After a few weeks of craziness amid the Deshaun Watson sweepstakes, the Saints appear on the verge of bringing back a familiar name at quarterback in Jameis Winston.
The 28-year-old and the Saints have agreed to a new 2-year deal worth $28 million, a league source confirmed to WWL, with $21 million guaranteed. The news was first reported by ESPN.
It would be a satisfying conclusion to a confusing offseason that saw the Saints fully dive in on a potential blockbuster trade for the former Texans star. It appeared the team was neck-and-neck with the Falcons to land Watson, who ultimately opted for the Browns in a stunning twist. The Saints, having cleared ample cap space to potentially make a trade work, ended up using that space to sign Winston, who led the team to a 5-2 record as a starter before his season ended with a knee injury in Week 9.
Winston would return to a Saints team that features a new head coach in Dennis Allen and new WRs coach in Kodi Burns, but otherwise the coaching staff remains largely constant to the system he's worked in the past two seasons. He's been progressing well in rehab, and that will be the biggest thing to watch over the next several months as offseason workouts commence.
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One major feather in Winston's cap was his ability to show he could nip the turnover-prone tag that had dogged him over the first 5 years of his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after being selected No. 1 overall in the 2016 draft. Through seven games of the 2021 season, Winston completed 59% of his passes for 1,170 yards and 14 touchdowns against just 3 interceptions.
Questions remaining for the Saints include what happens along the offensive line, with Terron Armstead now a free agent and reportedly meeting with the Miami Dolphins. The Saints will also likely make changes at WR in some form, but the desperation at the position will be tempered by the likely return of Michael Thomas, who has missed a large portion of the last two seasons -- including all of 2021 -- with an ankle injury, surgeries and setbacks.
The Saints' two biggest signings as of Monday afternoon were former Jets safety Marcus Maye, a key piece to replace the departed Marcus Williams, and pass-rusher Kentavius Street, formerly of the 49ers.
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