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Jameis Winston leaves his agent Joel Segal

Jameis Winston is charting a new direction in his career by leaving his agent Joel Segal.

New Orleans Saints QB, Jameis Winston, fired his agent Joel Segal and is seeking new representation. Tampa Bay Times reporter Rick Stroud, covering the Tampa Bay Bucs, broke the news on Twitter of Winston's agent change on Monday. Joel Segal has represented Jameis Winston since 2018. Lagardère Sports promoted Segal to the position of North American CEO in 2019.  

During free-agency, Winston signed a 1-year contract for $1.1M, including $3.4M in incentives with the New Orleans Saints. Winston's deal allows him to learn the game's nuances from QB Drew Brees and HC Sean Payton. Jameis likened the New Orleans QB Room as receiving a "Harvard education in quarterback school," when he appeared in a live broadcast with former Heisman Trophy Winner and fellow FSU Alum, Charlie Ward's " Charlie Chalk Talk."

Tampa Bay decided to release their former first-round draft pick after five seasons. Last year, Jameis led all NFL quarterbacks with 5,109 passing yards. However, he also led the NFL with 30 interceptions, total turnovers, and set an NFL record with 7 pick-sixes in a season. He became the first quarterback to have over 30 (33) touchdowns and 30 interceptions in the league's history. Since Winston was a turnover magnet, the Bucs chose to sign free-agent QB Tom Brady and release Winston from his contract.  

In 2020, the free-agent market for an NFL QB was brutal. The high-priced and franchise leaders like Tom Brady, Jameis Winston, Andy Dalton, and Cam Newton were forced out of the starting roles and sent looking for new jobs. The six-time Super Bowl Champion, Brady, signed with the Buccaneers in an attempt for HC Bruce Arians to bring stability to the QB position. Andy Dalton signed the best deal to backup Cowboys QB Dak Prescott with a six-year contract worth $96M, including $17M in guarantees and an AAS of $16M.  Newton recently accepted an offer from the New England Patriots to compete for a starting role against QB Jarett Stidham.  Newton signed a 1-year, $1.05M base salary deal with nearly $7.5 million with incentives.  

The speculation swirling around Winston's agent change may result from the numbers offered to Dalton and Newton in contrast to his contract with the Saints. Jameis is #3 on the Saints QB depth chart behind Drew Brees and Taysom Hill. Sean Payton has publicly announced Hill as the Saints QB of the future once Brees retires. Both Brees and Hill signed 2-year contracts with New Orleans in the offseason.  Hill's contract is worth up to $21M.  

Another challenge for Winston would be seeing the football field in New Orleans. If Brees remains healthy all season, Jameis will sit on the sidelines in 2020.  Unfortnately, he did not have OTAs and Mini-Camps with the team to showcase his skills.  The Saints coaching staff is definitely familiar with his abilities, but being inside of a QB room with Sean Payton and Pete Carmichael for an extended period of time could have aided his cause.  His one-year contract gives Jameis limited time to prove his talents to become a starting quarterback again for the rest of the NFL as well. By changing representation, it may be Winston's hope for a new agent to vigorously fight for better suitors and a better contract next NFL offseason.