New Orleans Saints quarterback Jameis Winston has been placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, rendering him unavailable to back up Drew Brees when the Saints face the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 15.
The team announced the news via Twitter late Sunday morning.
Saints QB Jameis Winston has been placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. pic.twitter.com/qXXJcDuTeS
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) December 20, 2020
Brees missed the past four games with multiple broken ribs and a collapsed lung, but Saints head coach Sean Payton opted to start “Swiss Army Knife” Taysom Hill under center, rather than Winston. However, reports from earlier this week indicated that the plan was for Winston to back-up Brees in the Chiefs matchup, as Hill would return to his multi-positional, hybrid role.
Hill won three of his four starts at QB.
The Saints apparently prefer to either commit to Hill as the starter and fully game-plan for that, rather than subbing him in during the middle of a game. Without Winston, though, it seems as though Payton will have to go that route if Brees is re-injured.
Either way, Hill should feature heavily into the team's game-plan against KC.
Since signing a one-year, $1 million contract with New Orleans last offseason, Winston has played sparingly, though he has impressed the team with his work ethic and practice performance. On the season, the former Heisman winner has completed seven of 11 passes for 75 yards.
The team will also be without wide receiver Michael Thomas, who was placed on injured reserve earlier this week. The Saints hope the star wideout can return for the postseason.
New Orleans will host the defending Super Bowl champions at the Superdome on Sunday Night Football. Entering the day, New Orleans (10-3) trails the Green Bay Packers (11-3) for the top seed in the NFC playoff picture.
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