Matthew Stafford trade shows why Saints must retain Jameis Winston

8 of 9

(Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /

Taking Advantage of Winston’s Reputation

By now, I have hopefully shown that Winston is an above-average quarterback.

Yet, he was available for $1 million this past offseason and didn’t even start over Taysom Hill. Meanwhile, a player his numbers are very similar to, Matthew Stafford, was a commodity that several teams wanted, despite being much older.

There is a lot to suggest that Winston can be the Saints’ quarterback of the future, especially since he is only 27-years-old. Generally, a quarterback with his age and production should cost $20 million.

However, with how the NFL tends to overemphasize turnovers, he is likely to be available for a far cheaper price.

Given its salary cap situation, New Orleans needs to be getting as much surplus value from its investments as possible.

That is exactly what they would be getting from Winston. The #1 market inefficiency is targeting players with a worse reputation than they deserve, and with Winston, the Saints can demonstrate some extensive savviness.