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After missing out on acquiring Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans, the New Orleans Saints are now turning to Plan B for their starting quarterback next season.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Saints are slated to be “back in play” for free agent quarterback Jameis Winston.
The Saints made an audacious push to haul in Watson from the Texans. They conducted a pair of meetings with Watson, which included team owner Gayle Benson.
The Saints also freed up a bit of cap space after they restructured the contracts of Taysom Hill, Bradley Roby, Demario Davis and Malcolm Jenkins. The Saints needed to have $35 million open in order to possibly absorb Watson’s hefty $35 million guaranteed salary for the 2022 campaign, and they were at $29.9 million in cap space following the flurry of in-house moves.
Still, Watson has elected to join the Cleveland Browns, and the Saints are now eyeing a reunion with Winston.
Overall, Winston did note to CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson on Wednesday that he received an offer from the Saints earlier in the offseason and that the Indianapolis Colts reached out to him. More so, he still aspires to be a starter in the NFL.
Winston re-signed with the Saints last year on a one-year deal. He was named as their starter at the quarterback position after Drew Brees' retirement. He led the team to a 5-2 start to the season, but his campaign was cut short after he suffered a season-ending ACL injury in the Week 8 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Winston is still in the midst of his injury recovery process. He resumed running activities in late February, although it is not known on the exact date for when he will be cleared to return to the field, whether it will be with New Orleans or another team.
