New Orleans Saints 'likely' to move on from former Florida State Star Quarterback

When one door closes, another one opens.

On Monday, a major domino in the 2023 NFL quarterback market fell when former Las Vegas Raiders star signal-caller Derek Carr agreed to a four-year/$150-million with the New Orleans Saints. Carr weighed multiple options prior to signing with the Saints, including the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers.

The #Saints & Derek Carr agreed on a 4-yr deal for $150M with $100M in total guarantees, per me & @MikeGarafolo. He gets $70M effectively fully guaranteed ($60M at signing, another $10M in Year 3 vesting after Year 1). Carr structures his deal to accommodate Saints’ cap issues. pic.twitter.com/vs6qaBh7rg
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 6, 2023

With New Orleans landing its quarterback under second-year head coach Dennis Allen, that makes another player on the roster expendable.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, former Florida State star and current Saints quarterback, Jameis Winston, will 'likely' be released to save the franchise money. Winston is projected to be one of the most highest-paid players on New Orleans' roster in 2023, earning a salary of $15.6 million.

The Saints can save $4.4 million by moving on from Winston. That number would jump up to $12.8 million if he was released after June 1 but the franchise can't afford to wait that long and risk handicapping itself in free agency with the addition of Carr's salary on the books.

New Orleans is estimated to be north of $21 million over the cap, according to Spotrac.

With Derek Carr headed to New Orleans, Jameis Winston now becomes a likely salary-cap casualty. New Orleans could move on and save $4.4M against the salary cap, but it would take on $11.2M in dead money. A post-June 1 cut would save $12.8M, but no savings until then. pic.twitter.com/0BuVmN8LYY
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 6, 2023

Honestly, this would probably be the best-case scenario for Winston after a tenuous tenure with the Saints. He played through multiple injuries this past season before Allen elected to bench him for veteran Andy Dalton. Winston never appeared in a game after week three, ending his campaign by completing 73/115 passes (63.5%) for 858 yards with four touchdowns to five interceptions.

Winston was also the starter for the Saints in 2021, leading the team to a 5-2 record before tearing his ACL on an awkward tackle against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. At the time, he was on pace to put together the best season of his career, posting 14 touchdown passes to three interceptions.

Across his eight years with Tampa Bay and New Orleans, the former No. 1 overall pick has appeared in 86 games, with 80 starts, completing 1,738/2,835 passes (61.3%) for 21,840 yards with 139 touchdowns to 96 interceptions. He's also scored 11 more times on the ground.

Previously, Winston put together a prolific career at Florida State that included him winning a Heisman Trophy and National Championship while earning consensus All-American honors, ACC Player of the Year, and multiple other awards.

During his two years in Tallahassee, Winston completed 562/851 passes (66%) for 7,964 yards with 65 touchdowns to 28 interceptions. He rushed for seven more scores. That included a program single-season record 40 touchdown passes in 2013-14.

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