Back-Up Plan: Washington Commanders Could Sign QB Jameis Winston

What's next for the Washington Commanders after losing out on two Hall-of-Fame quarterbacks?

The Washington Commanders missed out on the opportunity to acquire Aaron Rodgers and Russell Willson, but the franchise wasted no time finding a contingency plan. According to The Boardroom's Jordan Schultz, the Commanders have "taken a long look" at free-agent quarterback Jameis Winston and have interest in signing him.

Tuesday morning, Rodgers signed a four-year deal to return to the Green Bay Packers (leaving Packers backup Jordan Love as a possible target) while the Denver Broncos acquired Wilson in a massive deal with the Seattle Seahawks (in which Wilson reportedly "chose'' Denver over D.C.).

Pursuing Winston could be the best backup plan for the Commanders. He is a low-risk and high-reward player who will not result in Washington losing a ton of assets or taking a significant chunk of their cap space.

Winston spent the last two seasons playing for the New Orleans Saints. He took the helm as the Saints starting quarterback in 2021 following the retirement of Drew Brees. 

Jameis Winston

Jameis Winston

Jameis Winston

Winston was on pace for a career season before suffering an ACL injury that limited him to seven games. The Saints went 5-2 with Winston starting, with him recording 1,170 yards, 14 touchdowns and three interceptions. 

Returning to the Saints - where he seemed to mature as a decision-maker compared to his Tampa Bay time - is still a possibility for Winston.

Winston underwent knee surgery on Oct. 31 and recently shared a series of videos documenting his progress. On Feb. 28, ESPN's Adam Schefter posted a video of Winston running for the first time since his surgery on Twitter.  

Winston began his career in 2015 when the Buccaneers selected the Florida State quarterback as the No. 1 overall pick of the 2015 NFL Draft. In 83 career games, Winston has completed 61.2 percent of his passes for 20,982 yards, 135 touchdowns and 91 interceptions.