Well that’s not good. Jameis Winston has enjoyed a productive summer at New Orleans Saints training camp so far, but on Monday the quarterback left practice early with a minor injury. Saints head coach Dennis Allen described the incident as Winston having “tweaked his foot a little bit” during 7-on-7 drills and exiting for further evaluation by team trainers.
Allen elaborated on the incident during an appearance on NFL Network, saying, “Yeah he was just rolling out in a 7-on-7 period, and kind of rolled his ankle a little bit. We brought him for an evaluation, we’ll see where he’s at, but no update outside of that.” The team later clarified that Winston is dealing with a foot injury, not an ankle injury.
It’s concerning to see Winston missing any time, but this doesn’t appear to be very serious. It’s reassuring to see this isn’t related to last season’s knee injury. And if he is sidelined — which we don’t know is the case — the Saints have a capable backup in Andy Dalton. So it isn’t like things are going off the rails.
Still, it’s something to monitor when the Saints regroup for practice again on Tuesday. They’re headed for their first preseason game this weekend (traveling to visit the Houston Texans on Saturday, Aug. 13) and it would be better to have Winston in the fold, assuming he’s healthy. Even if he and the starters only play a couple of series, logging reps against live opponents under the bright lights is a big opportunity.
So let’s cross our fingers and hope this isn’t anything serious. For his part, Allen downplayed the severity of the situation. The only quarterback rostered behind Dalton is second-year pro Ian Book, though Taysom Hill is an option after taking the field in a red no-contact jersey on Monday. Hill has missed time managing a rib injury after converting to tight end, but Allen has said before he’ll still see the occasional pass attempt.
Fans shouldn’t overreact and start calling for a Jimmy Garoppolo trade or anything, but definitely keep a close eye on Winston’s practice participation moving forward.
