Drew Brees comments on the New Orleans Saints' quarterback situation

Jameis Winston has been announced as the New Orleans Saints’ starting quarterback to begin the 2021 season. It was reported on Friday morning that Winston had won the quarterback job over the versatile veteran Taysom Hill. Longtime Saints quarterback Drew Brees retired in the offseason. On Sunday Night Football in the final week of the preseason, Drew Brees gave insight into what he thinks of the Saints’ quarterback situation.

Brees: Winston is going to do well

In the Saints’ first preseason game, Winston had 96 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception. Winston had an impressive second week of the preseason, completing 9-of-10 passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns.

This will not be the first time that Winston gets a shot to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. The former Florida State Seminoles star was selected first overall in the 2015 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In his NFL career, Winston has thrown for 19,812 yards, 131 total touchdowns and 88 interceptions. He has thrown for at least 4,000 yards three times. In 2019, Winston threw an impressive 5,109 yards and 33 touchdowns, but led the NFL with 30 interceptions.

Winston then signed with the Saints in the offseason following 2019 to sit and learn behind Brees. Now that Brees is gone and Winston has been named the starter, it will be an interesting transition in New Orleans this season. Brees thinks that Winston will have plenty of success.

“Jameis is gonna do really well,” Brees said. “And I think that he has really developed a rapport with guys like Marquez Callaway, who had a big preseason along with Juwan Johnson, who moved from receiver to tight end and came up with some big catches as well.”

Brees thinks that Taysom Hill will still play a significant role in the Saints offense

Hill is a gadget player that can line up at quarterback, tight end, running back, fullback, or receiver. He was Winston’s main competition for snaps at quarterback throughout the preseason. In week one of the preseason, Hill completed 8-of-12 passes with 81 yards and an interception. He completed 11-of-20 passes for 138 yards and a touchdown in the second week of the preseason.

Now, Hill is in line to return to his versatile role across the Saints’ offense. While he is likely to see snaps at multiple positions, Brees thinks that Hill will play a role at quarterback for the Saints as well.

“I still think Taysom Hill plays a big role on this offense this year,” Brees said. “Just like in years past, he’s been getting quite a few snaps at the quarterback position, taking shots, getting some hard-earned short yardage. He plays that tight end, joker role. But I certainly see him playing some quarterback this year as well.”