The Saints entered the Deshaun Watson sweepstakes. After Watson chose the Browns, the Saints turned back to Jameis Winston.
New coach Dennis Allen said the Saints “feel good about where we are there.”
“The No. 1 thing was 14 to three, so 14 touchdowns to three interceptions,” Allen said of Winston’s numbers last season. “I think that was the biggest thing that showed me he can be our quarterback. I thought he did a great job of protecting the ball, and we were 5-2 with him as the starting quarterback. So I felt like he was a guy who gave us an opportunity to win. Yeah, so we felt good about that.”
Winston’s decision-making is what led the Bucs to seek out an upgrade at the position after the 2019 season when Winston threw for 5,109 yards and 33 touchdowns but also threw 30 interceptions. He did a much better job in 2021 when he got a second chance at being a starting NFL quarterback.
“I thought he did a really good job with his decision-making, and he protected the football,” Allen said. “He put our team in a position to win. I think in our league, like the No. 1 thing you have to do is figure out how not to lose games before you can really figure out how to win them. I thought he did a great job of understanding the type of team that we have and put our team in a position to go win.”
Winston is rehabilitating a torn left anterior cruciate ligament that ended his 2021 season prematurely. He is working with physical therapist Kevin Wilk in Alabama this offseason, and Winston told the team’s beat writers on Monday that he already “can do everything on the field.”
The Saints expect Winston to be ready for the start of the season.
“I hate to put timelines or anything like that, but I think he’s on course, and he’ll be ready when we need him to be ready,” Allen said.