After Derek Carr suddenly left them in the offseason, the New Orleans Saints are prepared to begin the 2025 NFL season with Spencer Rattler as their starting quarterback. Rattler is the best of a bad situation, but a few insiders wonder if the team should reunite with New York Giants quarterback Jameis Winston.
Winston, who signed with the Giants in free agency, was recently demoted to third-string after the team confirmed that rookie Jaxson Dart would back up Russell Wilson in Week 1. The situation is unfortunate and “unfair” to Winston, who should ask for a trade or request his release to rejoin the Saints, according to NFL insiders Josina Anderson and Clarence Hill.
“Let's be honest, Jameis should be the starting quarterback of New Orleans,” Hill said on ‘The Exhibit' podcast. “He embraced that city; that city loves him. They have no quarterback. He should be the starting quarterback of New Orleans.”
Should #Giants QB Jameis Winston ask for a trade?
Clarence: “Jameis Winston should be the starting QB in New Orleans.”
Pat: “…I don’t think the Giants honestly trust Jameis Winston as a player, bc they haven’t shown trust in him on the field…”
LINK: https://t.co/MiHbQlN7OB pic.twitter.com/pbznLsLM2W
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) September 4, 2025
Anderson and Hill were joined by Giants insider Pat Leonard, who agreed that Winston should find a new team. Leonard added that Winston never had a “fair” shot at competing with Dart due to his lack of opportunities throughout training camp and the preseason.
Winston began the 2024 season in a similar situation with the Cleveland Browns. He opened the year as the fourth-string quarterback and on their practice squad, but eventually got an opportunity due to a plethora of injuries and became one of the biggest stories of the year.
Giants, Saints' differing quarterback situations
The Giants are content riding with Russell Wilson for the 2025 season before turning the keys over to Dart in 2026. Some believe that Dart will eventually supplant Wilson at some point in the 2025 season. Regardless, the team's plans notably exclude Winston, who, at one point, seemed like he could be its Week 1 starter.
As New York deals with an embarrassment of riches, the Saints are in the exact opposite situation. New Orleans is beginning the year with arguably the worst quarterback situation in the league, and it does not have any definitive answers.
On paper, the Saints appear to be taking the same approach as the Giants. First-year head coach Kellen Moore named Rattler as his starter over rookie Tyler Shough, who seems to be the team's future. However, neither Rattler nor Shough comes even close to comparing to either Wilson or Dart.
Carr's retirement forced the Saints into what appears to be an obvious rebuild year. Despite drafting Shough in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft, they are already one of the favorites to take another quarterback in the first round in 2026.
