Before landing with the Cleveland Browns this spring, Jameis Winston was a backup with the New Orleans Saints from 2020-2023.
Winston overlapped with coach Sean Payton from 2020-2021, and he started seven games for the Saints in 2021. The Saints went 5-2 during that stretch.
Winston and the Browns are now set to face Payton and the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football in Week 13. Ahead of that matchup, Payton was asked about his time coaching Winston in New Orleans.
“I enjoyed it,” Payton said Wednesday. “We started off the season the year he was our starter — I don’t know what the record was — he got hurt. We were playing Tampa Bay. He tore his ACL. I think we might have been 5-2. He’s big. He’s tremendous in the locker room. I said this already — he’s got this infectious personality. [He has] a smile on his face every day he’s at work. You hear him before you see him—that type of guy. When Drew [Brees] went down initially, Teddy [Bridgewater] was in for a stretch [for] five weeks, then we adjusted some, then with Jameis the same way.
“I really enjoyed coaching him and having a chance to work with him. He’s the ultimate pro. He has natural leadership abilities, and you feel that with him. You have to remember now there were years when he was in Tampa playing against us. I hated him because that was one of the opposing teams’ quarterbacks, but we always had some good battles. When he came to our program, he was a sponge as a backup. Again, he tore his ACL — I think Week 6 [or] Week 7 — and he was having a really good season. It will be good to shake his hand and see him after the game.”
Monday’s game will be nationally televised on ESPN. Playing at home, the Broncos are considered favorites in Week 13.
