Contract Terms
Jameis Winston has agreed to terms with the Cleveland Browns, who will pay $4 million for a one-year deal. According to Profootballtalk.com's Mike Florio, Winston gets a $2.79 million signing bonus and a minimum base salary of $1.21 million. The deal also includes up to $4.7 million in incentives. The triggers for the extra payments aren't yet known.
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Fantasy Football Impact
According to ESPN.com's Jake Trotter, Winston will replace Joe Flacco as the No. 2 quarterback behind Deshaun Watson. The Browns also have Dorian Thompson-Robinson on the roster. Thompson-Robinson started three games last season as a rookie.
Winston was the first overall pick in the 2015 draft. After five years as the full-time starter in Tampa Bay, he spent four years as a backup in New Orleans. Along the way, he appeared in 21 games with 10 starts for the Saints.
In 2019, Winston threw for 5,109 passing yards. As PFT notes, only six other quarterbacks in NFL history have thrown for 5,000 or more yards in a season: Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes II, Ben Roethlisberger, and Dan Marino. Each is or will be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The 2019 season was Winston's last full season as a starting quarterback. That season, he led the league in attempts (626), yards, and interceptions (30) and finished with 33 touchdowns. The Buccaneers signed Tom Brady the next offseason, and Winston signed with the Saints as a backup to Drew Brees.
He'll provide a serviceable, experienced, veteran presence behind Watson, who has been limited to just 12 starts in two seasons in Cleveland due to suspension and injury. Put Winston on your waiver-wire watchlist if Watson goes down again this year.
The Fantasy Football Fallout
Cleveland's decision to turn away from Flacco is a negative from a fantasy perspective. The veteran signal-caller signed with Cleveland midway through the year after Watson suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. The former Super Bowl MVP led the Browns to four straight wins as they clinched their first playoff berth since 2020.
Flacco led the NFL with 323 passing yards per game over his five starts with the Browns. Cleveland ultimately fell in the first round of the postseason in Houston 45-14, but Flacco more than fueled the fires of critical fantasy assets like Amari Cooper and David Njoku.
Cooper totaled 265 yards and two touchdowns on 11 catches in a blowout Week 16 win over the Texans. He officially broke the Browns' single-game receiving yards record. It was the most receiving yards in an NFL game last season. Cooper also delivered the week before, pulling in four catches for 109 yards and a touchdown.
Njoku investors might also lament this move. In fact, they might lament Watson's return. As Rotoworld's Zachary Krueger recently pointed out, in 11 career games with Watson, Njoku has averaged 9.0 fantasy points per game. In five career games with Flacco, Njoku has averaged 18.6 fantasy points per game.
In New Orleans, second-year man Jake Haener is the only quarterback on the roster behind starter Derek Carr. Taysom Hill would likely be in the mix here, too, but don't be surprised if the Saints add another veteran backup at some point.
Stock Watch
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Overview
While Joe Flacco had tremendous success for them down the stretch last season, the Cleveland Browns have agreed to a one-year contract with Jameis Winston to be their backup quarterback behind Deshaun Watson. While fantasy managers won't be making a significant investment here, it's worth noting Watson has only played 12 games over his two seasons with the team. Watson investors will want to have Winston on their waiver-wire watch list.