Winston returning to Saints on 1-year deal reportedly worth up to $12M

The New Orleans Saints and Jameis Winston have agreed to a deal for the free-agent quarterback to return to the team, the franchise announced Monday.

Winston will ink a one-year contract worth up to $12 million, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The contract figures to be heavily incentivized, as New Orleans remained $10 million over the salary cap entering the day.

Winston was signed to back up Drew Brees this past season but sat behind Taysom Hill when Brees went down with an injury. Both passers should compete for the starting job following Brees' retirement on Sunday.

Since the end of the season, Saints head coach Sean Payton has said he'd hoped to re-sign Winston.

The former No. 1 overall pick spent his first five seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he set franchise passing records but also struggled mightily with turnovers and failed to lead the team to the postseason.

Winston appeared in four games and threw just 11 passes with New Orleans. The 27-year-old stepped into the Saints' divisional playoff game against the Bucs and threw a 56-yard touchdown pass on a trick play.

Hill started the four regular-season games Brees missed due to injury, and while he led New Orleans to a 3-1 record in those games, he failed to firmly cement himself as the franchise's future answer at quarterback.

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