During a highly anticipated matchup against the division rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jamies Winston went down with a serious knee injury that will likely keep him out until the end of this year. This instantly started rumors that the Saints should sign free agent Cam Newton.
According to PFT’s Mike Florio, the Saints are not interested in signing the former Panthers and Patriots quarterback.
This is a bad sign for Newton’s prospects to join a team because Sean Payton and staff had to deal with Newton for multiple years being in the same division.
Now that Winston is potentially done, the Saints will have to decide whether to start Taysom Hill, who is set to be cleared after suffering a brutal concussion in Week 5, or whether they stick with the man that won them the game Sunday, Trevor Siemian. After the game, Payton said he cried when he saw Winston come in the locker room.
"I cried when I saw him coming in," acknowledged Payton, who said he was waiting to speak with doctors before giving a more detailed diagnosis. "It's hard."
Siemian, who said he is ‘gutted’ about what happened to Winston, dedicated the win over the Bucs to the fallen QB.
"First I want to say how gutted I am for Jameis. This win was for him," said Siemian, who completed 16 of 29 passes for 159 yards and a touchdown. "I just feel for the guy, I love him so much. Just being around him, you can't help it, he's got this infectious personality. And you're just frickin' gutted when you see anybody hurt. But watching him get hurt was tough."
The Saints now sit at 5-2 after Sunday's win and are second in the NFC South. They have a tough decision to make on who will be the starter moving forward. Whether that be Siemian or Hill, the decision could ultimately be the deciding factor in whether the Saints can make it to the playoffs.
As for Newton, it has been eight weeks into the new season and no one has picked him up. The Seahawks were the only real team that has been interested in signing the 32-year-old quarterback. Unless another starter goes down with an injury, Newton will likely not hear a call for the remainder of the season.
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy Sports
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram