QB Jameis Winston inks $12 million deal to stay with Saints

The free agency period in 2021 for quarterback Jameis Winston is over as he signed a $12 million contract to stay with the New Orleans Saints.

The New Orleans Saints have had monumental pieces fall into place in the past few days in the quarterback department.

Future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees announced his retirement after 20 seasons and thanked his family, teammates and fans for all their support during his journey in New Orleans.

Then the Saints offered fellow quarterback Taysom Hill a voidable 4-year, $140 million contract extension that essentially was created to make cap room for this season.

And soon afterward, about a day later, New Orleans followed through on its intention to retain the services of quarterback Jameis Winston, as his free agency eligibility began with the start of the new league year.

Winston arrived with the team in the 2020 offseason after throwing for over 5,000 yards, 33 touchdowns and 30 interceptions for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2019, ending his five seasons of inconsistency in Florida.

He received a minimal one-year contract to learn from Brees and be a part of the NFC South rival New Orleans Saints for 2020.

His highlight of the season came against the Buccaneers in the NFC Divisional Playoff, when he came off the bench and threw a long touchdown pass on a trick play.

But besides that, he played sparingly after Brees suffered a rib injury, and his teammate Taysom Hill got to start in four contests and went (3-1).

With Winston and Hill under contract for 2021, New Orleans may feel better with their current quarterbacks under center than any free agents on the market or rookies in the upcoming NFL Draft in April.

With Winston, the Saints have a veteran who liked to take chances downfield with the Buccaneers and it ended up costing his team more than it helped.

It also may have damaged the quarterback’s confidence to see a 43-year-old quarterback in Tom Brady protect the football and win his seventh Super Bowl ring with Winston’s former team.

With Hill, New Orleans has a small sample size with him as the starter for about a quarter of a season, where he had to rely on his arm to make plays instead of his legs.

Hill made his payday on being a gadget player or Swiss-army knife, but now he has his chance to either become a full-time starter, or a relief pitcher for the younger Winston.

It should be a fun competition to see who will be able to fill the shoes of the legend of Drew Brees.