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While Jameis Winston never lived up to the hype he had coming out of Florida State as a player, the former Heisman Trophy winner certainly has as a person.
In addition to his measurables and his Heisman-level performances at Florida State, NFL scouts also raved about Jameis Winston’s “intangibles” as he entered the league. Those intangibles have undoubtedly shown through over Winton’s nearly decade in the league and continued earlier this preseason when the Browns mic’d him up for their exhibition game against Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers.
Jameis Mic'd Up… Epic 👏👏👏 via @Browns#TopTierContent #LetsWinTogether pic.twitter.com/CQnAE8mFPW
— Just Win Management Group (@JustWinMGMT) August 14, 2024
Winston, who is now 30 years old, has been in the NFL since 2015 when the Tampa Bay Bucs took him first overall in the 2015 NFL Draft.
After five seasons as the Tampa Bay Bucs starting quarterback — including one season that saw him pass for a staggering 5,109 yards, 33 touchdowns, and 30 interceptions — Winston spent the next four seasons in New Orleans backing up Drew Brees, Andy Dalton, and Derek Carr.
The former Buc now finds himself in Cleveland, which was a shrewdly clever destination given the status of the franchise’s current starting quarterback Deshaun Watson. Ever since trading for the controversial quarterback, who was accused of sexual misconduct by over 20 women, Watson has not looked like the Pro Bowl player he was in Houston and has also struggled with staying healthy, playing in just six games last season.
Winston signed a one-year deal with the Cleveland Browns in the offseason, and while he’s the consummate teammate and will be rooting for Watson to succeed, there has to be a part of him that gets a crack at being the Browns’ starter with all the offensive weapons they have, such as Amari Cooper, Jerry Jeudy, Elijah Moore, David Njoku, and Nick Chubb (when he returns from injury).
The Browns’ first game of the 2024/25 season will be a home matchup against the Dallas Cowboys, which will also be Tom Brady’s debut as Fox Sports’ lead color commentator, on Sunday, September 8.