Quarterback Jameis Winston now has the opportunity to become Drew Brees’ successor to the New Orleans Saints.
Just one day after Brees announced his retirement, Winston and the Saints agreed on a one-year deal worth up to $ 12 million, a league source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The former No. 1 overall draft pick and Heisman Trophy winner spent his first five seasons as an appetizer with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before signing a one-year deal in New Orleans last summer to try out his career as a backup of Saints revive.
Although Winston played sparingly, the Saints were impressed enough to bring him back to compete with Taysom Hill for the starting lineup this year.
“Who Dat! #NOLA #DreamForever,” Winston tweeted Monday night.
Who is dating! ⚜️⚜️⚜️ #NOLA #DroomForever
– Jameis Winston (@Jaboowins) 16 March 2021
Sources told Jeremy Fowler, ESPN, that the Chicago Bears took Winston seriously in the free agency process before selecting the Saints.
The Saints will have to work out a little more salary cap before the start of the new league year on Wednesday. They started the off-season nearly $ 100 million over the limit, but reduced that figure to $ 10 million by the beginning of this week.
Winston, who turned 27 in January, scored 28-42 as a starter in Tampa, completing 61.3% of his passes with 19,737 yards, 121 touchdowns and 88 interceptions. He showed some dynamic highs and lows during this tenure – especially in 2019. In that year, he led the league by 5,109 runs, but also the first quarter in NFL history to hit at least 30 times in the same season. and surrendered 30 interceptions. .
Turnover was Winston’s biggest obstacle, with a total of 111 in the league from 2015 to 2019.
When the Buccaneers chose to move to Tom Brady, Winston decided to revive his career in New Orleans. He signed a one-year deal worth only $ 1.1 million plus incentives because he said he wanted a “Harvard training in quarterback school” under Sean Payton and Brees.
Winston did not gain much experience on the field in New Orleans behind Brees and Hill. But he did make his best game of the season when he completed a 56-pointer on a trick play in the Saints’ playoff game against his former team. Winston was 7-out-11 for 75 yards in the regular season, with no caps or turnover.
Payton made it clear after the season that the Saints want to sign Winston again and let him compete with Hill for the starting job after Brees’ retirement. Payton said Winston, in addition to his arm talent, was ‘fantastic as a leader’.
Winston has been suspended for the first three games of the 2018 season after an eight-month NFL investigation concluded he had been harmed in March 2016 by touching a female Uber driver on a inappropriate and sexual manner without her consent. ‘ A settlement was reached in a separate lawsuit.