Quarterback dominoes are falling Monday. After missing out on Deshaun Watson, the Saints are moving back to a familiar face. Jameis Winston is close to an agreement to return to New Orleans, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets.
Despite his midseason ACL tear, Winston will do well for himself. The Saints are giving the former No. 1 overall pick a two-year deal worth $28MM, Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com add (via Twitter). That is the base value, with $21MM set to be guaranteed. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweets that the deal includes $15.2MM in guaranteed money.
The Saints had discussed a deal with Winston before becoming full-fledged finalists for Watson. Winston remained on the team’s radar as a fallback option, though the ex-Buccaneers starter said he talked with the Colts as well. Indianapolis has since traded for Matt Ryan, filling its latest QB1 vacancy. This stands to be Winston’s third deal with the Saints, who re-signed him to a one-year, $5.5MM pact in 2021.
Although Michael Thomas‘ season-long absence reduced the Saints’ receiving corps to arguably the NFL’s worst, Winston still was at 14 touchdown passes and three interceptions when he went down in New Orleans’ seventh game. The Saints were 5-2 in Winston’s starts but 4-6 without him. The team is also expected to abandon its multiyear Taysom Hill-at-quarterback experiment, clearing the runway for Winston to avoid a competition with the high-profile gadget player.
Winston, 28, came to New Orleans as Drew Brees‘ backup in 2020, replacing Teddy Bridgewater in that role. The former high-variance Bucs starter will face an interesting transition this year, with Sean Payton having retired. The team is retaining longtime OC Pete Carmichael, who is in line to call plays post-Payton. The Saints will not be devoting much money to their starting quarterback, but missing out on Watson still leaves the team without a true long-term signal-caller option. Winston will try to fill that void.
So Cleveland’s potential trading partners for Baker are down to Seattle and… who else? Philly? Good job, Haslam, you fraud.
And Jimmy G still has to land somewhere… or does he?
I was wrong on Rodgers re-signing
I was wrong on Wilson being traded
I was wrong on what HOU could fetch for Watson
But I still maintain that Jimmy G could end up cut due to the 9’ers asking too much in a market filled with similar or better options.
I think they honestly just ride it out with him. If Lance isn’t ready, you don’t cut a guy who can get you to the playoffs. That might be his peak but once you get there; all bets are off.
If they can keep him cap wise then you very well may be right. It’s really just a question of what they could do with the cap savings and if it’s worth it to cut bait or not.
If you keep him…do you hand Lance the job still or let JG compete for it?
They have 7M in space so they’d really need to weigh if something out there was gonna get them over the hump by cutting Jimmy. Cap savings or not they are a playoff team with him. I just don’t think you sacrifice that right now.
When the league suspends Watson for half the season, will the Browns really trust Mayfield to QB the team after this? Must see TV!!
I like the contract on the Saints end. Basically, $7m for 2 yrs. Winston knows what’s expected, coaches, playbook. He just has to manage the game.
Where are you getting those numbers out of $21 million guaranteed? Also, I’m pretty sure those starts will be Brissett’s.
He’s made it clear he won’t play for them now, so that’s why they signed Jacoby Brissett.
By clearing out enough room for Watson and then reverting to Winston, the Saints may have been tricked into cleaning up their cap situation for the first time in years?
I’m Lovin It!!! Can’t wait to feast on Crab Legs the next 2 years!!
Pretty sure the adage “if you have two QBs, then you have have no QB” applies here.
They’ll be paying below market value for that position but that’s not always a good thing.
They only have one QB, really. Hill, despite what they want people to believe, isn’t a real QB.
Still is listed at the position and I’m not ready to believe someone else utilizes him on the level that Payton did.
but saints fans kept saying that taysom hill was a nfl caliber starting qb. i’m confused?
No they didn’t