The last time the Saints hosted the Buccaneers in New Orleans, Jameis Winston tore his ACL and his 2021 season ended prematurely.
Winston is healthy now and is coming off a significant comeback victory over the Falcons last week. But there is another potential element at play as the Saints take on the Bucs in Week Two.
Tampa Bay drafted Winston at No. 1 overall back in 2015. He never made the playoffs with the franchise, which replaced him with Tom Brady in 2020. But in his third season with New Orleans, Winston says he’s not feeling any kind of way about the Buccaneers.
“They’re just another team,” Winston said, via Katherine Terrell of ESPN. “I’ve got a lot of respect for a lot of those players, some of my old teammates, but at the end of the day, it’s a division game going against the best in Tom Brady.”
However, Winston’s head coach said that deep down, the quarterback may feel differently.
“I don’t want to speak for him, that would be unfair of me,” Dennis Allen said, via Terrell. “But I know if that was me, yeah, it probably would mean a little something extra.”
His first full game back from the knee injury, Winston finished last week 23-of-34 passing for 269 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
“This week is about us competing against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers,” Winston said. “I’m here now, healthy and I’m ready to rock. That’s it.”