Jameis Winston drops bomb for his first TD of 2023 against Chiefs

The New Orleans Saints quickly jumped out to a 7-0 lead over the Kansas City Chiefs in the preseason opener Sunday with Derek Carr making his team debut under center. Things didn’t slow down when Carr and the starters exited, and Jameis Winston and the 2s took over.

On his first drive of the 2023 season, Winston connected with rookie wideout A.T. Perry for a 29-yard score to extend the Saints’ lead to 13-0. Winston’s first touchdown pass of the preseason capped off a four-play, 48-yard drive.

JAMEIS!

📺: #KCvsNO on @NFLNetwork
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— NFL (@NFL) August 13, 2023

Winston, the 2015 first overall pick out of Florida State, is entering his fourth season with the Saints after signing a one-year, $8 million deal this offseason to return as Carr’s backup. The 29-year-old is hardly your typical NFL backup quarterback, having passed for a league-leading 5,109 yards during his last full season starting for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2019. Winston, however, threw 30 interceptions that season and was replaced by Tom Brady the following season.

Jameis Winston hopeful for another starting job in the NFL

Injuries have robbed him the opportunity of being “THE” guy to replace Drew Brees after his retirement in 2020, leading to his status as QB2. Still, Winston views himself as one of the 32 best signal-callers in the league, and believes he’ll get another starting opportunity in the future.

“The main thing is the opportunity, and I’m just grateful every chance I get an opportunity to step into a building and play a sport I love,” Winston said this offseason. “However, I know that I’m still a starting quarterback in this league. But, man, I have to be, like this is all a process. There’s some Hall of Famers that made their big break at 30. So I’m still young, I’m still 29, but right now my role is to serve this team in the role that I’m in. And I’m all-in to doing that.

“Because again, I’m grateful for the opportunity to be able to still wear a Saints uniform or to be in the NFL in general.”

As for why he chose to return to the Saints over seeking a potential starting gig somewhere else, Winston said it was rooted in his trust for New Orleans as he tries to get back to being the quarterback he knows he can be.

“It’s just very familiar,” Winston said. “I trust this organization, I believe in this team that we have a great defense, great offense. And last year we had a lot of opportunities to break open some games, but with the addition of Derek, I think he’s gonna bring a lot of good things to this team.”