Quarterback Jameis Winston has had quite the year that led him to the New Orleans Saints.
With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2019, Winston led the NFL in passing yards (5,109) and was second in passing touchdowns (33). However, he was also the league-leader in interceptions, with 30.
It's clear that Winston is a talented quarterback, but there is also risks to his potential rewards. Due to that, there were teams wary of signing him for the big contract he was supposedly looking for. Ultimately, Winston signed a cheaper deal to play with the New Orleans Saints for one season and serve as the backup to Drew Brees.
Is he destined to be a backup for the remainder of his career? Or is this just a one-year deal during which he is hoping to position himself as the new Saints quarterback once Brees retires?
Winston made revealing comments about his future to Tyler Dunne of Bleacher Report. Said Winston,
“I know what I'm worth. And I know day in and day out, without publicly coming in and saying it, that historically I'm one of the best quarterbacks to play the game …
“It's a love of the game, bro. It's bigger than me … Do I feel like I've earned my stripes? I do. Do I feel like I'm better than a lot of starting quarterbacks in this league? I do. But God has a plan that I haven't even thought of yet. I have to respect this game first. Respect is earned.”
Winston knows that he has work to do to get back in any team's starting lineup, and he's ready to do it. He also is very familiar with doing the necessary work, citing his entire football history as an example. He continued:
“[I]f a team believes I'm not good enough to be their starting quarterback, OK, let me earn my way back up. I've done it my whole life. It's not like it's just starting to happen …
“My entire life, I've been a winner. Little League football. Middle school. High school. College. Obviously, the NFL is a little more difficult. But I've been a winner. I don't want to be viewed as a loser. It's going to come. It's going to happen. This is something I've been fighting for my entire life. Building up to this.”
Giving up is not an option for Winston. He knows that he may have not have had some of the most impressive seasons for an NFL quarterback in recent years, but he's willing to put that behind him and do whatever it takes to reclaim his spot, whether that is with the Saints or elsewhere. Said Winston,
“If people think I'm just going to lay down and give up because of a few losing seasons, that's never going to be the case … It's not over for me.
“I'm 26 … There's people talking about me like I'm an old, washed-up quarterback. Like I'm 40 years old! I've got so much life. I've got so much energy, man … This is not over for me.”
No, Winston agreeing to be Brees' backup for the Saints is not him resigning to the fact that his starting days are over. It's far from that. The 26-year-old clearly knows he still has a long career ahead of him, and this is just another step in the journey.
Winston believes in his abilities and his love for the game.
Maybe this year is exactly what he needs. He has healed up during the offseason and corrected his eyesight. Now he gets a chance to learn under one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time for at least one season.
Could 2021 be the year that Winston takes the next step and truly becomes one of the greatest quarterbacks in the game? He seems to believe that is what's in the cards.
Now we just have to wait and see. Winston has shown he has all the talent in the world, so it might not be smart to bet against him.
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