback earlier in his career — with one start coming in the infamous “Kendall Hinton Game” of 2020 in which the Broncos played without a quarterback.

Hill could be available.

Payton could use a “joker.” And even though Hill turns 35 years of age before the 2025 regular season, he just might be an ideal bridge in that versatile pass-catching role while the Broncos figure out a long-term answer — especially if it’s a tight end from what is a deep draft class.

Hill remains productive. He averaged 58.2 yards from scrimmage per game in an injury-shortened season last year. Among 122 running backs, tight ends and wide receivers with at least 50 touches last season, his success rate of 57.1 percent ranked 22nd. A year earlier, he ranked fourth at 62.0 percent — also among 122 receivers, runners and tight ends with 50-plus touches.

Both figures are in line with his career-long performance. Hill’s career success rate of 58.5 percent ranks 10th among 136 players with at least 350 total touches since 2018. He’s long been among the NFL’s best at keeping the line moving and maintaining on-schedule service for an offense; as his work the last two seasons demonstrates, age hasn’t dimmed that.

Hill had a 4-year, $40-million extension from New Orleans on which he played, and a $10-million cap figure is probably too high for his value at this stage. But at a 1-year deal for $6 million? Now you might have a fair deal that provides the Broncos with a reasonably-priced weapon — the type of which they don’t have on their roster. At 6-foot-2 and 221 pounds, he’s smaller than most tight ends, but has a running back’s sturdy build.

That, of course, separates Hill from a player like Marvin Mims Jr., who is dynamic and a matchup nightmare — but also carries 39 fewer pounds on his frame. There would be room for both Hill and Mims in the Broncos attack — and Hill is enough to do more than just keep the seat warm for a potential draft tight end such as Elijah Arroyo of Miami (Fla.) or Bowling Green’s Harold Fannin Jr. who might need more time to get up to speed and be ready to blossom as the kind of tight end “joker” that Payton had with Jimmy Graham and Jeremy Shockey.

THE SAINTS’ CAP CRUNCH AND HOW IT AFFECTS TAYSOM HILL

New Orleans’ annual cap issues and its perennial scramble to reach cap compliance by the start of the new league year are an annual rite of Lent. Which is apt, because that season of denial and discipline follows Mardi Gras, a celebration woven in to the Crescent City’s DNA.

Just as Mardi Gras is a festival of excess, so too have the Saints lived beyond their cap means. But now the dynamic is different. For one thing, Payton — who remains a revered figure in Louisiana — found success in Denver despite absorbing a massive dead-money hit and swallowing the medicine of paying Russell Wilson $85 million to practice his trade elsewhere.

The Broncos carried a staggering dead-money figure last year — $89.08 million, the second-highest in NFL history. They were one of five teams with a dead-money figure above $70 million. But three of them — Denver, Minnesota and Buffalo — qualified for the postseason. A year earlier, four of the five teams with the highest dead-money charges in the NFl made the playoffs.

Dead money isn’t an excuse anymore. Payton’s experience might compel his good friend, Saints general manager Mickey Loomis, to rip band-aids off the roster in a massive way after a fourth-straight season out of the postseason.

Of course, the Saints first have to shed $47 million off their salary cap just to be in compliance by the start of the new league year. And if they do shed contracts by the handful, they will have to cut players with post-June 1 designations, as some potential cuts would actually exacerbate the Saints’ 2025 cap situation unless the dead-money hit is spread over two years.

Taysom Hill is one of the few potential casualties for whom that isn’t the case. But New Orleans would gain just $277,000 of cap space if they cut him and take the entire dead-money hit in 2025. A post-June 1 designation would provide the Saints $10 million of immediate relief.

That’s the likely outcome for Hill, and one that could open the door to become the latest member of the Saints’ Denver diaspora.