New Orleans Saints Sign Quarterback Jameis Winston

Earlier this week the New Orleans Saints signed free agent quarterback Jameis Winston to a one year contract. This new deal has a base value of approximately $1.1 million. It includes a salary of $952,000 along with a signing bonus of $148,000. The new deal has $3.4 million in incentives built in as well.

Ups and Downs in the NFL

Winston was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2015 NFL draft with the number one overall selection of the first round. He was the Bucs starting quarterback from the 2015 – 2016 NFL season through the 2019 – 2020 NFL season. Jameis has had his ups and downs in Tampa Bay by putting up huge passing numbers as well as an incredibly high number of turnovers. For example, last season he led the National Football League in passing yards with 5,109 passing yards, but he threw 30 touchdowns accompanied by 30 interceptions. Winston is the only quarterback in NFL history to ever throw for 30 touchdowns and 30 interceptions in the same season.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers released Winston last month when they acquired the future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady in a free agency signing. The Bucs have previously benched Jameis multiple times throughout his NFL career for his inconsistency as well as his high number of turnovers that cost his team wins. Winston is hoping to turn around his career in New Orleans by learning from the Saints superstar quarterback Drew Brees and their well respected head coach Sean Payton.

Teddy Bridgewater’s Story

The Saints accomplished turning around the NFL career of Teddy Bridgewater, and Winston is looking for similar results. Bridgewater was a struggling starting quarterback who signed with the Saints as a back up quarterback. When Brees went down due to a thumb injury last year, Teddy was able to step in and lead New Orleans to a record of 5 and 0. He played nearly prefect football, and it paid off when the Carolina Panthers signed Bridgewater to a solid contract this offseason to be the Panthers next starting quarterback.

Winston has a long way to go on his development as a quarterback in the National Football League. Opponents scored an NFL high 112 points off of his turnovers last season. Since the 2015 – 2016 NFL season his 111 turnovers are the most by any player in the league over that course of time (last 5 seasons). Although Jameis was quite successful as a college quarterback at Florida State University, his record in the National Football League as a starting quarterback is 28 and 42. Winston has never led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a playoff birth either. He is hoping that he can become a more efficient and successful quarterback after his time learning from the best in New Orleans with the Saints.

Winston’s NFL Career Statistics 

Passing

Year	Age	Tm	Pos	No.	G	GS	QBrec	Cmp	Att	Cmp%	Yds	TD	TD%	Int	Int%	1D	Lng	Y/A	AY/A	Y/C	Y/G	Rate	QBR	Sk	Yds	NY/A	ANY/A	Sk%	4QC	GWD	AV
2015*	21	TAM	QB	3	16	16	6-10-0	312	535	58.3	4042	22	4.1	15	2.8	201	68	7.6	7.1	13.0	252.6	84.2	61.1	27	190	6.85	6.44	4.8	2	3	13
2016	22	TAM	QB	3	16	16	9-7-0	345	567	60.8	4090	28	4.9	18	3.2	216	45	7.2	6.8	11.9	255.6	86.1	59.7	35	239	6.40	5.98	5.8	1	3	12
2017	23	TAM	QB	3	13	13	3-10-0	282	442	63.8	3504	19	4.3	11	2.5	185	70	7.9	7.7	12.4	269.5	92.2	54.0	33	207	6.94	6.70	6.9	2	2	10
2018	24	TAM	QB	3	11	9	3-6-0	244	378	64.6	2992	19	5.0	14	3.7	152	64	7.9	7.3	12.3	272.0	90.2	69.7	27	157	7.00	6.38	6.7	0	1	9
2019	25	TAM	QB	3	16	16	7-9-0	380	626	60.7	5109	33	5.3	30	4.8	243	71	8.2	7.1	13.4	319.3	84.3		47	282	7.17	6.15	7.0	2	2	15
Career					72	70	28-42-0	1563	2548	61.3	19737	121	4.7	88	3.5	997	71	7.7	7.1	12.6	274.1	86.9		169	1075	6.87	6.30	6.2	7	11	59

Advanced Passing

					Games		Passing
Year	Age	Tm	Pos	No.	G	GS	Cmp	Att	Yds	IAY	IAY/PA	CAY	CAY/Cmp	CAY/PA	YAC	YAC/Cmp
2018	24	TAM	QB	3	11	9	244	378	2992	4079	10.8	2082	8.5	5.5	910	3.7
2019	25	TAM	QB	3	16	16	380	626	5109	6486	10.4	3249	8.6	5.2	1860	4.9

Adjusted Passing

Year	Age	Tm	Pos	No.	G	GS	QBrec	Att	Y/A+	NY/A+	AY/A+	ANY/A+	Cmp%+	TD%+	Int%+	Sack%+	Rate+
2015*	21	TAM	QB	3	16	16	6-10-0	535	108	111	101	103	82	96	93	110	92
2016	22	TAM	QB	3	16	16	9-7-0	567	102	102	97	98	92	107	85	102	96
2017	23	TAM	QB	3	13	13	3-10-0	442	115	112	109	107	102	99	98	95	103
2018	24	TAM	QB	3	11	9	3-6-0	378	114	113	103	103	104	106	78	100	100
2019	25	TAM	QB	3	16	16	7-9-0	626	117	115	99	99	87	107	60	98	90
Career					72	70	28-42-0	2548

Rushing and Receiving

					Games		Rushing								Receiving											Total Yds
Year	Age	Tm	Pos	No.	G	GS	Rush	Yds	TD	1D	Lng	Y/A	Y/G	A/G	Tgt	Rec	Yds	Y/R	TD	1D	Lng	R/G	Y/G	Ctch%	Y/Tgt	Touch	Y/Tch	YScm	RRTD	Fmb
2015*	21	TAM	QB	3	16	16	54	213	6	19	21	3.9	13.3	3.4												54	3.9	213	6	6
2016	22	TAM	QB	3	16	16	53	165	1	13	14	3.1	10.3	3.3												53	3.1	165	1	10
2017	23	TAM	QB	3	13	13	33	135	1	8	17	4.1	10.4	2.5												33	4.1	135	1	15
2018	24	TAM	QB	3	11	9	49	281	1	19	18	5.7	25.5	4.5												49	5.7	281	1	7
2019	25	TAM	QB	3	16	16	59	250	1	18	26	4.2	15.6	3.7												59	4.2	250	1	12
Career					72	70	248	1044	10	77	26	4.2	14.5	3.4												248	4.2	1044	10	50

From the Press 

“Being a part of the New Orleans Saints — being a part with Drew Brees, Taysom Hill, Sean Payton, coach Joe Lombardi, coach Pete Carmichael Jr. — when you think about that room, that’s like a Harvard education in quarterback school,” the former quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Winston, explained. “So I wanted to put my ego aside — put the money to the side — to think about my family, think about my career.

“And there was no better position than to be in the same room with someone that I’ve really looked up to, that I’ve admired since I’ve been playing this game, in Drew Brees.” 

Drew Brees stated, “excited to have [Winston] in the QB room.” 

“He’s got a lot of talent and a bright future,” says Brees. “I’ve heard a lot of good things about his work ethic and love of the game.”

“It really probably won’t be too much different than last year,” the New Orleans Saints assistant general manager Jeff Ireland proclaimed. “We feel like [Hill] can start in the league at some point when it’s his turn, and that’s obviously why we invested in him. But we also need a No. 2 to really utilize [Hill’s] skill set and his upside to the full extent of his ability. … We can’t do those things [with Hill] if we don’t have a solid No. 2.” 

“I’ve done some great things with the Bucs. I’m gonna miss being a starting quarterback,” Winston expressed. “But you never know what happens. I think this is just a great and unique step to join Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints and learn from one of the best to ever do it and make a great transition in my career. 

“You know it’s a proverb: Humility comes before honor. So I have to humble myself. And this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be with Drew Brees, to be with the New Orleans Saints and just prepare for when my next opportunity’s gonna present itself.”