The Saints have signed Jameis Winston to two contracts, and a recent report indicated a third agreement is on the table. New Orleans bringing back its Week 1 starter from last season is indeed a live scenario, per GM Mickey Loomis.
It is not a lock the Saints re-sign Winston, but Loomis plans to add one available veteran. With Winston having been in the Saints’ system for the past two seasons, he looms as a logical choice.
“Hopefully we can get something done with one of the guys that’s available,” Loomis said, “and Jameis is certainly an option for us and hopefully we’re an option for him as well.”
New Orleans is believed to have either begun contract talks with Winston or put that item on its itinerary. Reaching another agreement with Winston would help the Saints on the cap front, with the team beginning a second straight offseason $75M-plus over the salary ceiling. The Saints have worked their way down to $42M over the cap, but even considering the team’s cap-maneuvering savvy, its situation hinders an ability to pursue a higher-profile veteran. Winston signed a one-year, $5.5M deal with the Saints in 2021 and, after his ACL tear, could not fully re-establish his value last season.
Taysom Hill still resides on the team, and his latest complex contract calls for bigger money if he becomes New Orleans’ primary quarterback. The Saints could have options in the draft, holding the No. 18 pick in a draft that does not feature an especially coveted QB crop. Loomis still voiced questions about that avenue.
“When you’re picking in the latter half of the draft, you just don’t know what’s going to fall to you, No. 1, so it’s hard to target someone,” Loomis said. “Even if you decide you want to make a move forward, you’re limited in that — moving from where we’re at, at No. 18, into the top eight or 10 picks is really difficult. It’s expensive in terms of the draft capital that you have to give up. It can happen; it’s not impossible. But it’s pretty difficult to predict.”
The Saints were able to complete a trade-up for Marcus Davenport four years ago, but it cost them their 2019 first-round pick. New Orleans tried to move up for either Jaycee Horn or Pat Surtain last year but could not engineer a trade. Despite the collective doubt about the Kenny Pickett– and Malik Willis-fronted QB class, both could well be off the board by No. 18. Mel Kiper Jr.’s most recent mock does have Willis falling to No. 20 (Pittsburgh), with the longtime ESPN draft guru projecting the Saints trade up for a wide receiver.
Winston, 28, started seven games for the Saints last season and, despite being saddled with a bottom-tier receiving corps, threw 14 touchdown passes compared to three interceptions — a steep TD-INT ratio climb from his previous year as a starter. Albeit in a small sample size, Winston also posted a career-best passer rating. If the QB trade market dries up, the Saints could have more competition for Winston than they did last year.
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