The New Orleans Saints welcomed their new starting quarterback Derek Carr this offseason, however, on Monday night they retained a familiar face as the organization’s backup.
Jameis Winston and the Saints agreed to a one-year deal worth $4 million, which also includes incentives that could potentially increase his earning total up to $8 million, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
This decreases Winston’s initial pay, which stood at $12.8 million when he and the Saints agreed to a two-year deal back in March of 2022.
Winston was New Orleans’ go-to guy at quarterback for the last two seasons. However, those plans didn’t fare well as the 29-year-old battled back and foot injuries, which limited Winston to a career-low three starts last season.
The 2015 Pro Bowler threw for 858 yards with four touchdowns and five interceptions while completing 63.5% of his pass attempts. New Orleans followed Winston’s slow start by benching him, which signaled the organization’s disbelief in him being its primary signal-caller for the future.
Winston has completed 61% of his passes while throwing for 2,103 yards, 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions in a combined 10 starts in three seasons with the Saints.
When Winston was a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who selected him No. 1 overall in the 2015 NFL Draft, it was the last time that he played a full season. Since then, Winston’s health issues have resulted in 14 games played over the course of the last three seasons.
