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Jameis Winston won’t be making much as Drew Bees’ Saints backup

Jameis Winston is taking a significant pay cut in the latest NFC South quarterback shakeup. According to ESPN, he is signing a one-year, $1.1 million deal with the Saints that includes up to $3.4 million in incentives. The contract is a substantial drop from the $46 million he earned through five years in Tampa Bay …

Jameis Winston is taking a significant pay cut in the latest NFC South quarterback shakeup.

According to ESPN, he is signing a one-year, $1.1 million deal with the Saints that includes up to $3.4 million in incentives.

The contract is a substantial drop from the $46 million he earned through five years in Tampa Bay after being drafted with the No. 1 pick in 2015. Winston is prioritizing “the chance to learn and grow as a player,” ESPN’s Field Yates wrote on Twitter.

“Being a part of the New Orleans Saints, being a part with Drew Brees, Taysom Hill, Sean Payton, (quarterbacks) coach Joe Lombardi, (offensive coordinator) Pete Carmichael. When you think about that room, that’s like a Harvard education in quarterback school,” Winston said.

The Heisman Trophy winner has accrued 19,737 passing yards, a 61.3 completion percentage, 121 touchdowns and 88 interceptions over five seasons, struggling with turnover issues that only worsened over time. He led the league with 5,109 passing yards as the Buccaneers’ starter in 2019, while becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to throw at least 30 touchdowns and 30 interceptions (25 of which occurred with a clean pocket).

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis WinstonGetty Images

“It’s a compliment to Jameis Winston to understand where he’s at in this world and sign a one-year deal here and learn behind Drew [Brees,]” Saints assistant general manager Jeff Ireland told ESPN Central Texas radio on Monday. “Jameis Winston will learn more football in a year than he has in his lifetime.”

Learning opportunity aside, the deal is significantly below market, even for a backup quarterback. Winston, 26, will fill the void left by Teddy Bridgewater, who went on to sign a three-year, $63 million contract with the Panthers, replacing Cam Newton. Bridgewater earned $7.25 million last year as Brees’ backup.

Brees, 41, inked a two-year, $50 million extension this offseason. He is expected to retire after this year and join NBC Sports as an analyst, as reported by The Post’s Andrew Marchand.

Winston joins 29-year-old gadget player Hill on the Saints depth chart, who recently signed a two-year extension valued at $21 million that replaces the one-year, $4.6 million tender they had offered him previously.

Hill, who told reporters he views himself “as a franchise quarterback” ahead of Super Bowl 54, is unlikely to vie for a traditional quarterback role. According to ESPN’s Mike Clay, head coach Payton has used the BYU product on 466 career snaps, of which just 24% were taken at quarterback. Hill has attempted 15 passes in those 110 quarterback snaps, completing 7 of 15 for 169 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception. The remaining 356 snaps were distributed as follows: 31% at tight end, 22% from the slot, 15% as an outside receiver and 8% at running back.

Winston will also earn significantly less than Marcus Mariota, who was selected one spot behind him. The Titans benched Mariota in favor of Ryan Tannehill last season, and he went on to sign a two-year, $17.6 million contract in March with the Raiders as an insurance policy for Derek Carr.

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