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Winston started the first seven games for New Orleans last
season before tearing the ACL in his left knee against the Tampa
Bay Buccaneers on Oct. 31. He's still rehabilitating from his
injury but figures to draw a lot of interest when free agency
starts on March 16.
"Hopefully we can get something done with one of the guys that's
available," Loomis said at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. "Jameis
is certainly an option for us, and hopefully we're an option for
him as well. We'll go through the process here and see what
happens."
Winston stepped in after Drew Brees retired following the 2020
season and threw for 1,170 yards and 14 touchdowns, with three
interceptions, before being injured. The reduction in picks
stood out after Winston tossed an NFL-worst 30 for the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers in 2019 in his previous season as a starter.
New Orleans used three other starters at quarterback while going
9-8 in 2021. Taysom Hill started five games, Trevor Siemian made
four starts and Ian Book received one.
The Saints own the No. 18 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. They could
look for a quarterback, but Loomis didn't sound overly
enthusiastic about that possibility.
"When you're picking in the latter half of the draft, you just
don't know what's going to fall to you No. 1, so it's hard to
target someone," Loomis said. "Even if you decide you want to
make a move forward, you're limited in that -- moving from where
we're at, at No. 18, into the top eight or 10 picks is really
difficult, it's expensive in terms of the draft capital that you
have to give up. It can happen -- it's not impossible -- but
it's pretty difficult to predict."
It's possible that no quarterbacks will be off the board when
the Saints choose at No. 18, if they keep that draft position.
Liberty's Malik Willis, Pitt's Kenny Pickett and Matt Corral of
Mississippi are considered the top quarterback prospects. North
Carolina's Sam Howell could go late in the first round.
Nevada's Carson Strong and Cincinnati's Desmond Ridder could be
available in the second round, when the Saints have the No. 47
overall pick.
--Field Level Media
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