Former Buccaneers quarterback reveals details about infamous Saints fight

Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans know the team's rivalry with the New Orleans Saints runs deep, but former Bucs quarterback and current New York Giants QB Jameis Winston is giving new insight into how intense things got when he crossed enemy lines.

The Buccaneers' first-round pick in 2015 joined the Pivot Podcast and shared a funny, but honest, story about joining New Orleans after spending years with the Bucs.

Tampa Bay fans might remember Winston playing a direct role in one of the first Evans-Lattimore scuffles, but it turns out the tension didn’t go away overnight.

MIKE EVANS & MARSHON LATTIMORE’S YEARLY FIGHT WERE 🍿🍿🍿

True division rivals
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After signing with the Saints in 2020, Winston had to face Marshon Lattimore — one of the central figures in the Bucs-Saints beef — every day in practice. And according to Winston, things weren’t exactly warm and fuzzy early on.

“Me and Marshon had a beef until about the fifth day of training camp,” Winston said during a recent podcast appearance. “I just kept talking. I’m like, ‘Marshon, you gon be mad at me the whole time?’ and Mike Thomas was like, ‘He don’t really like you like that.’”

Winston was referring to star receiver Michael Thomas, who apparently confirmed Lattimore wasn’t quick to forgive. And who could blame him? The 2017 Bucs-Saints game saw Winston poke Lattimore on the sideline, leading to Mike Evans blindsiding the cornerback in one of the most memorable fights in the rivalry’s history.

The bad blood carried over in future matchups, including a 2022 brawl that led to multiple ejections.

While he didn’t stay the starter in New Orleans for long, Winston became a respected veteran presence in the Saints' locker room. Eventually, Winston and Lattimore were able to discuss and end the tension, but his story proves just how real these on-field beefs can be.

Winston may be bouncing around the league now, but Tampa Bay remains a significant part of his journey. He threw for over 5,000 yards in 2019 and played a major role in the pre-Brady era of the franchise.

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