Category: Jameis Winston

Jameis Winston placed on Saints’ COVID-19 reserve list

New Orleans Saints quarterback Jameis Winston was placed on the NFL’s COVID-19 reserve list hours before kickoff with the Kansas City Chiefs

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The New Orleans Saints took a big hit hours before kickoff with the Kansas City Chiefs when backup quarterback Jameis Winston was lost to the COVID-19 reserve list. It’s unclear whether contract tracing put any other Saints players at high risk of exposure, but for now he’s the only member of the team on the reserve list for Week 15.

It throws a serious wrench in New Orleans’ plans for attacking the Chiefs defense. The plan has been for Winston to be the immediate replacement for Drew Brees during a game, with Taysom Hill starting in Brees’ absence only after a week of practice to install his version of the Saints offense. But with Brees making his first start after missing four games on injured reserve, the Saints may instead have to protect Hill by keeping him on the sidelines rather than mixing it up in his usual gadget role.

Compounding the problem is the Saints’ decision to waive their other backup quarterback on Saturday. Trevor Siemian was signed to round out the group with Brees unavailable over the last month, but he was released to make rom for practice squad call-ups who can help on Sunday. Siemian won’t be eligible to re-sign with the team until he’s cleared waivers on Tuesday.

We’ll see just how this changes the Saints’ plans, if at all. Hopefully Winston makes a full recovery and the team can get on track against the Chiefs after their 9-game winning streak was broken a week ago.

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Jameis Winston starts the second half for Saints vs. 49ers

New Orleans Saints backup quarterback Jameis Winston started the second half against the San Francisco 49ers instead of Drew Brees.

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The New Orleans Saints received the opening kickoff of the second half, and they started the possession with a new quarterback under center: Jameis Winston, not Drew Brees. Brees had been limited on the injury report in recent weeks with a right shoulder issue, his throwing shoulder, and he was spotted spending extra time warming it up before the game started.

A big sack by 49ers defensive lineman Kentavius Street appeared to aggravate the issue, and the Saints later announced that Brees is questionable to return with a rib injury..

For his part, Winston stepped in to lead the huddle, though the Saints quickly punted after three plays. Taysom Hill stepped in for a third down run, replacing Winston, but confusion the personnel package forced the Saints to take a timeout and regroup. Hill’s run was stuffed at the line of scrimmage, prompting a punt. Winston completed his lone pass attempt for an 11-yard gain.

When Winston and Hill returned to the bench, they sat apart from Saints offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr. while reviewing plays on a Microsoft Surface tablet. Brees was separate a few spots down with his own tablet and wearing a baseball cap, not his helmet.

WATCH: Jameis Winston ‘eats a W’ after closing out win over his old Bucs team

New Orleans Saints quarterback Jameis Winston relished his team’s win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the team who drafted and gave up on him

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One of the more infamous on-field goofs from Jameis Winston’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers career was his bizarre pregame motivational tactic in a matchup with the New Orleans Saints, when he tried to make his hand into a “W” and licked each finger, symbolizing the need to “eat a W” and win the game.

The Buccaneers lost that game to the Saints, of course, but it went down as a real low moment for Winston and was widely mocked and memed by NFL fans on social media. But when the shoe was put on the other foot, Winston didn’t miss his shot in the spotlight.

Winston, who signed with New Orleans during the offseason, helped close out the win by kneeling out the clock. And when starting quarterback Drew Brees was taping his postgame interview with NBC, Winston and defensive end Cameron Jordan made sure to pop in for a quick cameo. And of course, Winston ate another “W” while calling Brees “the real G.O.A.T,” a shot at Tom Brady — who replaced Winston in Tampa Bay, but turned in a passer rating nearly a third of Winston’s own.

We’ll see where Winston’s career goes next. But it’s a safe bet that he’ll look back on this night’s victory fondly.

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WATCH: Jameis Winston throws a dime at Saints practice

It didn’t take long for Jameis Winston to impress at New Orleans Saints training camp, connecting with Tre’Quan Smith on a huge deep pass.

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It shouldn’t surprise anyone, but Jameis Winston might have the best arm at New Orleans Saints training camp. The Heisman Trophy winner and former first-overall draft pick has the credentials to make the case for it, and now he’s put up some highlights in practice to drive the point home.

Winston connected with third-year pro Tre’Quan Smith on a corner route deep downfield, putting the ball where only his receiver could get it. And credit to P.J. Williams, the defensive back in coverage on the play, for running with Smith in stride all the way. But when a quarterback and receiver are in sync like this, even the best cornerbacks will struggle to make a play:

In his media conference call after practice, Saints coach Sean Payton was energized by Winston’s performance: “Look he’s doing well, I’ve been pleased. He’s in great shape. He’s got a real live arm, I love his attitude and his work ethic. He’s doing very well.”

Winston has endeared himself quickly to his new coaching staff and teammates, but it’s unclear whether he’s won the backup job behind Drew Brees. Taysom Hill has the inside track on that role given his experience in the system. But if Winston can keep making plays like this in practice, it might only be a matter of time before he’s the next man up.

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Sean Payton’s early take on Jameis Winston, ‘a guy that is not afraid to work’

Jameis Winston arrived to New Orleans Saints training camp with all of his new teammates, and Sean Payton has liked what he’s seen so far.

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One of the most intriguing storylines at New Orleans Saints training camp this summer is the development of Jameis Winston, the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers franchise quarterback who is now competing for a job as a backup. Winston agreed to sign with the Saints on a one-year deal worth a fraction of his market value for the opportunity to learn from Drew Brees and Sean Payton, but the NFL’s new rules due to the COVID-19 pandemic means we won’t get to see much of that process.

And whatever Payton’s taken away from his initial work with Winston is being kept tight to his vest.

“Look, he’s been in what we’re doing meeting-wise, walkthrough-wise, lifting,” Payton said about Winston in a media conference call. “We’re out on the field during the walkthroughs. So just like everyone else, he’s in good shape, he’s lost weight, he’s lean. He’s a guy that is not afraid to work. He’s doing well, he’s fit in well.”

The Saints spent their first week together going through waves of COVID-19 testing, requiring players to turn in multiple negative tests before they would be allowed into the practice facility. So Payton probably isn’t bluffing or protecting any trade secrets when the first thing he can say about Winston is that he’s lost some weight after trying out a new vegan diet.

Still, it would be nice to get an up-close look at Winston going through passing drills with Brees, Taysom Hill, and rookie draft pick Tommy Stevens. Winston’s Buccaneers performance experienced nearly as many highs (leading the NFL with 5,109 passing yards last year) as lows (throwing an NFL-worst 30 interceptions in 2019), so he’ll be looking for greater consistency and better decision-making with the Saints. If anyone is going to bring out his best, it’ll be Payton and his coaching staff.

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Jameis Winston parts ways with agent after signing below-market Saints deal

New Orleans Saints backup QB Jameis Winston parted ways with agent Joel Segal after signing a one-year, $1.1 million free agent deal.

A new agent will be representing Jameis Winston when the backup quarterback talks shop with the New Orleans Saints next offseason. Rick Stroud reported for The Tampa Bay Times on Monday that Winston parted ways with agent Joel Segal of Lagardere Sports, months after Winston inked a one-year, $1.1 million contract with the Saints earlier this summer. It’s far beneath what Winston could have earned as a starter, which drew a firestorm of reactions from NFL fans across social media.

Segal has represented Winston since 2018, having been hired just before Winston returned from a three-game suspension to start the season. He helped hammer out this heavily-discounted Saints deal but won’t be around when Winston returns to the negotiating table.

Notably, Winston’s decision to change agents comes just days after Patrick Mahomes signed a historic contract extension with the Kansas City Chiefs to the tune of half a billion dollars. Winston shouldn’t arrive anywhere close to that yearly salary, even if he ends up in a best-case scenario in 2020, but Mahomes’ record-setting deal is the kind of rising tide that lifts all ships. It’s a safe bet that Winston will be expecting something closer to the $60 million his predecessor, Teddy Bridgewater, earned in free agency. But even that may be too low. We’ll be sure to keep an eye out when Winston hires his new agent.

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Jameis Winston tries out bizarre baseball bat training drill

New Orleans Saints backup quarterback Jameis Winston put on a football helmet and picked up a baseball bat for a strange NFL training drill.

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Well, there’s something you don’t see everyday. Jameis Winston is a backup quarterback for the New Orleans Saints this year, competing with Taysom Hill for rights to hold a clipboard and maybe a bag of sunflower seeds on the sideline while Drew Brees conducts one of the NFL’s best offenses.

And Winston knows that he has to improve over his final performance with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in which he lobbed nearly as many interceptions (30) as touchdown passes (33). At best, his 2019 season could be described as “high-variance.”

So it shouldn’t be a surprise to see Winston trying out new training methods this offseason. But the sight of him wearing his new Saints helmet and wielding a baseball bat came, well, out of left field.

Fortunately, one of Winston’s trainers took time to explain the idea behind this strange drill. John Beck is a former NFL quarterback who now works for 3DQB, a company run by passing guru Tom House that works closely with dozens of professional quarterbacks, including Brees and Tom Brady.

Beck spoke with NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill, saying: “Training the similarities in the baseball swing can be applied to the movements of quarterbacking.” Beck noted that a well-practiced swing of the bat conditions the muscles in Winston’s body to perform when he’s slinging a football, even if the specifics are a little different.

If Winston were able to work out at the Saints practice facility, he’d probably be training more traditionally with highly-specialized equipment suited to what’s asked of him. But with many gyms still closed and the Saints having canceled the bulk of their offseason, Winston and his private coaches are forced to get creative to keep him in peak condition.

Hopefully it works. The critical flaws with Winston haven’t been an ugly windup or late release — he’s simply made too many poor decisions in the heat of the moment, resulting in a glut of turnovers. And there’s no number of swings at the plate that will cure that. It’s something Beck acknowledged in his interview with Underhill, adding that he thinks Winston has a lot to gain by watching Brees, one of the game’s finest decision-makers, go to work every day.

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Jameis Winston named one of the NFL’s worst deep-ball quarterbacks

The New Orleans Saints had a quarterback ranked among the NFL’s worst deep-ball passers, but it wasn’t Drew Brees. Jameis Winston took fire.

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Doug Farrar over at Touchdown Wire listed the worst vertical passers in the NFL today, and one New Orleans Saints quarterback made the list: but it isn’t Drew Brees, who placed among the lowest-ranked passers in that category by Pro Football Focus.

Instead, Farrar took aim at one of Brees’ backups. Jameis Winston ended up catching flak for his performance last season. Farrar wrote of the former first-overall draft pick and Saints third-string quarterback:

Per Sports Info Solutions, Winston was both great and terrible on throws requiring a deep ball (seam, go, fade, post, etc,) with 164 attempts, 76 completions, 1,859 yards, 1,464 air yards, and 19 touchdowns. All of those totals led the league last year. Unfortunately, Winston’s nine interceptions on such passes also tied for second-worst in the league with Philip Rivers, who we’ll get to in a moment.

We’ll see if Winston can improve in New Orleans, but he clearly has a lot of work ahead of him. Working with coaches like Sean Payton and Joe Lombardi, with Brees providing a good model to imitate, should do him plenty of good.

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Jameis Winston picks his new Saints jersey number

The New Orleans Saints signed free agent Jameis Winston, and the former face of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be wearing a new jersey number

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Now that Jameis Winston and the New Orleans Saints have put pens to paper, the big question remains: what jersey number would he wear? Having chosen No. 3 during his five years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, there was speculation that Winston would buy it off of Pro Bowl kicker Wil Lutz — who was eager to set a price, if Winston was interested.

Instead, Winston went in another direction, and now he’ll be wearing No. 2. That number had initially been picked by seventh-round draft pick Tommy Stevens, who wore it in college. But Winston and Stevens must have reached a compromise, because the rookie is now listed at No. 1 on the official Saints website.

Winston explained his decision during his introductory video conference call with New Orleans media, saying, “Yeah, that’s my favorite number. I couldn’t get the number two at Florida State because of Deion Sanders. I couldn’t get number two in high school because one of my receivers named Brandon Spain (had it) and now I can if it’s available.”

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Laser eye surgery, vegan diet among Jameis Winston’s big changes

New Orleans Saints quarterback Jameis Winston is working to change his life, including LASIK laser eye surgery and a healthier vegan diet.

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A lot of things will need to change before Jameis Winston takes a snap for the New Orleans Saints. He’s slotting in behind Drew Brees and Taysom Hill on the depth chart, and there’s months to go before the NFL preseason kicks off (which is unclear given the state of the coronavirus pandemic).

But Winston is doing everything he can to get his body right, assuring that he’ll be ready once the opportunity presents itself. While his decision to finally undergo LASIK eye surgery after five years in the NFL has been much-discussed, correcting his long-lasting issues with nearsightedness and an astigmatism, Winston has also changed up his diet and training regimen.

“I decided to go vegan. I’ve been vegan for the past three months, four months and it’s just changed my body, drastically. I do cheat every Saturday. I mean, some chicken, or something, I can’t be super vegan or I’d be like 210 pounds,” Winston said during his introductory conference call as a member of the Saints. He chose to try a different diet after meeting with a few physicians specializing in treating professional athletes.

While the 26-year-old quarterback hasn’t been known for his athleticism, he has drawn criticism for a fluctuating playing-weight. Vegan diets have helped players like Tyrann Mathieu and Cam Newton, and it’s good to see he’s taking things more seriously.

As for his recent laser-eye surgery, Winston noted that the immediate changes have manifested while driving without wearing glasses for the first time in his adult life: “I can read license plates, I can read street signs. I think the precision in the vision is the biggest difference.”

It might take some time for Winston to see bigger results, much less for Saints fans to notice a difference. But his proactive approach — combined with his bargain-bin salary — might be a good sign that Winston is committed to turning his career around after flaming out in Tampa Bay.

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