The Saints may have defeated the defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers 36-27, but the win came at a heavy cost.
Jameis Winston will require surgery to repair a torn ACL on his left knee, ending his 2021 season prematurely. There is also damage to his MCL.
Winston suffered the injury on a horse-collar tackle by Bucs linebacker Devin White early in the 2nd quarter, forcing Winston to land awkwardly. His left leg got pinned behind him when he hit the turf. Trainers and medical staff examined him on the field before helping him limp slowly to the Saints medical tent. He was later carted off to the locker room.
Winston finished the season completing 95 of 151 passes (59% completion rate) for 1,170 yards with 14 touchdowns and three interceptions. He was working to revive his career after spending his first five seasons with the Buccaneers and spending last year as Drew Brees’ backup.
“We definitely were encouraged [by Winston’s performance this season],” Payton said of Winston. “We felt like, man, we’ve seen the arm strength, the leadership, all those things. We talk about all the time, ‘They’re gonna evaluate you on your record.’ And, shoot, he was 4-2. It wasn’t always perfect, but absolutely [we were getting what we hoped.] Someone that had become a vital part to what we were doing.”
Now you may be wondering who the Saints’ starter will be moving forward. Taysom Hill is the most likely choice when healthy, since he was 3-1 as the replacement starter for Drew Brees last year and competed with Winston for the starting quarterback job during the offseason. While he has been sidelined with a concussion since Week 5, Payton says that he is progressing well with his recovery and is on schedule to come back for their Week 9 game against the Falcons.
However, when he was asked if Hill would be ready to play, he said, “We’ll see.”
“We’re gonna look closely at what’s best for our team in this game,” said Payton. “And as the week progresses, we’ll see how we want to play it out. And we’ll be ready to play Sunday. We’ll grind away the plan, pay attention to the information we’re getting from the training room, all of that, and be ready to go.”
Trevor Siemian is an obvious candidate to start for the Saints after his performance in the win. He entered when the game was tied at 7 and went on to complete 16 of 29 passes for 159 yards with one touchdown and no turnovers.
So far in his career, he is 13-12 as a starter, going 13-11 with the Broncos in 2016 and 2017 and 0-1 with the Jets in 2019 in his lone start when Sam Darnold dealt with mononucleosis before exiting with a broken ankle.
“Man, he did a good job,” Payton said of Siemian. “There were a number of plays where he’s got a free rusher and he gets the ball out on time. I thought he played with poise and made good decisions. It’s what you want someone to do that’s coming into the game really with a lot of work, and I thought he handled the situation well. The tape was good for him.”
So even if Winston is lost for the year, the Saints still have a decent QB depth room with Hill, Siemian, and rookie 4th round pick Ian Book. More importantly for them, the QB position has become a supporting role for the Saints, as they rely heavily on their defense, their O-line, and their run game.
So, who should be the starter for the Saints?
Taysom Hill’s Case
This one is obvious, considering he was 3-1 when playing in relief of Brees during his last season and finished as Winston’s backup.
He is far from perfect, however, which is why he lost out to Winston heading into the season. He is a 31-year-old utility player with four career QB starts, and those four starts came with mixed results. He had an impressive 71.9% completion rate during that stretch. But he struggled once he got past his first and second reads, throwing two interceptions and losing three fumbles.
He has a good connection with Michael Thomas, but the downside is that Thomas will not play this season because of an ankle injury that has been sidelining him all year. He also has not mastered the checkdown pass to Alvin Kamara, which is essential for any Saints QB.
But this experience should help both him and Sean Payton if they want to experiment again. If they can get something going where Hill relies more on his running ability to get him out of trouble once the first and second options are not available, he should have more success.
Trevor Siemian’s Case
This one is also obvious after the 29-year-old journeyman stepped in to help the Saints defeat the reining Super Bowl champions.
But as mentioned earlier, Siemian is 13-12 in his career as a starter, but has been a while since he last got a win as the starting QB, having gone 13-11 with the Broncos from 2015 to 2017 and 0-1 in his lone start with the Jets as he left their 2019 Week 2 match against the Browns with a broken ankle.
If Hill is not healthy enough to start in Week 9, Siemian could get another chance to make a stronger impression.
As a bonus, if Siemian remains as the starting QB, the Saints could continue to use Hill in his utility player role as a running back/wide receiver/tight end in an offense longing to have playmakers since Michael Thomas will not return.
However, Payton made it clear during the offseason that he won’t use it as a deciding factor between Hill and Winston. If he thinks Hill is more effective for the starting job, he will get the starting job.
Any Chance of a Drew Brees Comeback?
This falls under the “never say never” category, especially if the Saints run into another injury trouble down the stretch. However, Payton brushed off the idea of bringing in someone else from the outside, saying that he is satisfied with the current QB room.
The longtime Saints QB was also asked during halftime of Cowboys vs. Vikings on Sunday Night Football on if he was willing to consider coming out of retirement to return to the Saints after Winston’s injury. Brees seemingly laughed off that suggestion but didn’t give a direct answer, saying, “Let me check,” as he picked up his phone. He then shut down that idea.
So that’s not happening.
What About Philip Rivers?
Rivers has just finished his first year as the head coach of St. Michael Catholic School in Alabama, but he was interviewed by WNSP-FM 105.5 and asked about a chance for an NFL comeback to play for the Saints when Winston went down.
While Rivers, 39, retired last offseason, he did not rule out a comeback.
“There’s been no dialogue [with the Saints], but you can’t shut the door on anything,” said Rivers. “Although I still stick by it’s a super, super slim chance. … The Saints are a heck of a team and will definitely be a contender down the stretch. Coach [Sean] Payton and what they’ve done over the years with [retired quarterback] Drew [Brees] over the last 15 years has been unbelievable. They’ve been in the mix each and every year.”
Rivers spent 17 years in the NFL, being selected 8 times to the Pro Bowl, spending his first 16 seasons with the Chargers and his final season with the Colts.
In his final season, he led the Colts to an 11-5 record while completing 68.0% of his passes for 4,169 yards with 24 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. His NFL career finishes with 63,440 yards with 421 touchdowns and 209 interceptions.
“I’m just going to stay ready. I want to make sure I’m very clear: I’m not predicting I will play in December or January, for that matter,” he said back in August. “One, you’ve got to have somebody who wants you, and two, it’s got to be right. But I have not completely ruled that out.”
Are the Saints Still Playoff Contenders?
The Saints still remain playoff contenders. While it’s more difficult now, remember that they were 5-0 in 2019 with Teddy Bridgewater as their starting QB and 3-1 with Hill last season, and they are a combined 5-2 this season with Winston and Siemian.
Plus, they were 9-3 last year with Brees as the starter, even though he wasn’t playing anywhere near his prime and later admitted he was fully healthy for one game.
The Saints don’t rely on quarterback play alone anymore. They rank 31st in the NFL in pass attempts per game and completion percentage this season.
Yes, they’re going to get better in those areas, but they’re going to remain competitive because they have one of the best coaching staffs in the league, along with one of the best defenses, offensive lines, and running back duos (Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram).
What Does This Mean for Winston?
This is a hard question to answer, considering he is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent in 2022. Don’t expect the Saints or another team to make a stronger commitment to him in terms of money or contract length since he will be coming off a torn ACL.
However, he was able to turn his career around in his 7 games with the Saints this season and should remain as a candidate to retain the starting job in 2022, considering the Saints don’t have a premium draft pick or a lot of cap space.
He wasn’t perfect, as he completed just 59% of his passes and averaged 178.4 passing yards in the five games where he played the full game. But he answered his biggest question—whether he can cut down on the turnovers that have been bothering him with the Buccaneers—while still being a big play threat.
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