What is the Saints grade for re-signing Jameis Winston?
By: Jake Rajala
The New Orleans Saints have officially brought back Jameis Winston a two-year deal worth $28 million, according to ESPN. After the Saints failed to land the elite, very controversial Deshaun Watson, the Saints shifted their attention towards their 2021 starter that led them to a 5-2 record. Mickey Loomis was able to ink his beloved QB, who was also the best free-agent QB available.
Winston is back in the Big Easy and it appears he will have the keys to the offense moving forward. Per the Saints Wire, the “Taysom Hill experiment” is over and Winston will be prepped as the Week 1 starter in 2022. Winston is coming off a torn ACL, but the Saints obviously feel confident in his rehab and potential showed, as they delivered him $21 million guaranteed.
I believe this was a quality signing and deal. Matter, in fact, the Saints were quite lucky that Winston didn’t bail the Saints after they patiently pursued Watson. The NFL world witnessed Baker Mayfield grant an exit from the Browns after they expressed strong interest in Watson (prior to ultimately landing him). Interestingly, the veteran Matt Ryan asked for a trade out of Atlanta after the Falcons lobbied for Watson, as well.
Winston will be leading a Saints squad that may not have Sean Payton calling the shots, but they will still have the long-time Saints OC Pete Carmichael. Winston will be able to grow with not only Deonte Harris, but the 2019 Offensive Player of The Year Michael Thomas. Winston will have fewer training wheels with Thomas, Alvin Kamara, and Harris in his arsenal.
I am an enormous fan of the fit between Winston and the Saints. Winston can utilize the talent of Thomas and Harris better than the other available free agent QBs like Marcus Mariota or Jacoby Brissett. With the signing of Winston, they can also draft a QB like Matt Corral and have him sit for a year or two if they choose. It’s clear that he’s also passionate about New Orleans and the Saints, as he didn’t join Mitchell Trubisky in joining in the very early stages of the 2022 free agency period. They weren’t able to lure in Russell Wilson, Deshaun Watson, to help propel their Super Bowl-ready roster, but I am a huge fan of them bringing back the familiar, 28-year-old QB in Winston this offseason.
Grade: B
