Watson, Winston comparisons intriguing with future of franchise on the line

The Saints are after one quarterback by trade while another waits as a free agent.

Deshaun Watson is apparently serious about the Saints, and the Saints are apparently serious about Deshaun Watson.

There are numerous, explainable reasons for the New Orleans Saints to try to acquire Deshaun Watson, as has been widely reported.

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports says Watson would prefer New Orleans to Carolina. The Panthers are also aggressively pursing Watson while Cleveland is reportedly doing the same and you cannot rule out the Atlanta Falcons or Seattle.

Of course, Watson has a no-trade clause, which he can use to block any trade to a destination he does not prefer.

The Vikings re-signed Kirk Cousins to a one-year deal, taking Minnesota out of the potential sweepstakes.

Recent precedent certainly gives the Saints an indication of what is possible by going for it all immediately and being all in on a franchise quarterback.

The Saints tried to go all in for the 2020 season, the final season for Drew Brees.

The Saints fell short of the ultimate goal as Brees was banged up.

Then, Tampa Bay went all in with Tom Brady in the same year and it paid off as the ultimate goal was achieved in winning the Super Bowl.

Then, the Los Angeles Rams went all in with Matt Stafford in 2021 and it paid off as the ultimate goal was achieved in winning the Super Bowl.

While Watson is much younger than Brady and Stafford he certainly has elite ability, certainly top 10 ability, if not top five ability in the NFL.

There are reasons for Watson to want to come to New Orleans, even without the ominous presence of Sean Payton being here.

Watson and Michael Thomas share the same agent.

Perhaps the most compelling reason is that the Saints have been a consistent winner and have a frenzied fan base.

As for Jameis Winston, what will the market bear for his services? How is he perceived by the rest of the league?

The Pittsburgh Steelers, desperately in need of a quarterback, turned to Mitchell Trubisky instead of Winston. Keep an eye on the Washington Commanders, who may be looking for someone to compete with Taylor Heinicke and recently acquired Carson Wentz.

There are good, reasonable reasons for the New Orleans Saints to try to re-sign Winston.

With regard to Watson vs. Winston being the starting quarterback in New Orleans in 2022, consider the following facts.

Watson was drafted in the first round, 12th overall, by Houston in 2017.

In four seasons in the league, Watson has completed 67.8 percent of his passes.

In 2020, his last season, Watson completed 70.2 percent of his passes and led the NFL with 4,823 yards passing and in yards per completion at 12.6 yards and in yards gained per pass attempt at 8.9 yards so Watson was certainly not dinking and dunking the ball into the flat.

Watson has passed for 104 touchdowns and just 36 interceptions. Watson has 30 fumbles in his career.

Watson made three Pro Bowls in his four seasons in the league.

Watson was durable starting all but one game in his last three seasons with Houston.

In New Orleans, Watson would have Thomas and Alvin Kamara to work with. That is a very good start.

Of course, there is the matter of potential suspensions for both Kamara and Watson by the league.

Watson is 26 and will turn 27 in September.

Winston is 28 and coming off a severe knee injury.

In seven seasons in the NFL, Winston has completed 61.2 percent of his passes. He led the NFL in pass attempts (626) and in passing yards (5,109) in 2020, as well as in passing yards per game (319.3).

Winston also led the NFL in interceptions with 30 in his final season in Tampa in 2019, seven of which were returned for touchdowns, an all-time NFL record.

For his career, Winston has 135 touchdown passes but 91 interceptions.

Winston also has 52 fumbles.

Winston had one Pro Bowl appearance, in his rookie season of 2015.

In his only season as a starter with the Saints, Winston started seven games and the Saints went 5-2.

Winston threw 14 passes and had just three interceptions.

The comparisons are there off the field as well.

Watson was recently cleared of any criminal wrongdoing by a grand jury pertaining to accusations of harassment and sexual assault. As many as 22 civil suits are pending, a genuine concern for any prospective employer. There is still the real possibility that the league could suspend Watson, down the road.

By all accounts, Watson had been a very positive person and teammate at Clemson and in Houston and is a devout Christian who regularly proclaims his faith. He is also a man who clearly had a penchant for massage parlors, which placed him in the precarious position he finds himself in.

While at Florida State in 2012, Winston was accused of sexual assault by Erica Kinsman, who chose to be identified. Winston was never formally charged and he settled a federal lawsuit with Kinsman.

In 2017, Winston was accused of groping a female Uber driver the previous year. Though the accuser did not seek criminal charges, an NFL investigation resulted in a three-game suspension of Winston after the league determined the accuser’s account of the events to be consistent and credible. Winston settled a lawsuit with the accuser.

There were also a couple of shoplifting incidents and Winston was suspended for a game in 2014 after he allegedly uttered a vulgar phrase.

Winston was the No. 1 pick overall in the 2015 NFL Draft by Tampa Bay.

Winston has clearly turned his life around, married since 2020 and with a son.

By all accounts, has been a very positive person and teammate in New Orleans and emerged as a team leader in 2021. It is also apparent that Winston is beloved by a substantial percentage of the fan base of the Saints, who have obviously forgiven and looked past any previous transgressions.

The comparisons between the two are interesting.

Watson is younger and healthier as Winston is dealing with his second knee surgery and recovery, having had surgery for a torn meniscus following the 2019 season.

If Watson were to come on board, the Saints may be more active in going all-in on considering veteran free agents such as Tyrann Mathieu and Jarvis Landry, among others.

The clear difference is that the Saints would simply sign Winston, costing the organization money, not assets while acquiring Watson would cost the organization sizeable assets.

Forgiveness and second chances are deserved, essential parts of our existences. Lord knows I was in need of that in my lifetime.

That said, there can be no tolerance for sexual assault, if proven to be true.

There is clear risk involved in New Orleans looking to make a huge investment in Watson.

By law, Winston was not guilty.

By law, Watson was not guilty.

Winston settled with his accusers.

Will Watson do the same?

He is testifying freely today.

The Saints have done and will do their due diligence before trading multiple first-round picks and likely other assets, which is what it will take to pry Watson away from the Texans.

With Teddy Bridgewater off the market to Miami, it would appear that one of these two whose last name begins with “W” will be the quarterback for the New Orleans Saints in 2022.

Even if the Saints like a quarterback in the first round, the thought process here is that the Saints would not make that investment with the 18th pick overall.

If New Orleans was looking to start over, drafting a quarterback first would make sense. Of course, the Saints are not looking to start over, considering five straight winning seasons.

If the Saints were looking to start over, they would have hired outside of the organization, rather than promoting Dennis Allen.

Watson vs. Winston. Watson is the better player, by any measure. Winston proved in limited time a year ago that he could handle the job in competent fashion.

Either way, the he Saints are hoping that the “W” stands for winning, on and off the field with performance and character.