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So much for the poker face of Sean Payton. The New Orleans Saints coach hasn’t tried to hide the team’s desire to sign free agent quarterback Jameis Winston if Drew Brees retires as scheduled.
Payton spoke highly of Winston to ESPN and other media outlets while making a few appearances in Super Bowl week Wednesday, saying the Saints would like to re-sign him “sooner rather than later.”
Payton also specifically told CBS Sports’ Choose Six Podcast that he expects Brees to make an announcement “in the week or two.”
Payton has been saying for months that he believes the Saints’ next quarterback is already “in the building” – a benchmark that includes both Winston and Taysom Hill. And he reiterated on Wednesday that the Saints have “pretty good vision” for both players.
Of note, Payton mentioned Winston first and spoke to him in more detail when asked about the Saints’ future QB plans by ESPN’s Keyshawn, JWill & Zubin Show and by NFL Network’s “Good morning football“show – say it was an” easy “question.
However, Payton pointed out that the reason he first mentioned Winston was because he was a free agent and Hill was already under contract for another year.
“Jameis Winston, we know that. We spent a year with him. He was fantastic as a leader. He has an incredible talent for the arms. He’s a young prospect that we love very much,” Payton said during his appearance on ESPN. “When you have a player for a season, he kind of gives you a chance to see what he’s talking about, and there’s a little audition there. But the same audition goes on for us. see, “Hey, that’s how they do it here. Does it suit me? Is this head coach, this coaching position? Is this a place I feel comfortable playing? “
Payton told “Good Morning Football”: “A lot of times you want to keep your cards closer to the vest. [with a] free agent. But him with Taysom Hill, we’ve always said, we’re going to develop and train these guys. And Jameis is one of those guys that interests us a lot. “
Winston, who just turned 27 in January, signed a one-year contract with the Saints last spring for $ 1.1 million plus incentives because he specifically wanted to learn with Payton and Brees while trying to relaunch his career. He called it “a Harvard education at shift school”.
Winston didn’t have much field experience as there was no preseason and Payton opted to start Hill while Brees was sidelined for four games with broken ribs and a perforated lung. However, Winston put in his best play of the season, making a 56-yard touchdown pass on a turn play in New Orleans’ playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Winston finished 7 of 11 for 75 yards in the regular season with no touchdowns or rolls.
Hill, 30, went 3-1 in those four starts, with some ups and downs. But Payton explained that part of the reason he chose Hill over Winston was because Hill was in his fourth year in New Orleans – and Payton had promised Hill he would have such an opportunity when ‘he re-signed last year as a restricted free agent.
It looks like this year would be more of an open competition between Winston and Hill, assuming the Saints don’t make other big moves to the position.
Winston, of course, showed his own plethora of ups and downs in his first five seasons with the Buccaneers after being selected for Florida State with the No.1 pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. The 2013 Heisman Trophy winner led the NFL with 5,109 passing yards in 2019 in his first year under coach Bruce Arians. But he also became the first quarterback in league history to throw at least 30 touchdown passes and 30 interceptions in the same season – which led to Tampa Bay switching to Tom Brady instead.
Winston went 28-42 in his five seasons as a starter with the Bucs, completing 61.3% of his passes with 19,737 yards, 121 touchdowns and 88 interceptions. Turnover has been its biggest problem, with a total of 111 in five years.
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