New Orleans Saints quarterback Jameis Winston. Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

Jameis Winston addresses status with Saints

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 2/26/23

The New Orleans Saints are one of the reported front-runners to land free-agent quarterback Derek Carr.

Their current quarterback, Jameis Winston, took a moment during the HBCU Legacy Bowl at Tulane’s Yulman Stadium to remind everyone that he hasn’t gone anywhere.

“Technically I’m not a free agent just yet. I have one more year under contract,” Winston said on the NFL Network broadcast, via WWLTV’s Brooke Kirchhofer. “My main thing right now is, I’ll stay healthy and be ready to play. That’s the only thing that’s on my mind. I’ve got to be ready to play, because when given the opportunity, I look forward to taking advantage of it.”

Caught up with Jameis Winston today to talk all things future, health and what it meant for him to serve as an honorary captain at the HBCU Legacy Bowl @wdsu pic.twitter.com/iKM8SDCnjx
— Kendall Duncan (@kendallduncanTV) February 26, 2023

New Orleans is $30M over the salary cap and Winston seems like a strong candidate to be released. Cutting him with a post-June 1 designation would save $12.8M.

Winston signed a two-year, $28M deal with the Saints prior to 2022. His season was cut short due to lingering injury issues, though he did start three games, passing for 858 yards, four touchdowns and five interceptions.

Andy Dalton, who’s a free agent, started the remaining games, leading New Orleans to a 6-8 record.

Winston has spent the last three years with New Orleans, throwing for 2,103 yards, 18 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He has a 6-4 record as the starter. The only other quarterback on New Orleans’ roster aside from Winston is Jake Luton.

Should Carr sign elsewhere, there’s a good chance Winston could return and compete for the starting job in 2023.

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