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 missing for a portion, if not the remainder of season – New York will turn to the 32-year-old Winston, who is in his second year with the franchise and started two games for the Giants last season, to steer the ship.
Here are five things you should know about Winston:
Winston was a star on the college scene.
After redshirting the 2012 season with the Florida State Seminoles, Winston won the ACC in 2013, leading the conference with 4,057 passing yards, 40 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.
Additionally, 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 left in the fourth quarter to defeat the Auburn Tigers.
Winston continued 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.
Overall, despite starting just two seasons at Florida State, Winston is tied for second in program history with 65 passing yards and is fourth all-time with 7,964 passing yards.
Jameis Winston was a 5-year starter
After his decorated tenure at Florida State, Winston was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the No. 1 in the 2015 NFL Draft, and would be the team’s starting quarterback for the better part of five seasons (2015-19).
During that span, Winston averaged 3,947.4 passing yards, 24.2 pass breakups, 17.6 interceptions and an 86.9 passer rating on the year while completing 61.3% of his passes. Granted, the Buccaneers went a combined 28-42 during the games he started and never made the playoffs.
Winston He did earned a trip to the Pro Bowl in his 2015 rookie season, however, in a year that saw the quarterback rush for a career-high six times.
Winston is having one of the most distinctive seasons of all time
That’s not hyperbole: Winston’s 2019 campaign was that absurd.
Winston led the NFL in opposing passing yards 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 pass attempts and completed 60.7% of his passes.
For context, Winston is one of only nine players to throw for 5,000 yards in a single season, and it happened the same year he became the 11th quarterback to throw 30 interceptions in a single season. Additionally, his 5,109 passing yards and 33 touchdown passes were then Buccaneers records.
To top it off, the Buccaneers’ season ended with Winston throwing a six-pointer in the first overtime game of a Week 17 home loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
Winston was originally Drew Brees’ successor
Drew Brees retired after the 2020 season, and New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton opened 2021 with Winston at quarterback after he spent last season behind Brees.
Winston’s tenure as the Saints’ starter began with promise. New Orleans started 5-2, 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 coach Dennis Allen, who was previously the team’s defensive coordinator, but Winston suffered a back injury that sidelined him three games into the season. For starters, Winston never got his starting job back after returning to full strength 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 to a pair of impressive division wins over the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, who each made the playoffs that year. Of course, current Giants coach John Harbaugh was Baltimore’s coach at the time.
FOX Sports History Winston
Winston has as much work with FOX Sports as Jimmy Johnson.
The veteran quarterback served as a correspondent for FOX Sports during its weeklong coverage 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 return telling Winston to join the Giants, which he ultimately did.
Other highlights from the week are included Winston dressing up as a pirate and trying to keep up with a horse on a bicycle in the streets of New Orleans.
Meanwhile, Winston went across the United States this summer for FOX’s coverage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, once again serving as a correspondent. Whether interviewing a goat wearing a Lionel Messi shirt or riding a bus, Winston promoted World Cup fan engagement.
And the site of the World Cup final, MetLife Stadium, is where Winston now plays his home games.
