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Jameis Winston entered last season as the heir to Hall-of-Fame quarterback Drew Brees. Winston was on track for a nice season, until suffering a torn ACL (knee) in Week 7.
The Saints were forced to patchwork together starters, utilizing Taysom Hill, Trevor Siemian, and even rookie Ian Book in Week 15.
This experiment was very unsuccessful, resulting in a 9-8 record, that left them outside of the playoffs for the first time since 2016. The two questions that remain are first, is Winston healthy, and second, is he their starter? Let's dig in.
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Is Jameis Winston Healthy Heading Into 2022?
The recovery timeline for an ACL injury has consistently gotten shorter as modern medicine and the rehabilitation process continue to improve. Typically, the timeline is about nine or 10 months, which would place Winston's expected date of return between July 31st and August 31st.
Having just eclipsed the earliest part of that range, the hope would be for Winston to be showing signs of mobility. While Winston appears a little cautious, he seems to be moving well in the video below, instilling hope that he will be ready for Week 1.
Unfortunately, Winston encountered a setback on Monday, when he rolled his ankle.
Thankfully, the injury was later confirmed to be minor, so it shouldn't have any long-term impact on his recovery timeline. Winston is not currently at practice but is fully expected to return in the near future.
Is Jameis Winston The Saints Starting QB in 2022?
As described above, the Saints started three different players at quarterback after Winston went down, all of whom struggled with health and consistency.
Although Winston's numbers last year were not prolific, he was winning games and earning the trust of the coaching staff and organization, prompting them to offer him a significant contract.
His two-year deal, worth $28 million with $21 million guaranteed, is considered low-end starting quarterback money in the NFL and actually pays him the 17th-most among all quarterbacks for 2022.
This contract extension, combined with the praise he received from the coaching staff, locks Winston in as the starter, presuming he remains healthy.
Jameis Winston 2022 Fantasy Football Outlook
Winston remains on track to be healthy for Week 1 of the NFL season and will be ready to lead this team in 2022.
Winston will be the Saints starter, making him a streaming quarterback option with upside. He is currently ranked as the 18th overall quarterback in RotoBaller's fantasy football rankings, putting him in QB2 territory for single QB leagues.
In two-QB and superflex leagues, he's a viable target as your second QB.
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