The wondering and waiting of where former Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston would end up in 2020 appears to be coming to an end.
According to Ian Rapoport, Winston and the New Orleans Saints are close to finalizing a one-year deal that would bring the former 2015 No. 1 overall draft pick to back up Drew Brees in NOLA.
As the #Saints and FA QB Jameis Winston close in on a 1-year deal, worth noting Winston turned down a more lucrative offer elsewhere to learn from some of the best. The former #Bucs starter put the emphasis on his future in a smart choice.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 26, 2020
According to Rapoport, Winston is taking a less lucrative offer from the Saints than he has with another team or teams, in order to learn from Sean Payton and Drew Brees.
As the #Saints and FA QB Jameis Winston close in on a 1-year deal, worth noting Winston turned down a more lucrative offer elsewhere to learn from some of the best. The former #Bucs starter put the emphasis on his future in a smart choice.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 26, 2020
The starting market for quarterbacks dried up quickly as free agent came and went last month, and it left Winston on the outside looking in. Recovering from knee surgery and a thumb injury, combined with the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic that shut down all professional sports and the inability to be checked out by a team’s group of medical doctors, certainly played into Winston dangling in free agency as long as he has. That and Winston’s turnover issues in 2019 left him without a seat in the NFL’s version of musical chairs.
Winston led the NFL is passing yards in 2019 (5,019) and was second in touchdowns (33) but threw 30 interceptions, the biggest factor in the Bucs moving on from Winston and signing free agent quarterback Tom Brady last month.