Unlike in 2024, there are no questions about the Denver Broncos starting quarterback heading into the 2025 offseason. Drafting Bo Nix solved that. However, the quarterback room behind Nix is in flux, and Jameis Winston could be a solution.
Winston, 31, was the No. 1 overall pick of the 2015 draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
He spent the 2024 season with the Cleveland Browns but is on an expiring one-year, $4 million contract. CBS Sports Cody Benjamin predicts Winston will sign with the Broncos in free agency.
“The colorful gunslinger has a history with coach Sean Payton, once serving as Drew Brees‘ backup in New Orleans, and could give Denver a much-beloved new backup for the young Bo Nix,” Benjamin wrote on January 28.
Jameis finds Chief at the pylon for the TD#CLEvsPIT on CBS and NFL+ pic.twitter.com/OmdnoYPGmv
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) December 8, 2024
Winston completed 61.1% of his passes for 2,121 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.
He has earned $76.5 million in his career. He could hold out for a starting opportunity after getting thrown into the mix for the Browns as a starter in Week 8.
However, Winston’s propensity for interceptions – he has a 19:20 touchdown-to-interception ratio over the last three seasons – has led to doubt he will find work as a QB1 out of the gates in free agency.
Jameis Winston & Sean Payton Exchange Praise
GettyJameis Winston #2 of the New Orleans Saints shakes hands with former head coach Sean Payton before a game against the Carolina Panthers.
Winston spent five seasons with the Buccaneers before signing with the Saints in free agency in 2020. Payton coached Winston on the Saints for two seasons before the latter stepped away following the 2021 season.
The head coach and quarterback made strong impressions on one another in their short time together.
“I would say his aura, right? His essence. Him being authentically himself, and I think that that won me over so much. Because from a head coach perspective, I haven’t really seen that much personality in my head coach,” Winston told reporters in November 2024.
“What Sean possessed was a leadership quality that was so important to our team at the New Orleans Saints. Because I’ve always put Drew on this pedestal, and I knew it was Drew’s team. But in a sense, Sean was one of our biggest leaders, our hardest workers, and, definitely, he was a leader among men. And that’s how I put it: He was one of the best leaders I’ve been around.”
Winston also understands the Broncos head coach’s plan is to Nix.
“He’s big, he’s tremendous in the locker room, he’s got this infectious personality,,” Payton told reporters in November 2024. “A smile on his face every day he’s at work. You hear him before you see him, that type of guy.
“I really enjoyed coaching him and having a chance to work with him. He’s the ultimate pro. And he’s got natural leadership abilities, and you feel that with him. You got to remember, now, there were years where he was in Tampa playing against us, and so I hated him because it was one of the one of the opposing teams’ quarterbacks. But we always had some good battles, and then when he came to our program um man he was a sponge as a backup.”
Jameis Winston Could Fit as Broncos QB2
GettyJameis Winston #5 of the Cleveland Browns looks on against the Miami Dolphins.
Winston checks a lot of boxes. The Broncos could also lose backups Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson in free agency. Both players are younger than Winston and could vie for a better opportunity to start elsewhere.
Over The Cap projects the Broncos to have $34.7 million in space to use.
OTC gives Winston a $9 million annual valuation. That is just under what Stidham and Wilson received combined ($9.7 million) in 2024.
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