15 best free agent targets for the Washington Football Team
3. QB Jameis Winston
If the Washington Football Team is going to add a quarterback in free agency, Jameis Winston is one of the only options that would make sense for them. He’s one of the few proven starters on the market and one of the only players with a combination of solid experience and upside.
Winston was a five-year starter for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. Though he put forth some decent numbers for the Bucs, they could never win with him at the helm. There’s one main reason for that: Turnovers.
Winston has struggled mightily with interceptions during his career. He has thrown at least 11 in each of his five seasons as a starter and in his final year starting for the Bucs, he threw a 30 and became the first quarterback ever to post a 30-30 season (30+ TDs, 30+ INTs).
That said, there is some hope that Winston will have improved in that area following his year spent with Sean Payton. Will he still take some downfield risks that he shouldn’t? Probably. But the arm talent is there for Winston and if the decision-making improves even just slightly, he could be a strong starting quarterback. After all, he did lead the NFL in passing yards during the 2019 season with 5,109.
It’s also worth noting that Winston has LASIK surgery before the 2020 season, and that helped improve his vision. Does that mean his field vision is improved? Not necessarily, but perhaps being able to see better in general will allow him to see the field a bit better.
You could make the case for signing a veteran stopgap like Ryan Fitzpatrick or taking a flier on Mitch Trubisky, but Winson has the most upside of the available quarterbacks. Plus, he’s still only 27. Bringing him in to compete with Kyle Allen and Taylor Heinicke could prove to be a solid move for Washington if they aren’t enamored with any of the top-five quarterbacks in this year’s draft — or if they feel like it would be hard to get one of them.
That said, Winston seems likely to re-sign with the Saints after Drew Brees officially retired, so barring a surprise, Winston probably won’t come to Washington.