NEW ORLEANS – Fifteen years ago, the New Orleans Saints ushered in an era of unprecedented success and stability for the franchise when they signed quarterback Drew Brees to a free-agent contract.
Friday, the Saints tabbed Jameis Winston as Brees’ successor, naming Winston the starting quarterback for their Week 1 game Sept. 12 against the Green Bay Packers, according to an ESPN report.
New Orleans rotated Winston and Taysom Hill with the first-team offense on a near-daily basis throughout training camp and the preseason, and Winston ultimately emerged victorious.
With Winston, the Saints hope to tap into the 2015 No. 1 overall pick’s oozing potential and eliminate some of the more troubling aspects that led Tampa Bay to let Winston walk after his rookie contract expired.
He has proven he can be an effective NFL quarterback when he’s at his best. Winston made the Pro Bowl as a rookie and led the Buccaneers to a winning record in his second season, snapping a string of five consecutive losing seasons for the franchise.
Winston appeared in 72 games with the Buccaneers in five seasons and threw for 19,737 yards, becoming the franchise’s all-time passing leader. In his final season in Tampa, Winston threw for an NFL-best 5,109 yards, becoming the eighth NFL quarterback to throw for 5,000 yards in a single season. But he also threw an NFL-worst 30 interceptions, and Tampa Bay chose not to re-sign him.
Turnovers were a long-term issue for Winston, who from 2015-19 threw the most interceptions (88) and tied for the most fumbles (50) of any NFL player.
Winston signed with the Saints late in the 2020 free agency period and played sparingly. Most of his action came after Brees left midway through a game against the San Francisco 49ers with injury.
Winston only threw 12 passes in a Saints uniform last season, one of which was a 56-yard touchdown to Deonte Harris in the Saints’ divisional round loss to the Buccaneers in the playoffs.
Days after Brees announced his retirement, Winston re-signed with the Saints, potentially turning down more lucrative deals elsewhere for the opportunity to earn the starting job in a place where Brees broke numerous NFL career records.
The Saints validated Winston’s decision to re-sign with the organization this offseason, a one-year incentive-laden deal that came with a substantial amount of risk and reward.
The reward could be huge: If Winston is able to keep the Saints offense humming at or near the standard maintained by Brees, he could earn up to $7 million in incentives on his current contract, then set himself up for a monster contract in the offseason.
But Winston was also betting on himself to beat Hill for the starting job. Had the Saints chosen Hill, Winston’s earning potential for next season would have likely taken a big hit.
It is not yet clear what this means for Hill, who has spent the last four seasons playing a multipurpose role in addition to being Brees’ backup.
In 2019, Hill played 75 offensive snaps at tight end, 66 at slot receiver, 37 at wide receiver, 36 at quarterback and 19 at running back, in addition to playing 237 special teams snaps.
Knowing he would compete for the starting quarterback job for the first time, Hill changed his body this offseason, trimming a significant amount of mass from his torso while tailoring his workouts toward quarterback play.
