Jameis Winston is staying in the NFC South. Hours after the 2020 NFL Draft came to an end, the Saints agreed to sign the former Bucs passer, per Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, it will be a one-year deal for Winston, who had more lucrative offers elsewhere but who saw a better opportunity in New Orleans (Twitter link).
Indeed, Winston will now have the chance to further develop his game under one of the best to ever play, Drew Brees, who may be hanging up the cleats after the 2020 campaign. The Saints have long indicated that they expect Taysom Hill to take over when Brees does decide to retire, and they tendered Hill, a restricted free agent, at the first-round level this offseason.
On the other hand, Hill will be 30 in August and has thrown all of 13 passes in his professional career, so New Orleans’ commitment to him has drawn some public skepticism. But Hill is undeniably a valuable gadget player, and having Winston on board will allow the club to continue deploying Hill in various roles without worrying too much about an injury.
Robinson’s sources indicated that Winston will not be guaranteed the backup job behind Brees. After all, head coach Sean Payton said just last month that Hill had earned that opportunity, but he also said the Saints would add another QB to be active on game days so that Hill could continue contributing as a passer and receiver.
So it seems now that Winston and Hill may be battling not just to be the Saints’ QB2 in 2020, but to be the team’s quarterback of the future in 2021 and beyond. That will create an interesting dynamic in the locker room, as Hill said earlier this year that he is open to leaving New Orleans if the club does not view him as the long-term answer under center.
From the Saints’ perspective, adding Winston on a one-year pact puts both him and Hill on track to be unrestricted free agents in 2021. They will have the entire 2020 season to evaluate the viability of both players as Brees’ successor, and they can re-sign or tag the winner of the year-long battle, or they can go in a completely different direction.
Just yesterday, the club traded back into the seventh round of the draft to select Mississippi State quarterback Tommy Stevens, but Stevens clearly profiles as a taxi squad candidate at this point.
Good signing but hope brees stays healthy
Saints don’t know wtf they’re doing.
Why? He’s not starting and even if Brees gets hurt, you don’t know what Hill will bring as a full time starting QB yet. Winston is probably one of the better option for a backup/3rd stringer.
On the contrary, it looks like they have a specific plan
You don’t know what the f you’re commenting
which is it The Saints or New England?
Quality and proof reading have gone down since covid 19.
It’s not even that long of an article; imagine how disappointed the New England fans out there may have felt thinking the Interception Machine was headed to Massachusetts.
Last I checked, New England isnt in the nfc south. Use your heads people. Obviously an error. Move on.
I know it’s an error but a simple proof read would catch that. They still have the lions showing a guy the colts drafted from friday night lol.
Who?
Julian Blackmon pick number 85.
Dude… who cares?
Obviously you cared to comment lol.
I get that Winston threw a lot of bad passes last year, but he also threw for 5,000 yards.
5k yds don’t mean jack when you toss in 30 int and only 7 wins.
please please proof read your articles. I’m a fan of trade rumors but the amount of grammatical errors and just wrong words is painful.
Apologies for the Freudian slip of “New England” there. The error is duly regretted and fixed.
Don’t pay any attention to these clowns. Common sense understood what you meant. Keep pumping out that material… love the information!
You do a fantastic job Rory. Just a note for the suggestion box. Make this a pay site.That will get rid of the complainers.People usually only complain about free stuff.
Losers love to find error in anything. Don’t sweat it, cuz.
enjoy not playing Jameis
Brees got hurt last year where Bridgewater has to come in and they won 5-0. You need quality QBs in the wings. Always.
Bridgewater > Winston
Bridgewater > Hill and Winston
Agreed Dug
i know its not like the backup ever gets in … i mean when was the last time you heard of one winning a superbowl mvp or going 5-0 when a qb is hurt.
Roll I honestly can’t tell if you’re being serious or sarcastic. It isn’t very often so could be either but Foles is most recent I believe and Kurt Warner was pretty good and won one.
Sean Peyton shower thoughts “I wonder what the most efficient way to get a copy of the TB playbook is”…….
Winston never opened his
It’ll change anyway. Arians is a sharp offensive mind with different weapons to deploy. But funny one Dug
Good signing. I like it both parties.
Jameis gets to learn of Brees and learn off Payton, while also proving hes a better QB for them down the road over Hill.
Win win
How’s he gonna prove that on a 1 year deal? Expecting Brees miss a good part of the season again?
By showing up and practicing well and showing the willingness to learn the playbook and being a solid teammate?
You know the team and staff spend all sorts of time in meetings and practices between the games right? And Hill has thrown 13 passes, so it doesn’t seem like a lot of ground to make up
By the end of the year Brees will retire and Saints will know they need their future QB, before they look at trades, the draft or FA they will have the most knowledge on Hill and Winston from watching them at practices.
Winston will proven to the Saints he has a much bigger, stronger and accurate arm than Hill and is somewhat mobile. Whereas Hill who is good at living the football with his feet can’t throw well. Knowing that offence is set with Micheal Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, Alvin Kamara and Jarred Cook they will want a QB to start that can get it to these guys.
I think Winston is very smart taking this 1 year to prove himself a hard worker, better than Hill and hopefully secured himself a bigger deal next year at the Saints.
Worked for Bridgewater but he and Winston arent the same. My issue with Winston is Arians is a smart offensive mind like Sean Payton is and he was a turnover machine. But if you loved Hill so much why didn’t he start those games instead of Bridgewater. It tells me Hill has more value as a gadget player. Personally I really like Bridgewater. That’s who NE should have gone after
Winston has an accurate arm? Those interceptions must be an anomaly.
Taysom Hill will never be a starting QB in this league. It is a farce that the idea even persists. He’s a gadget player. The Saints would go 4-12 with Hill as the QB.
Agreed. Face it. NO doesn’t have a QB going forward. And Brees, as elite as he once was, is no longer that QB.
where do the Saints get all this money to sign these players? I’m sure he’s not taking anything less than 10M
at this point who signs him to be anything more than a backup. The only option left is New England where they didnt draft a guy or have someone in place. New England will sit someone instantly if the turnovers happening at a rate winston is known for and atleast with the Saints there is a chance he could be the starter 2021 or springboard like bridgewater.
I think it’s definitely less than 10mil. Winston knows Brees wants to retire end of the season, he knows he’s got a better arm than Hill and can outshine him at practices and if he proves himself here he can probably secure his future here as starter after Brees.
So if he does well as a back up this year he’s probably going to get promoted next year, be leading a SB threat team and have a long term deal at about 30mil
A better opportunity? How exactly?
Generally a team doesn’t trade a QB to a division rival unless they are completely convinced he is an unsalvageable disaster. I respect the Bucs for having the cajones to do this…but what if they’ve made a mistake?
He wasn’t traded, Winston was a FA
Good signing for the Saints. OK spot for Winston.
But, the Steelers needed him way more than the Saints.
And, he would have had a much better chance of playing this year and taking a job for the future in Pittsburgh.
But, the Steelers insist on staying a bit too old school a bit too often.
I am interested in the terms of this contract, not to mention these clubs he allegedly turned down for less money and to be a backup.
Just another Teddy Bridgewater but might not be able to lead his team 5-0
How is Taysom Hill making more than Jameis Winston?