Saints' Winston: Not playing 'hurts my soul'

New Orleans Saints quarterback Jameis Winston didn't think he would lose hold of the starter's job after suffering an injury earlier in the season.

But Andy Dalton hasn't relinquished New Orleans' starting role since taking over under center in Week 4 against the Minnesota Vikings, and Saints head coach Dennis Allen has once again tabbed Dalton to start in Week 11 against the Los Angeles Rams.

Winston doesn't agree with that decision.

"I lost my job due to injury, and the policy has always been you don't lose your job due to injury," he told ESPN's Katherine Terrell. "And that's what happened."

Winston said he was under the impression he'd return to the starting role after missing time due to foot and back ailments. But Allen has opted to stick with Dalton.

"It hurts my soul the way things have turned out to be this year," Winston said. "But it is what it is."

New Orleans went 1-2 through the first three games of the season with Winston under center. He struggled to spark the offense, completing 63.5% of his passes for 858 yards and four touchdowns against five interceptions.

The Saints haven't faired much better since, entering Week 11 with a 3-7 record while racking up a modest 22.2 points per game.

Winston admitted he probably shouldn't have played in Week 2 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after injuring his back in the season opener against the Atlanta Falcons. But he wanted to face the team that drafted him first overall in 2015, especially after tearing his ACL against Tampa Bay last season.

Regardless, he insisted he's healthy enough to return to the lineup despite Allen saying he won't be 100% for the rest of the campaign.

"I'm healing up. I haven't been playing. This is the best healing I can get," Winston said.

Despite his discontent, Winston said he's focused on supporting both Dalton and the offense.

"I think winning makes a lot of things better," he said. "So we need to go out there and start with this week - get a win as a team."

Copyright (C) 2022 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.