CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Flacco fever has broken.
The Cleveland Browns came to terms on a contract with veteran quarterback Jameis Winston Tuesday morning a league source confirmed to 92.3 The Fan meaning Joe Flacco will not return.
Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report first reported the agreement which is for one year and worth up to $8.7 million.
Winston, a former No. 1 overall pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2015, has spent the past four seasons in New Orleans, primarily as a backup quarterback for the Saints where he appeared in 21 games with 10 starts.
For his career Winston has started 80 of the 93 games he has appeared in completing 61.2% of his passes for 22,104 yards with 141 touchdowns and 99 interceptions.
Winston's career never developed the way it'd been initially hoped after he sat behind Drew Brees for a season, then took the reins as starter in 2021. Winston led the team to a 5-2 start prior to a season-ending knee injury. The Saints lost five straight games and ultimately finished 9-8, with Sean Payton leaving the following season.
Winston returned as the starter the following season with Dennis Allen taking over as the head coach before injuries forced him out after three games. The Saints opted to go with Andy Dalton the rest of the way and finished 7-10. Still, Winston opted to return as the backup to newly signed quarterback Derek Carr, and saw significant action in three games due to injury. The Saints lost all three games, though Winston did engineer a near comeback from three scores down against the Vikings after he took over.
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But the most memorable moment for the No. 1 overall pick came on his final play, when he openly defied his coaching staff's edict to kneel down and handed the ball off to Jamaal Williams out of the victory formation for a touchdown. The coaching staff, front office and roster downplayed any significant issues or concerns from that decision, but it did seem to signal that the partnership between the Saints and Winston would come to an end after four seasons.
The Saints will now enter free agency with some question as to who they will turn to as the backup QB behind Carr. The team picked former Fresno State QB Jake Haener in last year's draft, and he could certainly be the top option. They could also look to add a veteran, or go for a quarterback in the draft.
NFL free agency officially opens on Wednesday. The Saints have been largely quiet in the early going, prioritizing extensions for veteran leaders Demario Davis and Tyrann Mathieu.
WWL Radio's Jeff Nowak contributed to this report