The new Teddy Bridgewater is nothing to be snickered at amongst New Orleans Saints fans. What the Saints have in new backup quarterback Jameis Winston may never be seen on the field, if their Future Hall of Famer Drew Brees stays healthy.
Jameis Winston Can Reprise Teddy Bridgewater’s Role With the New Orleans Saints
However, the situation was similar for Bridgewater when he entered the Saints quarterback room in 2018. Two years removed from a devastating knee injury that would have ended most players’ careers. Two years after signing in New Orleans, Teddy B has left the franchise as a fan favorite, even a cult hero for Saints fans to remember years from now.
Now, Jameis Winston enters the Saints quarterback room. Similarly at a pivotal point in his career, where every decision is crucial to his long term success. Also leaving the franchise that drafted him in the first round, ultimately a disappointment to that franchise. He never quite reached the heights Tampa Bay hoped for as the number one overall selection in the 2015 draft, just as Bridgewater never became a Vikings star, albeit more due to injury than performance.
Winston now also finds himself a backup to Brees, just like Bridgewater. Waiting for his own opportunity. That’s where most of the similarities end, but the differences between the two situations remain clear. The differences between Winston and Bridgewater are evident in the tangible statistics and performance levels, as well as the two players intangibles.
The on-field experience of Winston is much greater than that of Bridgewater’s when he came to New Orleans. In his first four years in the league, Winston amassed 54 starts compared to Bridgewater’s 28. Due to the former Viking’s injury, he missed the final two seasons of his rookie contract. Only filling in for Kirk Cousins in the final quarter of the 2018 season finale when Minnesota rested starters.
In Tampa, Jameis Winston’s rookie fifth-year option was picked up. The 2013 Heisman Trophy winner added another 16 starts to his career in 2019 and has way more experience as an NFL starter than Bridgewater did when he joined New Orleans. The stats and record accumulated by Winston throughout that playing time are more questionable than his experience, however.
He never led Tampa to the Playoffs in his five seasons in Florida. Always a productive passer, Winston has put up numbers in his career. He even led the league in passing yards last season, as he threw for over 5,000 yards. It’s the turnover rate that’s always been his biggest detractor. Becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to throw both over 30 TD passes, and 30 interceptions last season, Winston always has a mistake or two that keeps the opposition in the game. This incontinency is what led to the Buccaneers achieving a 28-42 record in Winston’s starts over five seasons. Wins matter, passing yards don’t.
That is where the comparison leans more favorably in Bridgewater’s favor. His stats have never set the world alight, even before the knee injury. His only 16-game campaign came in 2015 when he threw for just over 3,200 yards, and a mere 14 touchdown passes.
Yet, he led the Vikings to the playoffs that year and was a missed field goal away from a Divisional Round appearance, (Hope Blair Walsh is doing ok.) In his rookie year for Minnesota, Teddy B went 6-6 in 12 starts on a rebuilding team under new head coach Mike Zimmer. Bridgewater was also named to the 2014 All-Rookie team.
Bridgewater was never a gunslinger like Winston, his yardage never as high, but he knew how to win football games. He has that history with the Vikings, and he showed it again for New Orleans in 2019. His performances improved week on week when Brees went down with a thumb injury. The 5-0 record he achieved in that span is essentially what earned him his long-term contract in Carolina.
Bridgewater earned the respect of every locker room, every fan, and all of the media for his determination to come back from his injury. He earned the admiration of the Saints locker room, Saints fans, and Saints media for his willingness to do his job, and lead his team when the time came. He also leads off-the-field with his countless charitable visits to local hospitals, and even for his charity work in his hometown, Miami.
Leadership has always been something of a question mark for Jameis Winston. He doesn’t lack the willingness to lead, but more in his rah-rah, loudest guy in the room leadership style. We’ve seen the drive, and the hustle Winston has to set an example, but that comes with a somewhat in your face, pumped up energy that seems to make its way onto the field where he tries to make impossible throws and makes risky decisions as if making plays almost no quarterback could ever make will prove he is the leader of the pack.
Winston’s starting experiences, ability, and statistical pedigree make him a more exciting prospect as the Saints backup than Bridgewater when he came to New Orleans two years ago. What he is yet to prove since his college days, is if he can consistently win football games. Can he pick up his teammates when they aren’t playing well, and is he good enough to either overcome his on-field mistakes or eradicate them from his game?
He might never get the chance to prove he has any of the aforementioned traits in New Orleans. However, by following in Bridgewater’s path and signing a short term deal to learn under Sean Payton, and Brees is a sign of maturity. A sign that Winston doesn’t just want to play football for a living, he wants to be one of the best to play football.
The last thing he and Bridgwater have in common? They both took a chance. Bridgewater could have signed in Miami to compete for a starting job after his first year in New Orleans, but he chose to play the long game. That’s what Winston has chosen.
If we are to praise Bridgwater for his leadership, drive, and long term commitment to football, we should do the same for Winston now as he chooses this path. It’s a clear indication Winston, only 26, is willing to learn what it really takes to be a great football player. Not only in the tangible areas such as mechanics, on-field decision making, and ability to read opposition defenses but as a leader.
He doesn’t have to be the new Teddy B in New Orleans. Jameis Winston has plenty of ability of his own. This move might just be the making of him.
