By: Jake Rajala

The big arm, humble, 27-year-old quarterback Jameis Winston took the New Orleans Saints to a 5-2 record in 2021 before tearing his ACL in Week 7. It’s disappointing that Winston had a brutal exit after several games, but there are positives to reflect on with the former Buccaneers and Saints starting QB. 

The Saints QB that signed to be Drew Brees’s apprentice in 2020 has seen impressive personal growth on and off the field. Winston took the reigns from Brees and showed strong leadership and control of the locker room. Most importantly, the once turnover machine revolted into a sharp signal-caller with big play-making potential. 

Here is an overview of Winston’s 2021 stats 

*according to Pro Football Reference

• Passer rating of 102.8  (career-best)

• 14 passing touchdowns in 7 games

• 1.9% Int percentage (career-best)

It’s well documented that Winston has been a stud in a Saints uniform. Sean Payton has cleaned up Winston’s mistakes and he’s inserted him an offense that has the elite Alvin Kamara and was once healthy upfront.

With that being said, Winston is set to become a free agent in the 2022 offseason. It’s not clear if Payton wants to keep Winston and if the two sides can agree on a deal that makes sense for the Saints, but can also please the improved QB. There have also been numerous reports linking Russell Wilson, Deshaun Watson, and Aaron Rodgers to the Saints. So, what will the Saints do at the QB spot this offseason, and will Winston be a part of their plans? 

Let’s go under the microscope and see if Winston will remain a Saint or if he will find the next chapter of his journey elsewhere.

• Denver Broncos 

The Von Miller less Denver Broncos would be a very ideal landing spot for Jameis Winston. For one, the Broncos surely don’t have a long-term answer at the QB position. Teddy Bridgewater and Drew Lock have been caught with the injury bug or bench warmer job. The Broncos currently hold the third-most cap space in the league and would easily have the resources to reel in the free-agent QB. 

The 7-8 AFC West squad has been surprisingly competitive with a putrid QB showing this season. If they insert the 27-year-old QB who can utilize Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, they might be an AFC contender for the next decade. Winston is also a much better QB option than any option in the draft for the AFC West team looking at a mid-first-round pick. 

• Detroit Lions 

The Detroit Lions might have the audacity to win a bidding war for Winston. Dan Campbell (former assistant Saints coach) has strong ties to his former colleague Sean Payton and he may believe that the Saints QB would be a great signing over a rookie QB in the current predicament. The Lions situation at WR and OL is nerve-wracking for a rookie QB, but a QB experienced with “making a lot out of a little” may be able to translate in a modest way early on for Detroit. It doesn’t appear that vengeful Jared Goff will be the franchise QB in the Motor City. Expect DET to try and take a big jump with their roster this offseason without breaking the bank for a rookie QB. 

• New Orleans Saints 

I don’t foresee the Saints signing Winston to a long-term deal, but it would make a lot of sense for the two sides to agree on a short-term contract. Winston showed that he has a lot of upside in the seven games for the Saints, plus he has a lot more years left than the likes of Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson (33 years old). Winston could have the keys for 1-2 years and show how much damage he can oust on defenses for the length of the season. If the Saints elect to sign Winston over sending the house for Wilson in a trade, they will be able to keep more upcoming key free agents. Players like Marcus Williams, Marcus Davenport, Ceedy Duce, and Terron Armstead will be big free-agent decisions for the wizard Mickey Loomis.

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By: Jeremy Trottier

The New Orleans Saints are tasked with something they have not had to deal with since 2006, in that they have to figure out who their starting QB is.  With four quarterbacks on the roster currently, they have to see how training camps and preseason plays out to make that decision.  With that said, there is the chance that none of these quarterbacks are their long term starter, and they could be drafting one early on come next NFL draft season.  In this article, I will be going over why each of the Saints rostered QBs is not a long term option as of right now.

Jameis Winston

The QB most Saints fans at this point believe to be the starter for 2021, and rationally that should be the case.  The potential Jameis has is sky high, however as many have mentioned to this point, we also know the lows of Jameis as a QB too.  The most blatantly obvious being his decision making.  Throwing 30 interceptions in a season does not solely happen because you are in an Air Raid offensive scheme, nor does it just happen because your eyesight is not up to par. 

His decision making is one of the faults of his type of playing style, we saw it when he was at Florida State too.  With Sean Payton as your head coach, a coach who likes consistency and playing the short “dink and dunk” type offense where short to intermediate passing is key, interceptions kill that thinking in seconds.  If Jameis has not changed his ways and truly learned what throws NOT to make, his tenure could be short lived.

Taysom Hill

To start, he is going to be 31 by the time the 2021-2022 season starts up, which automatically puts him out of the “long term” category.  Taysom also has issues with turnovers, however in the opposite way Jameis does.  That being fumbles.  Last season Taysom had a horrible time trying to hold onto the ball, fumbling 10 times (Tied for 3^rd among NFL players in 2020 behind Derek Carr and Daniel Jones both at 11).  The other thing to note is he only started four games at QB for New Orleans, and still ended up with more fumbles than passing TDs.  

Taysom also does not really have the consistency as a passer to perform as a starting QB full time.  He has accuracy on short passing, which is good for the scheme, however his intermediate to long range passing is extremely inconsistent.

Ian Book 

To be fair, as a Saints fan, I am intrigued by Ian Book to say the least.  He has traits to make it at the NFL level, potentially as a starter someday.  With that said, he is not nearly ready to take on a starting role yet at this level, and likely will not be for another two to three seasons.  He is an extremely raw prospect, with the traits to make it but he needs to learn more regarding the NFL landscape and how to play at the next level.  

He will need a few seasons to learn from Sean Payton and the rest of the coaching staff on how to build up some arm strength, as that is his heaviest weakness at the moment.  

Trevor Siemian

Trevor Siemian is somewhat relegated to career backup at this point.  When you start in 25 games over three seasons and throw a 30 touchdown to 24 interception ratio and have issues getting your completion percentage above 60% each season, you really need to take a step back and learn from someone.  Odds are Siemian is a camp arm and will stick around on the roster as a backup, provided Ian Book does not take that spot away. 

The post Why the New Orleans Saints may currently not have a long term QB option appeared first on Pro Football Mania.