The New Orleans Saints are officially beginning a new era in 2021 now that Drew Brees has retired.
Such a changing of the guard has the potential to derail a team’s season, but the Saints had options.
The battle was down to Jameis Winston versus Taysom Hill, and it appears head coach Sean Payton has made his decision.
Jameis Winston has been named the Saints' starting quarterback and will make his first start for New Orleans on opening day vs. Green Bay Packers, per sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 27, 2021
The Saints are rolling with the former No. 1 overall pick.
Monday Ended The Conversation
Winston put on a show Monday night, even though it was only a preseason game.
He came out firing and threw two beautiful touchdowns to Marquez Callaway to prove he still has a big arm, but now has pinpoint accuracy to go along with it.
JAMEIS WITH A DOT TO MARQUEZ CALLAWAY 🎯
(via @Saints) pic.twitter.com/BeYIaxvuFk
— ESPN (@espn) August 24, 2021
Not many NFL quarterbacks can make such throws and keeping him on the bench would not have made much sense.
The great thing for the Saints is that Winston is not even the only option.
The dynamic Hill remains his backup and should still see time on the field at a variety of positions.
He will likely still line up under center at times to trick the defense as to what is coming.
Yet this situation may be best for the Saints as a whole.
Winston has the big arm and Hill is a capable passer as well.
With Winston on the field, there is the threat of the big play at any moment.
When Hill steps on, defenses have zero clue what is coming.
Utilizing the backup 8-10 times per game keeps the Saints offense unpredictable as it was when Hill was getting time when Brees was still around.
A Major Opportunity
Winston never got that major contract extension with Tampa Bay and is on another one-year deal with the Saints.
Playing great this year and leading the team to the postseason could mean he finally gets his $100 million payday.
Winston is still only 27 years old and landing on a stable team like the Saints could lead to the career he was always destined to have.
Beating out Hill in the competition was the first step.
Next up comes limiting the turnovers that have defined him so far in his career.
Winston has gone over 4,000 yards passing three times in his career and eclipsed the 5,000-yard mark in 2019.
However, he did throw 30 interceptions in that 2019 campaign.
Payton should let it rip with Winston and the Saints are suddenly in great hands at a time when a huge transition could have been taking place.
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