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#Saints QB Jameis Winston working out in San Diego with TE Adam Trautman and WR Juwan Johnson this week. pic.twitter.com/diJ54P9rEE
— John Sigler (@john_siglerr) April 16, 2021
Props to Jameis Winston for embracing the grind. He’s putting in the work to earn the Saints’ starting quarterback job by meeting up with a couple of teammates for a workout in San Diego; his longtime photographer shared video of their throwing session at a neighborhood park, with Winston tossing darts to second-year pros Adam Trautman and Juwan Johnson.
Trautman’s presence is notable because he’s currently on top of their tight ends depth chart. And barring a bold move, Trautman should stay there — his competition on the roster includes free agent pickup Nick Vannett and two practice squad players, Garrett Griffin and Ethan Wolf. He’ll have every opportunity to make plays in the offense with Winston at quarterback. So it’s good to see the pair already working to build some trust.
And we shouldn’t overlook Johnson’s involvement. The big receiver out of Oregon was active for seven games last year, racking up 182 snaps with the Saints offense. What’s interesting is that he might be a candidate to move around the formation and line up at tight end himself; some of his splits in the video have him starting his routes awful close to where the offensive line would be. He has the size to make the conversion at 6-foot-4 and 231 pounds.
This isn’t the first time Winston has met with his Saints teammates to log some extra reps. He was joined by wide receiver Marquez Callaway and running back Tony Jones Jr. in mid-March before signing his one-year extension with New Orleans, which probably helped all of them. Winston needs to get to know his receiving corps better. Young, undrafted players like Johnson, Callaway, and Jones can help their case for a roster spot by developing a rapport with their quarterback. We’ll see if it pays off when training camp rolls around.
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