Will fans get a look at Jameis Winston before the New Orleans Saints close out their preseason? The team saw enough out of veteran backup Andy Dalton to rest him after just ten snaps in their first exhibition game, and every other rep has since gone to second-year quarterback Ian Book. With Winston recovering from a foot sprain, the focus has shifted to evaluating Book to see if he has what it takes to hang in this league.
But Winston’s recovery has progressed well in recent weeks under the watchful eye of their new sports science director Matt Rhea, who New Orleans poached from Alabama in the spring. He’s taken back his spot in team drills and is now able to safely do enough to warrant the release of reserve passer K.J. Costello. But will Winston get on the field for Friday night’s preseason finale?
“I feel a lot better, I’ve been getting better every single day. It felt really good yesterday, to move a little bit more, to run around a bit more, because it’s part of my game,” Winston said during his Wednesday media availability session, but when asked if he plans to suit up in Friday’s preseason game with the Los Angeles Chargers, he put his trust in the team’s coaches and training staff, replying “I would love to play Friday. Whatever the head coach decides.”
But Dennis Allen has played it safe with his cornerstone players even when healthy: fixtures like running back Alvin Kamara, slot receiver Jarvis Landry, linebacker Demario Davis, and defensive end Cameron Jordan are just some of the fan-favorites who haven’t gotten into either of the preseason games so far. It’s possible that Winston gets a series or two of live game reps on Friday just to help him settle in. That just doesn’t seem very likely given Allen’s pattern so far.
Allen could only grin after being asked directly about his plans for Winston on Friday, responding “I’m not telling anybody who’s playing and who’s not playing, but I think the last couple of days he’s looked pretty good out here. Which has been really encouraging.”
So we’ll have to wait and see. There are a couple of schools of thought when it comes to playing high-profile starters in exhibition games, but resting them entirely has become a popular approach around the league. Stay tuned.
