NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Jameis Winston's four-year stint in New Orleans was a story of unfulfilled promise.
On Sunday, he'll have an opportunity to make Superdome spectators wonder if the Saints gave up on him too soon.
In his first season since leaving the Big Easy behind, Winston has been thrust into a midseason starting role with the Cleveland Browns (2-7), who visit the Saints (3-7) in a Week 11 matchup between teams that haven't had a lot go right this year.
“I’m grateful for this moment,” Winston said. “Opportunities only come so often.”
Winston, who has taken over in Cleveland for the injured Deshaun Watson, was with New Orleans from 2020 through 2023.
A 2013 Heisman Trophy winner with Florida State and first overall selection in the 2015 NFL draft, Winston hoped to resurrect his career with the Saints after his first team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, let him go in favor of former Patriots great Tom Brady.
While Winston's time in New Orleans was marked by a major knee injury and didn't go as he envisioned, he remembers his former Saints teammates and his life in the community fondly — and says he's “definitely excited” to play there again.
“The people in New Orleans, I really love them,” Winston said. “They really helped that transitional period in my life. They filled it up with joy.”
While Winston has been a mercurial performer as a pro, the Saints know how effective he can be on his good days.
“He’s always capable of making those huge plays,” said Saints interim coach Darren Rizzi, who was on New Orleans' staff throughout Winston's tenure there.
“It'll be great to see him,” Rizzi added. "It'll certainly be a challenge to play against him.”
While Winston thrived in his first game as Cleveland's starter in a victory over contending Baltimore, he had a turnover-marred loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in his second start in Week 9.
“I'm expecting a few moon balls, you know? I know he's going to take a few shots," Saints safety Tryann Mathieu said with a playful grin. "And quite honestly, we got to catch the ones that he throws to us.”
Denzel Ward hasn’t caught a break – or the ball.
Cleveland’s Pro Bowl cornerback might be having his best NFL season, but the seven-year veteran has yet to get his first interception despite leading the league with 15 passes defensed, including one in each game this season.
He has had potential picks slip through his hands or get knocked away by contact. Ward has been alone as the Browns have just one interception all season – by injured linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah.
The team-wide drought has been frustrating.
“Yeah, we got to get ’em,” he said. “We got to just keep putting an emphasis on it. Yeah, we know we don’t got any. I don’t have any yet and, man, I got to go get me one.”
Ward, who has 15 career interceptions, thinks that once he makes that first pick, they’ll come in bunches.
“We get that first one, they’re going to start rolling in,” he said.” It’s just hard to get that first one.”
The Saints offense expects to get an enormous boost up front this week. Center Erik McCoy is slated to return from a groin injury that has sidelined him since the first half of New Orleans' Week 3 loss to Philadelphia.
“Erik’s a phenomenal player,” Rizzi said. “He may be one of more underrated offensive linemen in the league overall, not just center.”
Few sounded happier about McCoy's impending return that Saints QB Derek Carr, who highlighted the veteran center's aptitude for relaying blocking assignments at the line of scrimmage.
“He can fix problems on the fly, things no one will ever see, no one will ever know, handling the un-scouted looks and then winning his matchups,” Carr said. “For a QB, it’s nice when he’s there because you know exactly what you’re getting. He knows the calls to make and all those things to put everyone else on the same page to do their job."
Like almost any son of New Orleans, Browns safety Grant Delpit grew up adoring the Saints.
His grandfather had season tickets and Delpit, who played at LSU, attended numerous games in the Superdome as a kid.
“They used to know me running around the stadium, up the ramps,” he said. “A little kid that was just not even focused on the game just running around the stadium. Definitely got some history and some roots in that stadium.”
Delpit didn’t hesitate in rattling off names of some of his childhood football heroes, ranging from Deuce McAllister to Joe Horn to Reggie Bush.
“He was my favorite Saints player,” Delpit said of Bush. “He was everybody’s favorite player.”
Delpit had to book a suite and get extra tickets in order to handle the large group of family members and friends expected to attend Sunday’s game. Before that, he’ll be treated to his favorite homecoming meal.
“My grandma’s gumbo,” he said, lighting up at just the thought. “She knows what’s going on. She’s probably making it right now.”
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AP Sports Writer Tom Withers in Cleveland contributed to this report.
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