Cam Newton Rumors: Saints Won't Pursue QB After Jameis Winston's ACL Injury

The New Orleans Saints reportedly have no plans to pursue Cam Newton after Jameis Winston suffered a serious knee injury in Sunday's win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported Newton is not in the Saints' plans. The Saints fear Winston suffered a torn ACL after leaving the game on a cart in the second quarter. 

Trevor Siemian replaced Winston and led the Saints to a 36-27 win over their division rivals.

It's unclear if Siemian will continue to start in Winston's absence or if the team will turn over the reins to Taysom Hill. Siemian has a 13-12 record as an NFL starter, throwing for 5,848 yards and 31 touchdowns against 24 interceptions over his career. While few would call him anything more than a solid backup, he's arguably a lower-variance choice than Hill, who has returned to his gadget role this season.

Hill went 3-1 as a starting quarterback last season in place of an injured Drew Brees, throwing for 928 yards and four touchdowns against two interceptions. The Saints' downfield passing attack was greatly limited with Hill in the game, but he's a dynamic rusher at the position who could give the Saints an element they'd miss with Siemian in the lineup.

Hill competed with Winston in training camp for the starting quarterback position. However, it's unclear if he'll be able to immediately take over as the starter after missing the last few weeks with a concussion.

Newton has been a free agent since being cut by the New England Patriots ahead of the regular season. He lost a quarterback competition to rookie Mac Jones after spending most of camp as the presumed starter.

The 2015 NFL MVP says he wants to continue to play and has been vaccinated against COVID-19. A misunderstanding of the NFL's COVID protocols cost him time in the preseason and arguably led to Jones overtaking the starting job.