Category: Jameis Winston

Jameis Winston was one of the first to congratulate Taysom Hill on his big day

Jameis Winston was one of the first to congratulate Taysom Hill on his big day, hurrying to embrace his old teammate after Saints-Browns:

Taysom Hill had a game for the ages when the New Orleans Saints hosted the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. Hill was a major key to the Saints’ success in their 35-14 win, accounting for three touchdown runs — plus 138 rushing yards and another 50 receiving yards, and 18 passing yards on a trick play.

His old teammate Jameis Winston had a good day, too. Winston threw for 395 yards and two touchdowns against his former team while doing all he could to keep the Browns in it, and he didn’t turn the ball over. After the game Saints players, coaches, and other personnel queued up to see Winston, but he stepped up when Hill approached him.

“You were amazing, man,” Winston laughed, arms wrapping around Hill in a bear hug.

Once upon a time Winston and Hill competed for the opportunity to succeed Drew Brees as the Saints’ starting quarterback, splitting practice reps and preseason game action to push one another to be their best. Winston won that battle, but there’s still plenty of love between the two of them. Hill had a lot of Saints fans cheering him on Sunday. On some level, another one was watching him from the opposing sideline, too.

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Tyrann Mathieu knows what to expect from Jameis Winston

Familiarity plays a part in Saints vs. Browns, and Tyrann Mathieu knows what to expect from Jameis Winston in his return to New Orleans:

Tyrann Mathieu is ready to play his former teammate, Jameis Winston, on Sunday. Mathieu has one message for Winston, “I’m expecting a shot the first play of the game, Jameis, so throw it up there.”

Mathieu intercepted Kirk Cousins in the fourth quarter to help the New Orleans Saints break their losing streak. The safety would like to build a streak of his own, but he knows Winston: “Probably tells me he’s going to throw it at me before he actually does it.”

Familiarity plays a big part in this matchup. “He knows us, we know him,”  Mathieu said. Winston wasn’t in New Orleans long, but Mathieu still thinks this will be “somewhat of homecoming” because of how the city feels bout the former Saints quarterback. Mathieu said the team loves Winston the same way.

Mathieu joined the New Orleans Saints a year after Winston. Mathieu’s arrival coincided with Winston becoming the starter. Through this time, both were leaders on their side of the ball and they got to know each other well.

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Jameis Winston reflects on how his time in New Orleans impacted him

Jameis Winston spent four years in New Orleans, and he said the city helped him during “that transitional period in my life”

Jameis Winston expressed nothing but love for the city of New Orleans and the Saints as he makes his return as a member of the Cleveland Browns.

Everyone who plays for the Saints doesn’t get chosen by the city when the jersey is off. Winston was one of those players. “The people in New Orleans, I really love them. They really helped that transitional period in my life.”

Winston did start for New Orleans at one point, but he came to New Orleans as a backup to Drew Brees. To be a former first overall pick and not get a starting job requires one to swallow his pride. Winston did that to study under Sean Payton knowing Brees was the starter.

He came to New Orleans to hone his craft. When he did become the starter his time was cut way too short. Through it all he says his “teammates encouraged me, they pushed me.”

It’s clear his time in New Orleans holds a special place in his heart on and off the field.

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Jameis Winston revenge game has lost its luster without Dennis Allen

With Dennis Allen no longer in the picture, this week’s Jameis Winston revenge game feels markedly different:

The Jameis Winston revenge game has lost some of its allure with the firing of Dennis Allen.

There are two types of “revenge games.” You have matchups like C.J. Gardner-Johnson returning to New Orleans. There was true animosity from the safety. Then, you have games that simply features a player facing his former team, and “revenge game” is used jokingly.

We thought Jameis Winston facing the New Orleans Saints as the Cleveland Browns’ starting quarterback would be a true revenge game. Without the presence of Allen, there’s nothing to get revenge for.

It was Allen who told Winston he wouldn’t lose his job due to injury then kept Andy Dalton as the starter. It was Allen’s wishes Winston went against to give Jamaal Williams a touchdown against Atlanta.

With Allen gone, who would the ill will be directed towards?

Winston became one of the more beloved players in the Saints’ locker room and by the fan base. Under these circumstances, this is closer to a family reunion than an attempt for revenge.

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Browns name their starting QB for Week 11 vs. Saints

Jameis Winston will get to start against his former team in Week 11. The former Saints QB is going to lead the Browns out of the tunnel at the Caesars Superdome:

Jameis Winston will get to start against his former team in Week 11. The former New Orleans Saints quarterback is going to lead the Cleveland Browns out of the tunnel next Sunday at the Caesars Superdome. Winston stepped into the lineup after injuries sidelined Deshaun Watson and Dorian Thompson-Robinson, and he hasn’t looked back.

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski announced Monday that Winston will remain the team’s starter coming out of their bye week, which means Winston has an opportunity to beat the last team he suited up for. Winston spent the last four years of his career with New Orleans, but he’s played against the Saints before. He started five seasons for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. So what was his record against the black and gold?

Winston went 3-9 against the Saints during his time with Tampa Bay, throwing nearly as many interceptions (10) as touchdowns (11) and taking 24 sacks. He’s grown a lot since then but  remains a volatile passer with 5 touchdowns and 3 interceptions in just two starts with the Browns.

So we’ll see if he can take advantage of a banged-up Saints secondary to make some plays on Sunday. Winston made a lot of friends in the New Orleans locker room during his four years with the team, but when they kick off this week it’ll be all-business between thee whistles.

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Deshaun Watson injury opened the door for a Browns-Saints revenge game

Injuries to Deshaun Watson and Dorian Thompson-Robinson could lead to Jameis Winston being the Browns starting QB when they face the Saints

The New Orleans Saints welcome the Cleveland Browns into the Caesars Superdome in a month, and Jameis Winston may be the Browns’ starting quarterback when that game rolls around.

Winston has spent most of his time in Cleveland as Deshaun Watson’s backup. That changed Sunday. The Browns opted to make Dorian Thompson-Robinson the backup ahead of their game against the Cincinnati Bengals and push Winston to the emergency quarterback role.

An emergency happened. Watson went down with a season-ending Achilles injury, and Thompson-Robinson injured a finger on his throwing hand. This led to Winston entering the game at quarterback.

Thompson-Robinson’s injury isn’t believed to be major, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, and his availability is up in the air right now. If Winston starts the next game and performs well enough, Winston could hold on to that starting spot. That would put him in line to start against New Orleans.

Winston spent four years with the Saints before going to Cleveland. He didn’t depart on the best terms. He lost his job to Andy Dalton due to injury in 2022. Winston later said he was told he wouldn’t have lost his job if he stepped away to recover. He was made false promises by Dennis Allen.

Ironically, Winston’s last play in New Orleans was a middle finger to Allen. Winston and the team opted to not kneel and instead get Jamaal Williams a touchdown.

Allen clearly wasn’t a fan of that by his postgame actions and press conference. That was Winston’s last play in New Orleans until possibly Week 11.

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Ranking Saints’ toughest offseason departures: No. 2, Jameis Winston

Saints fans know the value of a backup quarterback, but to boil Jameis Winston’s impact down to that wouldn’t tell the whole story:

Jameis Winston may not have played a meaningful down for the New Orleans Saints had he stayed, but his departure for the Cleveland Browns is still heavily felt.

Winston was the Saints’ backup quarterback and one of the better backups in the NFL. He stepped in for Derek Carr on two occasions in 2023, but he didn’t start any games. Saints fans have enough familiarity with backup quarterbacks to know the value of the position.

Go look at how Winston’s backups performed in 2021 and how Teddy Bridgewater performed when filling in for Drew Brees. Drastically different products that yielded drastically different results.

Winston is replaced by Jake Haener or Spencer Rattler. A training camp battle between the two will decide who fills that role. It’s hard to feel as confident with two unproven players at backup instead of a former Pro Bowl quarterback.

Boiling Winston’s impact down to what he did on the field is inadequate. It’s not even his biggest contribution to the team. Winston’s role took a step back last season, but he continued to galvanize the team. Leading the charge to get Jamaal Williams a touchdown in the season finale is one of the best examples of this.

Winston has always had a strong personality. It endeared him to his teammates and the fans. Locker room vibes are highlighted with post-game parties, but they can have an impact on team morale. Winston was a player who kept the vibes and morale high. They’ll have to replace that as well in 2024.

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Here’s how much salary cap space the Saints will save after June 1

The New Orleans Saints designed Michael Thomas and Jameis Winston as post-June 1 cuts. Here’s how much that will save them against the salary cap:

Early this offseason, the New Orleans Saints designed Michael Thomas and Jameis Winston as post-June 1 cuts, which is a mechanism that allows teams to release up to players (making them free agents) while spreading out the salary cap costs over this year and the next. The catch is that those savings won’t be felt until after June 1, and they’ll be offset by  other players taking Thomas and Winston’s place on the accounting books.

So with that date rapidly approaching, here’s how much those moves will save the Saints against the salary cap. Winston, who signed with the Cleveland Browns early in free agency, will still count against the cap by $3.38 million in 2024 and $7.3 million in 2025. Because his cap charge to this point has been $4.59 million, the Saints will receive a cap credit of $1.21 million on June 2.

They’ll receive the same savings for Thomas; until now, his 2024 cap hit has been $12.4 million. It’ll drop to $8.9 million for the rest of this season while leaving behind a $11.1 million dead money charge in 2025. Like a dozen other players from last year’s Saints team, he has yet to sign with a new squad.

So think of it this way. The Saints are going to receive a combined $2.42 million in salary cap savings this weekend while carrying about $18.4 million in dead money on the books in 2025 for both Thomas and Winston. That sounds like a lot, but with the 2025 salary cap projected to reach at least $260 million we’re talking about 7% of the cap, at most, going to two players no longer on the team.

What about this year? Right now, the Saints are sitting under the cap by roughly $5.7 million after signing all but one of their draft picks (second-round cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry, whose net cost to sign will ultimately be about $550,000). They’ll be in the clear by more than $5 million after getting these cap credits for Thomas and Winston, so it’s possible the Saints could make a trade or sign some more free agents before training camp with those extra resources. They could also choose to sit on that money and roll it over to help clear the 2025 salary cap, which would be responsible, but it’s more fun to speculate about new additions over the summer.

Update: The Saints signed McKinstry to his rookie contract, though the exact salary cap hit is yet to be reported. And as observed by Locked On Saints host Ross Jackson, the Saints didn’t save much against the cap on June 2. That’s because salary cap hits for Shane Lemieux ($1,055,000) and Jordan Howden ($996,682) took Thomas and Winston’s place on the top 51 contracts, offsetting the savings for a net gain of only about $368,318. OTC estimates the Saints to be under the cap by $5,473,316.

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Jameis Winston thanks New Orleans for embracing him, says goodbye to Saints fans

Jameis Winston said goodbye to Saints fans in a last look back before signing with the Browns, thanking New Orleans for embracing him:

Jameis Winston formally put pen to paper on his new contract with the Cleveland Browns on Wednesday, but before doing that he made time to thank New Orleans Saints fans for embracing him during his four years with the team.

Winston shared a highlight reel of his favorite memories and touchdown passes in a Saints uniform on social media, along with a long goodbye message expressing his gratitude for everything he experienced in New Orleans. It’s a classy tribute to a memorable stretch of his NFL career.

“Trust and believe that y’all haven’t seen the last of Jaboo,” Winston said at the end of his letter, again thanking fans in the community for their support.

He’ll be back sooner than you think: Winston’s new Browns team is scheduled to visit the Saints for a home game at the Caesars Superdome in the fall. Depending on when that game kicks off and how far along Deshaun Watson is in recovering from surgery on his throwing shoulder, it just might be Winston making the start against his former team.

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Saints to release Jameis Winston, Michael Thomas in procedural moves Wednesday

As was expected, the Saints will release Jameis Winston and Michael Thomas in procedural moves on Wednesday. Here’s what it means for the salary cap:

We knew this was coming, but now it’s confirmed, and there’s no going back. The New Orleans Saints will be releasing quarterback Jameis Winston and wide receiver Michael Thomas on Wednesday with post-June 1 designations, per Over The Cap’s Jason Fitzgerald, making both of them unrestricted free agents. A number of other players around the league are being let go with the same designation, including Odell Beckham Jr.

It’s unclear whether Thomas was given permission to begin speaking with other teams prior to being released, like Winston, but that’s a reasonable assumption. In Winston’s case, he already knows where he’ll be playing football in 2024: the Cleveland Browns. Winston has agreed to terms on a one-year deal worth up to $8.7 million. He’ll be backing up Deshaun Watson who is still recovering from season-ending surgery on his throwing shoulder in 2023.

Teams are only allowed to designate two releases as post-June 1 cuts each offseason, which is done for accounting purposes to help manage the salary cap. Here are the remaining salary cap hits the Saints will carry in 2024 and 2025 after moving on from both players:

  • 2024: $15.69 million in total. $11.1 million (for Thomas) and $4.59 million (for Winston). This is about 6.1% of the salary cap
  • 2025: $16.54 million in total. $9.18 million (for Thomas) and $7.36 million (for Winston). This is about 5.9% of an estimated $280 million salary cap

It’s frustrating to lose so much salary cap space for players no longer on the roster, but that’s the cost of doing business sometimes. And things will get a little easier for the Saints on June 2, at which point they will get some cap relief. They’ll receive a $2.42 million cap credit for both players’ base salaries coming off the books, which can go towards signing their rookie draft class.

We’ll see what’s next for both of them, and for the Saints. Players come and go but the NFL’s calendar keeps moving on.

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