The New Orleans Saints made sure they have a contingency plan in place at the quarterback position as they signed Andy Dalton in free agency. However, they are hoping that Jameis Winston is healthy enough to be on the field when the team kicks off their 2022 season in Week 1.

Winston tore his ACL in a Week 8 matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season. It was a tough break for Winston who had taken over the starting job following the retirement of Drew Brees and had been playing well.

The Saints went 5-2 in games that he started, once again looking like playoff contenders in the NFC South. But, after he was injured, their season went off the rails as Trevor Siemian, Ian Book and Taysom Hill started the remaining games and combined to win only four more times.

Having Winston under center will give the Saints the best chance to win. He has already begun doing on-field work at OTAs this week and head coach Dennis Allen provided more positive updates on his recovery.

“I think he’s looked good,” Allen said. “I think he’s made a lot of progress. We still got a ways to go to get him ready, but we like the progress he’s making. We like where he’s at and hopefully that will continue.”

Winston succeed last season without an established wide receiver to throw the ball to, as Marquez Callaway was the nominal No. 1 receiver. This offseason, he will have a revamped wide receiver group catching passes from him.

The Saints have revamped the skill position groups, adding Jarvis Landry in free agency and Chris Olave in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft to join Michael Thomas, who missed the entire 2021 season with an injury. That is a lot more firepower at Jameis Winston’s disposal, as the Saints still have talented running back Alvin Kamara in the mix as well.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft will have a chance to cement himself as the Saints starting quarterback for the foreseeable future if he can replicate the success that he had last season.