The route couldn’t exactly be described as a direct one, but Jameis Winston will be the Saints’ starting quarterback in the 2022 season.
And the 28-year-old quarterback is just fine with that, because the circuitous process opened doors and conversations that allowed him to truly understand how the Saints view him in terms of its quarterback future.
There were “tough” conversations, he said this week, speaking to the media for the first time since signing a 3-year deal to return as the unquestioned starter. He didn’t allow himself to get too caught up in the hooplah surrounding a pursuit of Deshaun Watson, however. He was focused on "the things he could control." That was, first and foremost, rehabbing his knee and keeping his mind solely on returning to the game he loves and suddenly found himself away from for the first time in his professional career.
“Bottom line, this is a business,” Winston said. "I’m happy it turned out the way it turned out.”
And Winston found himself on the business end of free agency, weighing his options on the open market. He had interest from other clubs, but knew he wanted to stay in New Orleans if he could. There was no resentment toward the organization in their pursuit of Watson, he said. All the while he was having meaningful conversations as he directed his focus to returning to the field.
“I just love this team, man. I love this city,” he said. "This was my desired location.”
Watson ultimately chose the Cleveland Browns, and the Saints made Winston’s hope a reality. While the quarterback didn’t share the specifics of those conversations, it’s clear he got the answers he was looking for when it came to two key questions:
- What do you believe that I can accomplish with this team?
- Are you willing to grow with me and allow this team to be built around me as a quarterback?
"We know two of the most important pieces to this whole chess-football team is the head coach and the quarterback,” Winston said. "So I wanted that commitment and I wanted to know that teams could value me at least a quarter of what I value myself.”
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What comes next is building on the foundation he began laying in the prior two seasons. Winston felt the team was just about to get on a roll prior to the injury in Week 9. The team finished that game at 5-2 and in first place in the NFC South. Next came five consecutive losses that ultimately doomed the Saints’ playoff hopes despite wins in four of their final five games and a 9-8 record.
Winston’s immediate thoughts were of frustration, with the injury keeping him away from where he wants to be most: Leading his team to the playoffs.
For Winston to get that done this year, it'll have to be done despite the absence of the two chief reasons he landed in New Orleans in the first place: Drew Brees and Sean Payton.
Brees retired after the 2020 season opening the door for a quarterback competition that Winston won prior to last season. Payton retired this past offseason, with Dennis Allen ascending from defensive coordinator to head coach. Still, Winston valued continuity. He has that in offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael and QB coach Ronald Curry.
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That’s where he’ll start getting his team back on the roll he can only wonder about from the second half of the 2021 season.
"I’ve got faith in DA,” Winston said. "I know how he works, I know that every single week that defense is going to be prepared. So I’m excited to be his quarterback and help him with the overall picture.”
Where he’ll have to create a new brand of continuity is with star WR Michael Thomas, who missed the entirety of the 2021 season due to setbacks from surgery to repair an ankle injury suffered in Week 1 of the 2020 season. The team fully expected and hoped to get him back throughout the season, that never happened — another instance of a what-if that will never be answered.
But despite the QB and WR still having yet to connect on a pass in the game, Winston is confident his return will come, and MT will be a game-changer when it does.
The pair spoke briefly this offseason as each is working back into playing shape. Winston said he’s ahead of schedule in his rehab and expects to be back well in advance of training camp. Thomas’ status in his rehab isn’t quite as clear, though Winston, Allen and GM Mickey Loomis have all expressed confidence he’ll be back on the field when it’s time.
"I know he’s ready and locked and loaded, and I’m ready and locked and loaded,” Winston said. "So I’m ready to really make some shake there. And I can continue to talk and talk that up. I’m just ready for it to happen.”
Until it does, Winston will continue attacking his rehab. His work has been well-documented on social media in the build-up to his new contract. While he remains limited, he has been able to focus on the short to intermediate passing game where he sees the greatest room for growth.
And he’s looking forward to having the full reins unlike last season, when he didn’t learn he’d won the QB battle until days prior to the opener against the Packers and while the team was knee-deep in its relocation to Dallas in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida.
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Winston described the 2021 offense’s approach as similar to that of the Canadian Football league, with a premium placed on early down efficiency and staying ahead of the chains. It was a significant shift for Winston, who had played much of his career in vertical passing offenses that prioritized chunk plays and aggressive concepts. He knows that utilizing Alvin Kamara in the passing game is something he didn’t do enough of at times, pointing to the win over the Seahawks and Kamara’s impact with more than 100 receiving yards and a touchdown as an example of when it worked well.
But he made it clear, it’s an expansion of his game — not a matter of whether he can do it. He knows he can. He’s ever-confident, and that won’t be changing anytime soon.
“I can do everything on the field. I can do everything your favorite quarterback can do. Hopefully I’m your favorite quarterback, but I can. My talent speaks for that."