National Football League

NFL odds: Lines on Jameis Winston's next team, from Saints to Steelers

Published Mar. 4, 2022 6:40 p.m. ET

In 2021, Jameis Winston was poised to lead the Saints deep into the NFL playoffs after taking the reins from retired quarterback Drew Brees. Instead, Winston suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 8 and New Orleans finished the year without a postseason appearance.

After a disappointing season for both Winston and the Saints, what's next for the polarizing quarterback? Do the Saints think Jameis is still serviceable as a starter, or will Winston suit up as QB1 for another franchise next season?

For that, we spoke to FOX Bet commercial manager Jacob Blangsted-Barnor, who gave us hypothetical odds on the quarterback's next potential destination. Odds always tell a story, so let's take a look at the list.

ODDS ON JAMEIS WINSTON'S NEXT TEAM*

New Orleans: +225 (bet $10 to win $32.50 total)
Jacksonville: +300 (bet $10 to win $40 total)
Denver: +400 (bet $10 to win $50 total)
Miami: +500 (bet $10 to win $60 total)
New England: +650 (bet $10 to win $75 total)
Washington: +750 (bet $10 to win $85 total)
Arizona: +850 (bet $10 to win $95 total)
Pittsburgh: +900 (bet $10 to win $100 total)
Tampa Bay: +1100 (bet $10 to win $120 total)
Los Angeles Chargers: +1400 (bet $10 to win $150 total)
Las Vegas: +1600 (bet $10 to win $170 total)

* Odds as of 3/4/2022

Following a decorated college football career at Florida State, including winning a Heisman and a national championship, Winston was drafted No. 1 overall by the Buccaneers in 2015. Despite leading the League in passing in 2019 with 5,109 yards, Tampa Bay cut ties with Jameis at the end of that season.

Winston then joined the Saints' roster where he played backup to Drew Brees in 2020 before being named the starter in 2021.

As the Saints starter, Jameis was 4-2. Then he suffered the severe knee injury that set the stage for uncertainty surrounding his future. So what's next?

Well, based on footage from Winston's recent workouts, it appears that the 2015 Pro Bowler is rehabbing spectacularly.

Strictly looking at the hypothetical odds, New Orleans is favored to retain Winston.

From a betting perspective, Winston is 34-39-4 against the spread (ATS) and 33-44 straight up (SU) as a starter in his career, per FOX Sports research.

According to Blangsted-Barnor, even though the QB has less-than-stellar records, teams in the market for a new quarterback will remember that Jameis accepted a backup role immediately after his record-breaking season.

"He took a huge cut in pay to play with the Saints to learn from Brees," the oddsmaker explained. "Teams will love knowing that he will be flexible if that means getting to the right situation."

With several franchises looking to fill starting QB positions, what will be that right situation for the signal-caller?

"Something I never thought I would say about Winston is that teams view him as a low-risk option. Therefore, he's got options," Blangsted-Barnor noted.

"If you are Washington, Pittsburgh or even his former team Tampa Bay, I don't see how you don't at least put a call in for him. A team like the Steelers will likely draft a QB, and they could bring in Jameis to take the pressure off a rookie from being the day-one starter.

"And I think Jameis wants to be a starter for sure, so that could work."

Now that the 2015 Rookie of the Year is putting the world on notice that he is back in good health, can a team that lands Winston expect a boost in its Super Bowl 2023 futures?

"As for how teams' Super Bowl futures odds would change, only the teams who have really poor QB situations would see their odds shorten after landing Jameis. Take a team like Carolina, for example. If they moved on from Darnold and upgraded to Jameis, you might see a small shift in the Panthers' title futures.

"But you never know what a team might do."

Will Winston keep roots in the Big Easy, or will the Saints march on to a new starting QB? We will find out soon.

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