Jameis Winston: 'I'm still a starting quarterback in this league'

Jameis Winston believes he’s still a starting caliber quarterback in the NFL, and that he’ll get another opportunity someday soon.

The former Florida State star has been relegated to a backup with the New Orleans Saints, but he’s simply awaiting his opportunity to once again have a shot at being a starter, as he believes he can do it 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 told ESPN. “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.”

That’s a fresh perspective from Winston, instead of sulking and taking offense to not being a starting quarterback. He believes his journey is far from over, and his time will come. He’s simply had some unfortunate injuries that have set him back.

“Everyone has different journeys in this league. But it’s challenging to be a NFL quarterback,” added Winston. “And when you have an opportunity to be a starting NFL quarterback, you want to make the most of it. I’ve just had some unfortunate injuries over the past three years, so this is where I’m at. But this is not what I visualize being in the near future.

“But where I’m at right now is focusing on getting healthy, focusing on taking advantage of this opportunity I have to serve Derek [Carr], to serve this team and serve this organization the best that I can.”

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.”

With the right attitude, Jameis Winston’s NFL future remains bright, and he certainly has the right attitude at the moment.