Jameis Winston: I’m a championship starting QB, but I stayed because I love New Orleans

New Orleans Saints v Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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Jameis Winston agreed to stay with the Saints this year, even knowing he will back up Derek Carr, rather than trying to find a team that will let him compete for a starting job. And he says he’s at peace with that decision.

Winston still views himself as a starter who can lead a team to a Super Bowl, but he says he loves New Orleans and wants to stay there, even as a backup quarterback.

“First, I love this city,” Winston wrote on social media. “In all of my professional career, I’ve never felt so culturally in tune with a fan base. The Saints fans that I’ve met have been incredible. Y’all have made me and my family feel at home. That is why last season was so disappointing to me. I want to see this team and city succeed. I know great things are ahead for this team, and this city! I was led here by the spirit that’s why I would never run away from this new challenge. The things that led me here are still here. A stable organization, a championship caliber team, and a great fan base. This year’s team like last year’s team is built to win a Super Bowl. Let there be no doubt, I am still a championship caliber starting quarterback in this league. However, getting healthy and staying healthy is my number one priority and I have suffered three devastating injuries over the last two years. I need to stay healthy to assist this team in getting to where we want to go. Most importantly, I need to stay healthy to get me where I want to go in my career! With that being said, I will serve and lead however I need to see this organization and city win! I am proud to say for one more year, at least Who Dat!”

The first overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft, Winston has never lived up to the hype around him in college, either in five years in Tampa Bay or over the last three years in New Orleans. Last year he started the first three games of the season but was replaced by Andy Dalton and never got back on the field. He views himself as a championship-quality starter, but his current role is backup, and at age 29, that may be the role he needs to settle into for the remainder of his career.

117 responses to “Jameis Winston: I’m a championship starting QB, but I stayed because I love New Orleans

  1. I’m sure Geno inspired some to not give up on their dreams. Foles and Warner are a few others from the past.

    If Winston believes that, good for him… as long as it doesn’t interfere with the team goal. Having said that, declaring you are a Super Bowl caliber starting QB and being one are two different things.

  2. Haha, reminds me of the old Shaquille O’Neal quote: “I’ve won at every level except for college and the NBA”. Shaq eventually delivered, I’m thinking the odds are not so good for Winston.

  3. Keyword: “but”

    Still hard to believe he filed to copyright the name Famous Jameis. Like anyone else would.

  4. Championship calibre delusional if he thinks he’s a championship caliber QB.

    He’s staying in NO because no one else wants him.

  5. Let there be no doubt, I am still a championship caliber starting quarterback in this league.

    ==============

    Yea, no.

  6. In what world is Winston a ‘championship’ QB? He is worse than mediocre, at least Brissett and Bridgewater are consistently mediocre. Winston shows some flashes then he plays terribly for several games in a row.

  7. No “championship” qb signs for 8 million. The Saints knows he is just a decent back-up, so do the other 31 teams…Winston knows it too.

  8. The BCS is a championship so he’s not wrong. I’m guessing teams weren’t breaking down his door but if he’s good with his decision then good for him.

  9. He’s got a positive attitude,but I don’t see him as a championship winning QB

  10. I was going to say he’s never even played a playoff game — how’s he think of himself as a Championship QB? But he did throw one pass in the postseason. In any case, his opinion of himself is not grounded in reality. “Let there be no doubt!” What a clown.

  11. Neither Winston nor Carr are even close to being championship QBs, the Saints are going to suck for the next 3-4 seasons.

  12. I will never forget him calling a huddle to tell his teamamtes to “Eat a W”
    Go look up that clip if you have never seen it.
    His teammates think hes phony and weird.
    He isn’t a good leader.
    He isn’t a good QB.
    He will still make more next year than I will make in the next 10 years…so he doesn’t really deserve any pity.

  13. No one is ever signing Jameis as their starter again. He can be a decent backup but that’s it. Super Bowl? Nah.

  14. HAAAA HAAA HAAAA.

    Ok. This is the same guy who threw 30 INT in a season right?

  15. I’m mean, it wasn’t like he was going to get a starting role anywhere else (or even a backup contract), might as well wait around for Carr to throw that 3rd pick 6 and replace him…..

  16. I took am a championship level quarterback but I’m staying at home because I love watching my local team on TV.

  17. I too am a championship level quarterback but I’m staying at home because I love watching my local team on TV.

  18. It’s fun to watch guys get nicer and more gracious when they want to keep a job in the league.

  19. “Let there be no doubt, I am still a championship caliber starting quarterback in this league.” That is a BOLD statement Sir! Still?

  20. Sorry, but if you have to say that you’re a “championship starting QB”, you’re not one. It’s more than ok to stay in a city you love and be a backup and get paid generously but his ego is forcing him to spew nonsense.

  21. Doesn’t surprise me at all, lol. Some things are more important than money and Jameis at home in the Big Easy makes perfect sense to me.

  22. Jameis Winston and I have a lot in common, except I don’t like New Orleans very much.

  23. He’s a championship quality starter…..IF the QB1 gets them there, gets hurt in the NFC Championship Game or practice, and then Winston HAS to start by default.

  24. He looked promising under Sean Payton, but then got hurt seven games after being handed the keys to a Porsche. Dennis Allen is more like a used Chevy – he will never thrive under Allen

  25. You need to actually lead an NFL team to a championship to call yourself championship-calibre

  26. Jameis, people may remember you for that 30 INT. Season with the Bucs. What I remember is that you single-handedly lost that team 4 games tht season. You had multiple 4 interception games and on the first pass in an overtime game, you tossed a pick 6. Even a team forecasted for the playoffs wouldn’t want you as a backup.

  27. Stay confident, Jameis. Everyone QB threw a lot of picks in Arians’ system. Brady was well on his way to 30 picks too, until he changed it to 5-yard chuck and ducks.

  28. Translation: No other team seems to want me so if I want to continue to receive an NFL paycheck I am forced to stay in New Orleans.

  29. You are a pro bust and you signed with NO because they were the only one to offer you foolish money. You think you are too good to work for league minimum. At that level you are still overpaid.

  30. not sure if i would even want him as a backup… gotta be cheaper versions of bad QBs out there

  31. Someone get him into concussion protocol, stat. Delusional comments are a sure sign of a head injury.

  32. I’m also a championship starting QB
    I’ve said it and now it is on the internet so must be true
    I’ll be signing autographs at Subway this weekend. Please stop by

  33. I applaud someone who can believe in their mind what the lips say. Obviously to him, any failures were someone elses fault.

  34. He is a championship talent, that is undeniable. His issues were picks but since his eye surgery that has gone down. Getting injured last two years however is very unfortunate

  35. Say what you want, but there are a lot of current starters who haven’t delivered a SB win, so talk is just talk. Where is Mr. Window is always open?

  36. This dude is just not bright. I was pulling for him to be great when he was here and he was in spurts. However, his decision making on the field and in Uber wasn’t great.

  37. I appreciate where he’s coming from and respect the work he seems to be putting in. Can’t say that’s always been the case but we all know he has the measurable assets to play in the NFL. Just gotta stay with it.. as a Seahawks fan, I’ve seen it. But winning in this league is hard and sustained successes are even harder to come by. Just hoping Geno isn’t a one year fluke. Cheers to Mr Winston for humbling himself and taking on a lesser role.

  38. I have NO DOUBT that Jameis is a championship QB. If given the best talent around him in the league, if INT’s count as points for his team, there is no doubt in my mind Jameis might win a championship…in the XFL.

  39. A “championship caliber starting quarterback”?????? ROFL!!!!!!! Jameis, you can’t even win the starting job on your own team, much less win a championship. Get real, bucko.

  40. Other than the UDFA, I am not sure if there are any QBs who work for the league minimum.

    Carroll Prescott says:
    March 16, 2023 at 9:31 am
    You are a pro bust and you signed with NO because they were the only one to offer you foolish money. You think you are too good to work for league minimum. At that level you are still overpaid.

  41. likely chain of events says differently:

    Saints sign Derek Carr
    Reports: ‘Saints to release Jameis Winston’
    weekend before free agency Saints tell Winston: Take a pay cut an stay
    Winston wait until late Monday of team talking with player..
    LIKELY NO team showed interest so he had no choice if wants to stay in the NFL but to take pay cut to be a career backup!

  42. “I love the high crime Murder Capital of the USA, and the fans I’ve talked to just love all the interceptions and injuries I’ve brought them!”

  43. “Let there be no doubt, I am still a championship caliber starting quarterback in this league.”

    Err… don’t you have to be in a championship game to be qualified for that? Let there be plenty of doubts.

  44. Exactly what championship & where is he referring to? He’s never been above average in ANY QB category except interceptions & injuries!

  45. New Orleans does have great seafood, just saying. All the championship quality crab legs he can eat.

  46. He stayed because nobody wanted him to start because he is unreliable as a starter and his options were limited as a backup. His teams are 34-36 with him as a starter and in 86 games he has 96 interceptions and 55 fumbles. That is horrible. If stats were championships, he would be champion of most interceptions in a single season with 30.

  47. He forgot to mention that it’s not a bad life to make millions of dollars a year standing on the sideline out of the line of fire. Almost better to be a back-up and live a long, healthy, pain-free retirement.

  48. I watched this guy at Florida State and thought he closely resembled John Elway physically. He could do everything Elway could do physicality. But mentally was a different picture. Jameis would throw to his receivers regardless of if they were wide open, or were double or triple teamed. It was a head scratcher. I thought he was an intelligent person, but wasn’t a smart football player. The funny thing is I saw what everyone else saw. Scouts should use their eyes more than their ears. Go back and watch him at FSU, and knowing what you know now, you’ll be scratching your head, too.

  49. “I am still a championship caliber starting quarterback in this league.”
    .
    no, youre not, you lost your job to a backup quarterback who has sniffed the playoffs maybe 3x in his career.

  50. I get it’s off-season and all, but it’s a little early in the day to be drinking.
    I do think that Winston has more talent than any other backup out there, and probably a stronger arm than most starters. He’s actually been pretty successful at the NFL level when you take into account that he can’t read a defense, and still holds the ball too long. With the cap continually going it it won’t be surprising to see qbs earn 100 mil in career earnings down the road…so I won’t feel too bad for Jameis.

  51. At times Winston looks really good, and at time he looks really bad. He may well begin the season as Carr’s backup, but with Carr being up and down like Winston, there is no guarantee that Winston will end the season behind Carr on the depth chart. In a practical sense, despite anything the head coach says for the media now, the QB slot is up for grabs.

  52. “I am still a championship caliber starting quarterback”. Must be thinking of his Pop Warner days.

  53. He became a free agent after throwing for 5,000 yards and 33 TDs and NOBODY wanted him. The only offer he got was $1.1 million for backing up Drew Brees. Teddy Bridgewater got $60 mil ffs.

    I think that tells you all you need to know about how Jameis is seen by the NFL.

  54. Time to go eat a B for busted backbencher. You lost your job to Derek care who lost his job to Jarrett stidham. Sad

  55. He seems to get it! Great to see Winston showing he is a team player. May be the best QB/Backup situation in the NFL.

  56. I don’t get the hate on Winston in this discussion board. The man was the #1 overall pick in the NFL. He won the National Championship in one year and came close in the BCS playoffs the next year then delacred early for the draft. He won the Heisman trophy. Bruce Arians’ offense produces INT’s. Brady threw more in his 3 yrs there than almost 10 yrs of picks in NE. Winston was GREAT in New Orleans before the injury with Sean Payton’s offense. His judgement on taking risks on some passes when the team was down was poor at times but most of the INT’s in Tampa were the WR’s fault in those scenarios. Plus people on here hating on Winston who NEVER could even make their HS football team let alone accomplish what Jameis has in HS, BCS/College, and NFL.

    He is a winner and is STILL a championship caliber QB. Put him with Andy Reid, Kyle Shanahan, Sean Payton again, Sean Mcvay, Eric Bieniemy, or Brian Daboll and he could easily be in the Super Bowl.

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