Skip to main content

New on SI: SI Insider: Recent Moves by The Saints Are an Attempt to Best Position Themselves After Drew Brees' Impending Exit

SI's Albert Breer shares what the recent deals mean for the Saints going forward

On Tuesday, the Saints and Jameis Winston made it official, with the quarterback signing a one-year deal worth $1.1 million with incentives that can take it to close to $5 Million. 

But this was not about the money. And it truly is a win win for both sides. For Winston, he has a chance to go and rehabilitate his image a little bit, work in the background with one of the best quarterback coaches in the sport. That's Sean Payton. And he has the chance to learn from one of the greatest quarterbacks ever to play the sport, Drew Brees. 

You want an example of how this worked for someone else? Take a look at what it did for Teddy Bridgewater, coming off a horrific injury in Minnesota - he winds up siding with the Jets, gets traded to the Saints, and spending two years in New Orleans really proved that he was healthy again. This off-season he signed with the Carolina Panthers. He is their unquestioned starting quarterback now and has a three-year $63 Million deal. 

For the Saints, this is about planning post-Drew Brees. They already have Taysom Hill on the roster, they signed him for 2021. They have Winston under contract for this year. They get a chance to develop and evaluate Winston in their system. They'll have the chance at the same time to see if Hill makes progress and then they'll be able to make a decision on the quarterback position after 2020 should Drew Brees retire. 

As much as anything else - this is about throwing one more dart at that quarterback dartboard. And if you want an example of how that worked out for someone else: look at how the Seattle Seahawks built for three years under Pete Carroll and John Schneider who kept taking shots at who might be their quarterback. Trading for Charlie Whitehurst, bringing in Tarvaris Jackson, signing Matt Flynn, and bringing Matt Hasselbeck back for a year. And in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft, they end up landing Russell Wilson. The rest is history. The Saints doing the same sort of thing here, throwing multiple darts at that dartboard.
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

New on SI: Report: Seahawks in Talks with Falcons Over Julio Jones Trade

Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson has reportedly held phone conversations with Jones over a potential move. The Seahawks are reportedly in discussions with the Falcons over a trade for seven-time Pro Bowl receiver Julio Jones, according to ESPN's Dianna Russini . Jones and Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson have also reportedly held phone conversations over the possibility of playing together.  Russini reported on Thursday  that Jones is set to be traded as early as this upcoming week and that the Falcons have already received an offer of a future first-round pick on the table. The Seahawks don't have a first-round pick in 2022 after sending it to the New York Jets in a trade for safety Jamal Adams last offseason. Jones, 32, will enter the season with the third-most catches of all active receivers behind Larry Fitzgerald and Antonio Brown. On Monday, the former first-round pick out of Alabama confirmed his exit from Atlanta on Fox Sports 1 after requesting a trade e...
Read more

New on SI: Irv Cross, Former NFL Pro Bowl Player and Broadcaster, Dies at 81

Cross was selected to two Pro Bowls as a player and was a commentator with CBS for 23 years. Former NFL cornerback and legendary commentator Irv Cross passed away at age 81, CBS Sports announced on Sunday. Cross was a commentator with CBS from 1971 to 1994.  "He was a true gentleman and trailblazer in the sports television industry and will be remembered for his accomplishments and the paths he paved for those who followed," Sean McManus, the chairman of CBS Sports, said in a statement. Cross was drafted by the Eagles in 1961 from Northwestern and appeared in Pro Bowls in both 1964 and 1965. He was traded to the Rams in 1966 but he would eventually return to the Eagles in 1969, retiring that same year.  He was with CBS for 24 years, 14 of them as an analyst on "The NFL Today," and was the first Black recipient of the Pete Rozelle Award. The award was given to a member of the media by the Pro Football Hall of Fame for "longtime exceptional contribution...
Read more