Saints Coaches are Impressed with Jameis Winston
“You throw in Pete Carmichael, Joe Lombardi and Sean Payton on the offensive side of the ball, those creative minds... Jameis Winston will learn more football in a year than he has in his lifetime." Jeff Ireland, Saints Assistant GM
The newest member of the Saints QB room has impressed many this offseason. The biggest takeaways of Jameis Winston thus far is his intelligence, preparation, and humility. Winston has displayed flashes of excellence as an NFL QB, which has earned a Pro-Bowl, NFC Weekly honor, and led the NFL QBs in passing last season. However, his perceived immaturity has always been a knock on Winston. If you combine his youth with inconsistent play and shaky mechanics, and it is clear to see the position Winston finds himself with the Saints as a backup to Drew Brees.
The former Heisman Winner reportedly turned down a more lucrative contract to join the Saints to enroll in “QB U.” The deal will allow Winston a year to sit and learn behind a future HOF QB in Brees and offensive nuances of the game from HC Sean Payton. Early into his enrollment at a new QB school, it sounds like Winston's first few weeks at "QB U" have been successful. New Orleans Saints OC Pete Carmichael spoke highly of the former #1 overall pick on a media conference call this week.
"I think he's a talented football player and he's done a lot of great things in this league already and we're excited to have him. Just in these meetings that we've been having with these virtual meetings, the one thing that stands out to me right away is that he's sharp, he's smart, he has asked the right questions. And so he has that experience and he's got the ability, you see him throw the ball down field, he's got excellent arm strength. So there's a lot to be excited about and we're looking forward to working with him."
In 2019, Winston became the first player in NFL history to throw for 30+ TDs & 30+ INT in a single season despite leading the league in passing yards. Notwithstanding his turnover issues early in his career, Carmichael remains confident about Winston's NFL future.
"Go back and look at a lot of successful quarterbacks in this league and Jameis is still young. He's 26 years old. It took Drew [Brees] a couple of years to get going as well. We feel really good about having that player in the building."
Winston joined the Saints on a one-year, $1.1M deal to replace former Saints QB, Teddy Bridgwater, as a backup. Bridgewater signed with the Carolina Panthers this offseason to become their starter replacing QB Cam Newton. The former Bucs QB, Winston, provides the Saints with a proven NFL QB to backup Brees. The move by the team them time to develop QB Taysom Hill and have him continue to play as the "jack-of-all-Saints" role within Sean Payton's system.
For all the latest New Orleans Saints News & Rumors follow:
The Saints News Network at www.Si.com/NFL/ Saints
Follow Saints News Network’s Writer, Brendan Boylan, on Twitter & Instagram at @btboylan.
Continue to follow all Saints’ coverage on Social Media with Saints News Network at @SaintsNews on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
