Jameis Winston Rumors: Saints Contract Back in Play After Failed Deshaun Watson Trade

The New Orleans Saints were among the teams to meet with quarterback Deshaun Watson this week in hopes of convincing him to pick them as his destination.

But after Watson reportedly agreed to waive his no-trade clause for the Houston Texans to send him to the Cleveland Browns on Friday, the Saints will have to pivot.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, a potential reunion with free-agent quarterback Jameis Winston is "back in play" for New Orleans.

Winston has spent the past two seasons with the Saints. He acted as the backup to future Hall of Famer Drew Brees in Brees' final campaign in 2020.

Following Brees' retirement, Winston won an offseason quarterback competition to be named the team's starter for 2021. His season was cut short after he suffered a torn ACL plus MCL damage in Week 8 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Despite being limited to just seven appearances last season, Winston led New Orleans with 1,170 passing yards and 14 touchdowns. He recorded a career-best passer rating of 102.8.

The No. 1 overall draft pick in 2015 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Winston has not seen his career pan out the way he had hoped. Despite his skills, he developed a reputation of being prone to turnovers. During the 2019 season, he led the NFL with 5,109 passing yards but he also threw a league-high 30 interceptions.

The quarterbacks currently on New Orleans' roster are Taysom Hill, Ian Book and Blake Bortles. Hill appeared in 12 games last season and threw for 978 yards, four touchdowns and five interceptions while adding five scores on the ground.