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Sean Payton does not believe in the old adage that if you have two quarterbacks you have none.

The Saints re-signed Drew Brees and placed a first-round tender on Taysom Hill, and Payton said on ESPN that the reason the Saints put a first-round tender on Hill is that they think he’s a starting quarterback — just not actually the starter until Brees retires.

“First and foremost, we still view him as a quarterback. We spent a lot of time this offseason discussing our vision for him this season at quarterback,” Payton said of Hill.

But Payton said Hill is too good an athlete to spend game days on the sideline holding a clipboard.

“He’s a tremendous blocker. I don’t think people realize how fast he is — he’s one of the two or three fastest guys on our team,” Payton said. “I think Taysom sees himself as being a starting quarterback in this league, and we do too.”

Hill will get plenty of reps at quarterback with the first-string offense because the Saints believe the 41-year-old Brees will benefit from time off in practice. Eventually, that practice time will serve Hill well, as the Saints believe Hill can be the heir apparent to Brees.