Saints make Jameis Winston deal official
The New Orleans Saints have officially signed quarterback Jameis Winston. The team made the announcement on Tuesday evening. Financial terms of the one-year deal are not known yet, but it is expected to be a very low-risk deal. News broke early on Sunday morning that the Saints were expected to sign him.
Sean Payton has said before that the Saints were going to add another quarterback in addition to Drew Brees and Taysom Hill, but it was unclear as to whether that would come through the draft or free agency.
"Look, the uniqueness of Taysom's role will make it important for us to have a third quarterback," Payton said in an April press conference.
"But what we are looking for in that third quarterback is another player we want to develop, work with and improve and someone that we feel like either we acquire through the draft potentially, through free agency. We'll look at all means relative to where that player can come from. We're not specifically saying that has to be a player that comes through the draft. We're not saying it has to be a veteran player. It'll be the best available player that we feel like fits our program. But we know that with what we want to do with Taysom that we're going to have not only the third quarterback, but that quarterback is going to be up on game day.”
Winston is a player who certainly needs the Saints a lot more than the Saints need him right now, and is walking into a great situation. With the Buccaneers last season, Winston threw for over 5,000 yards and 30 touchdowns, but the turnovers were the issue. He's said that he doesn't blame his eyesight for it, but did have LASIK done in mid-February to help. Teddy Bridgewater cashed in on a very lucrative contract with the Panthers recently, but also developed extremely well with the Saints during his time in New Orleans. Winston could be hoping the same for 2020, and there's little to suggest that he won't get what he is ultimately searching for. As SNN's Kyle Mosley pointed out recently, it's a smart move for everyone involved.
