Jameis Winston Listed as Saints' 3rd-String QB Behind Drew Brees, Taysom Hill

The New Orleans Saints signed Jameis Winston to a one-year contract this offseason, but it appears that one year will likely be spent on the sidelines.   

The Saints released their depth chart for Sunday's season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Taysom Hill is listed as the No. 2 quarterback behind Drew Brees. That leaves Winston, who led the league with 5,109 passing yards for Tampa Bay last year, as the third-stringer.

It should be noted that Hill impacts the game in a number of ways outside of backing up Brees.

He occasionally returns kicks, works as a wide receiver and takes end-arounds as a rushing threat. While he has a mere 13 passing attempts in his entire career, the BYU product caught six touchdowns and ran for another last year as a versatile weapon who gives the Saints more options on the offensive end.

That means he likely wouldn't just shift to full-time quarterback in the event of a Brees injury, regardless of what the depth chart says before the season.

Putting Hill under center on every snap limits the number of ways he can hurt the defense, and the 13 career passes would be a concern at that point.

Winston, for all his inconsistency, brings far more experience as a pure quarterback who can drop back in the pocket and get the ball in the hands of playmakers such as Michael Thomas, Alvin Kamara and Emmanuel Sanders.

While Winston impressed with his yardage and 33 touchdown throws, he also led the league with a stunning 30 interceptions. Those turnovers prevented a team with plenty of offensive talent from truly threatening in the NFC South.

If everything goes according to plan for the Saints, Brees will remain healthy and start 16 games during the 2020 campaign. If that's not the case, New Orleans may have to worry about Winston's turnover tendencies unless the team wants to remove Hill from his role as a versatile weapon who lines up all over the field.