We all know about Jameis Winston’s personality, but what about him as a player?
With second-year quarterback Jaxson Dart suffering a knee injury in the New York Giants’ Week 2 loss to the Los Angeles Rams – and likely lost for a chunk of, if not the remainder of the season – New York will turn to the 32-year-old Winston, who’s in his second year with the franchise and started two games for the Giants last season, to steer the ship.
Here are five things to know about Winston:
Jameis Winston Is A College Legend
Winston was a star on the collegiate scene.
After redshirting his freshman season with the Florida State Seminoles, Winston took the ACC by storm in 2013, leading the conference with 4,057 passing yards, 40 passing touchdowns and a 184.8 passer rating, while completing 66.9% of his passes. He also rushed for 219 yards and four touchdowns en route to winning the 2013 Heisman Trophy Award.
Moreover, Winston led Florida State to a BCS Championship, with the quarterback hitting wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin for a go-ahead and eventual game-winning touchdown with 13 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to defeat the Auburn Tigers.
Winston followed up his 2013 heroics by leading the ACC with 3,907 passing yards and a 65.3% completion percentage in a 13-1 year for Florida State that saw it reach the College Football Playoff semifinals.
In all, despite starting just two seasons at Florida State, Winston is tied for second in program history with 65 passing touchdowns and is fourth outright with 7,964 passing yards.
Jameis Winston Was A 5-Year Starter
After his decorated stint at Florida State, Winston was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, and would be the team’s primary quarterback for the better part of five seasons (2015-19).
Over that span, Winston averaged 3,947.4 passing yards, 24.2 passing touchdowns, 17.6 interceptions and an 86.9 passer rating per year, while completing 61.3% of his passes. Granted, the Buccaneers went a combined 28-42 over the games he started and never made the playoffs.
Winston did earn a trip to the Pro Bowl in his 2015 rookie season, though, in a year that saw the quarterback rush for a career-high six touchdowns.
Winston Has One Of The Most Distinct Seasons Of All Time
This isn’t hyperbole: Winston’s 2019 campaign was that absurd.
Winston led the NFL in polar opposite passing categories, as he threw for a league-high 5,109 yards but also led the sport with 30 interceptions. Elsewhere, he threw for 33 touchdowns, posted an 84.3 passer rating, led the NFL with 626 passing attempts and completed 60.7% of his passes.
For context, Winston is one of just nine players to throw for 5,000 yards in a single season, and it came in the same year that he became the 11th quarterback to throw 30 interceptions in a single campaign. Moreover, his 5,109 passing yards and 33 passing touchdowns were then-Buccaneers records.
To put a bow on the matter, the Buccaneers’ season ended with Winston throwing a pick-six on the first play of overtime in a Week 17 loss at home to the Atlanta Falcons.
Winston Was Originally Drew Brees’ Successor
Drew Brees retired after the 2020 season, and New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton opened 2021 with Winston at quarterback after he spent the previous season behind Brees.
Winston’s stint as the Saints’ starter began with promise. New Orleans got off to a 5-2 start, with Winston throwing for 14 touchdowns and just three interceptions and boasting a 102.8 passer rating. Unfortunately for Winston, his season ended after seven games due to a torn ACL.
He opened 2022 as the Saints’ starter under new head coach Dennis Allen, who was previously the team’s defensive coordinator, but Winston suffered a back injury that took him off the field three games into the season. To boot, Winston never got his starting job back after returning to full force, as Andy Dalton stayed under center. The following season (2023), Winston served as the team’s backup to Derek Carr.
Winston then spent 2024 with the Cleveland Browns, starting seven games and helping the team pull off a pair of impressive division victories over the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens, who each made the playoffs that year. Of course, now-Giants head coach John Harbaugh was Baltimore’s coach at the time.
Winston’s FOX Sports History
Winston has as many stints with FOX Sports as Jimmy Johnson.
The veteran quarterback served as a correspondent for FOX Sports during its coverage throughout the week of Super Bowl LIX. Among the memorable moments of the week was Winston asking Philadelphia Eagles superstar Saquon Barkley which team he should sign with in free agency and the running back telling Winston to join the Giants, which he ultimately did.
Other standout moments from the week included Winston dressing up like a pirate and trying to keep up with a horse on a bike on the streets of New Orleans.
Meanwhile, Winston went across the United States this summer for FOX’s coverage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, serving as a correspondent once again. Whether it was interviewing a goat that was wearing a Lionel Messi jersey or riding a bus, Winston promoted fan engagement of the World Cup.
And the venue where the World Cup Final was played, MetLife Stadium, is where Winston now plays his home games.
