Jameis Winston
Despite Saints HC Sean Payton‘s well-documented love for Taysom Hill, it still surprised a lot of people when he installed Hill as the starting quarterback in place of Drew Brees. The previous week it had been Jameis Winston who came into the game when Brees was injured, so the switch led some people to believe Winston hadn’t been impressing behind the scenes. Payton tried to dispel that narrative and explain his reasoning.
“My thinking was the commitment I had made to Taysom in the offseason. It couldn’t be any further from the truth [that Winston hasn’t impressed],” Payton said via NFL Media’s Steve Wyche and Jim Trotter on the “Huddle and Flow” podcast. “I and we as an organization love what we’ve seen from Jameis. And that constantly weighs in your mind relative to each game.”
Payton said because of Hill’s multifaceted role, Winston was the No. 2 quarterback for most of the season to not overload Hill’s plate. But that changed after Brees went down.
“Going into the season, all three of the quarterbacks knew that in the event there was any injury during the game, Jameis was coming in,” Payton said. “Taysom was going to have a large plan on special teams and at tight end. Then we would go from there. When that situation arose and Drew was hurt for a longer period of time, I visited with Jameis, I visited with Taysom. I had basically given Taysom my word in the offseason…long before Jameis even arrived, that he would have that opportunity as the 2 coming back here.
“That being said, he’s being evaluated each week. I’ve been proud of how that room has handled it, Jameis particularly. He’s a competitor and he wants that opportunity, and listen, I feel like our next quarterback is in the building.”
Payton strongly suggested that not only is 2020 Brees’ final season with the Saints, but that Winston will have a shot to compete with Hill for the starting job in 2021.
“One of the attractions for Jameis, and I understand it, is there aren’t many places in free agency where you can go to a team and have a pretty good bet that that quarterback like Drew is going to be playing in his last year,” he said. “…He’s going to have that opportunity the minute Drew leaves and he and Taysom know that.”
Buccaneers
- According to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, Buccaneers RB Ronald Jones will have a procedure Tuesday to put a pin in his fractured pinky.
- ESPN’s Jenna Laine said it won’t be clear until later in the week whether Jones will be able to play in Week 15 against the Falcons but sources tell her he still has a chance to go.
- Buccaneers placed P Bradley Pinion, K Ryan Succop and LS Zach Triner on the COVID-19 list. (NFLTR)
Panthers
Carolina’s latest loss pushed the Panthers to 4-9 on the season and on the border of earning a top-five draft pick. There’s a case to be made that the best course of action for the Panthers the final three games is to start playing younger, more unknown players to see what they have, like at quarterback with P.J. Walker and Will Grier behind Teddy Bridgewater. However, Panthers HC Matt Rhule said he has his eyes on the big picture, just in a different way.
“I’m going to go try to win the last three games, so I’m going to put the guys that earned the right to start or play in,” Rhule said via Darin Gantt of the team’s website. “I just don’t think it’s a great message to the team to start making this a tryout. The question earlier about how to keep guys’ eyes from glossing over, if we learn one thing this year with a young team, if we learn how to finish a season with 28 days of focus in December, if we have a chance to be a playoff team next year, our ability to focus around Christmas, to focus around Thanksgiving, to go win games at the end of the year when you’re beat up, when practices are shorter, that’s a skill.”
- The Athletic’s Joe Person reports Panthers owner David Tepper is still evaluating the situation with GM Marty Hurney, whose contract is set to expire in June of 2021. Tepper and Hurney both declined to comment.
- Person adds Hurney and Rhule have a good working relationship and have done a good job of executing the collaborative vision Tepper had when he kept Hurney on board. Hurney’s extensive pro scouting experience, especially with high draft picks, was also a major selling point for Tepper.
- However, Hurney is 65 and Person notes Rhule might want someone he has more experience working with in that role. Person adds Rhule has no interest in being both coach and general manager himself.
- Rhule said the team plans to stand pat at kicker after having to release Lirim Hajrullahu from the practice squad, meaning Joey Slye is safe this week. (Person)
Saints
- Saints HC Sean Payton mentioned that though QB Drew Brees was targeting Week 15 against the Chiefs as a return date, he was still in “significant” pain recently. (Steve Wyche/Jim Trotter)
- Saints claimed OL Patrick Omameh off of waivers from the Raiders. (NFLTR)
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