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Saints QB Jameis Winston Speaks Out On His NFL Future

Quarterback Jameis Winston has had a roller coaster of a career. Since being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft he has experienced some highs and lows. He began his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he produced some eye-popping stats but the team didn’t win very often.

In his final season with the Buccaneers, Jameis Winston led the NFL with 5,109 passing yards but also threw 30 interceptions. That ended up being his last season in Tampa Bay, as Tom Brady was brought in to take over the offense.

As a result, Jameis Winston hit the free agent market. He would remain in the NFC South, signing a deal with the New Orleans Saints. While he was replaced in Tampa Bay by a legend, he was going to eventually be doing the replacing in New Orleans for Drew Brees.

Jameis Winston sat behind Brees for the 2020 season, learning from him and head coach Sean Payton. He took over the starting job the following season and things were going well. The team was 5-2 in their first seven games, but in his first matchup against his old team, Jameis Winston suffered a season-ending injury.

While he was able to get healthy and work his way back to be in the lineup in Week 1 of the 2022 season, that didn’t last for long. He suffered another injury, dealing with a fractured back and foot ailment. Andy Dalton took over the starting job and never relinquished it.

As a free agent this offseason, Winston had the opportunity to seek out a new opportunity, potentially one he could start in. Instead, he returned to the Saints to back up Derek Carr, taking a pay cut on a reworked deal instead of testing the market.

Despite making that decision, Jameis Winston remains confident in his skill set. He believes that he will have a chance to become a starter in the NFL once again.

“The main thing is the opportunity, and I’m just grateful every chance I get an opportunity to step into a building and play a sport I love,” Winston said Tuesday, via Katherine Terrell of ESPN. “However, I know that I’m still a starting quarterback in this league. But, man, I have to be, like this is all a process.

“There’s some Hall of Famers that made their big break at 30, so I’m still young. I’m still 29, but right now my role is to serve this team in the role that I’m in. And I’m all-in to doing that. Because again, I’m grateful for the opportunity to be able to still wear a Saints uniform or to be in the NFL in general.”

Jameis Winston is correct that he still has some time to get back into a starter’s role down the road. As the full-time starter in 2021, before his injury, he was playing some very good football. The ability to play at a high level is there when he can reel in the turnovers as he has tantalizing tools that led to him being a first overall pick.

Alas, that opportunity will likely have to come elsewhere. Unless Carr suffers an injury, there is no path to starting in New Orleans for Jameis Winston. He will have to bide his time as the backup for now, but if a team should lose their starter during the season, the Saints could be their first call to gauge his availability.

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