The New Orleans Saints formally announced that the surging NFC South franchise has indeed signed former Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston to a one-year free-agent contract. Although a starter under center for the first five seasons of his NFL career, Winston will now serve as the primary backup to longtime Saints quarterback Drew Brees.

“Being a part of the New Orleans Saints, being a part with Drew Brees, Taysom Hill, Sean Payton, coach Joe Lombardi, coach Pete Carmichael. When you think about that room, that’s like a Harvard education in quarterback school,” Winston said on Instagram Live on Tuesday. “I wanted to put my ego aside, put the money [aside], think about my family, think about my career. [There] was no better position than to be in the same room with someone that I’ve really looked up to, someone that I’ve admired since I’ve been playing this game in Drew Brees.”

With former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady making his way to Tampa Bay this offseason, Winston had little to no shot at returning to the Buccaneers upon hitting the open market for the first time this offseason. Previously spending his entire professional playing career as a member of the Buccaneers, the former No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick from 2015 will now help the Saints fill a void left by another signal-caller in Teddy Bridgewater, who signed with the Carolina Panthers earlier this offseason.

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JC Latham (Alabama), Chris Braswell (Alabama not Jaguars), Cornelieus Johnson (Michigan) in action behind a New Orleans Saints logo with a 2024 NFL Draft background.

Dylan Bruton ·

As the NFC South quarterback carousel really spun rapidly throughout this offseason, Winston will now take a backseat to the aforementioned Brees before more than likely gearing up to hit the free-agent market once again next year.