New Orleans Saints

New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis believes the criticism of Colin Kaepernick and NFL players protesting during the national anthem has detracted from the movement's goal of spotlighting police brutality.

In an interview with TMZ Sports, Davis was asked if now the timing was right for a team to sign Kaepernick and responded: 

"I think it's time for just everybody to admit...I think we all got it wrong on two fronts. Number one ... Colin was taking a stance when it wasn't cool to stand up to police brutality. But we also did a disservice to bringing an end to police brutality because we made it about Kaepernick, we made it about kneeling and we made it about the flag. And we're doing it again today."

Davis went on to say, "That's the line, 'Black Lives Matter,' because it's an outcry that we are losing our lives, and all we wanna talk about is the flag, we wanna talk about kneeling. We got it wrong with Colin Kaepernick; he took a stand, he did right. ... He was trying to turn attention to the issue, not to him."

Davis called the league's recent pledge to donate $250 million over 10 years to combat systemic racism the start of a "unique opportunity to be part of real change."

"With a contribution as large as $250 million, I think there are systems that can go into place to help⁠—along with black players⁠—to change black communities," he said. "So, working together on that, that's definitely a conversation that I want to be a part of."

Davis added that "of course" he would be willing to speak with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell about how the league can best use its influence to promote social change. 

"One thing I can say about Roger is he has constantly tried to be a liaison in conversations between players and owners," the Saints linebacker said. "The extent of that conversation we will see going forward. But I think it's a tremendous opportunity, but that's just words so far, we'll see what kind of actions come from it."

Throughout his NFL career, Davis has been an outspoken advocate for social justice and equal rights. In 2019, he and cornerback Josh Norman posted bail for a college student who was detained for reading a poem critical of the United States' immigration policies to an attending board of supervisors. 

Davis, alongside New Orleans Pelicans guards Lonzo Ball and JJ Redick, recently formed a Social Justice Leadership Coalition with Saints and Pelicans owner Gayle Benson. 

New Orleans Saints tight ends coach Dan Campbell called Jared Cook a "matchup nightmare" for opposing defenses heading into the 2020 NFL season.

Campbell told Luke Johnson of the New Orleans Advocate that the "sky's the limit" for Cook despite an up-and-down 2019 campaign, his first year with the Saints.

"That talent level has been in there," Campbell said. "[Raiders head coach Jon] Gruden was able to pull it out of him; he knew exactly what to do with the guy, and we're trying to do the same thing. We just know he is a one-on-one nightmare; he is a matchup nightmare for a defense. I don't know how to cover the guy. I wouldn't know what to tell them."

Cook got off to a sluggish start with the Saints. He recorded just eight catches with no touchdowns across his first four appearances last season.

The 33-year-old started to carve out a niche for himself in the team's high-powered offense as the year went on, however, and he finished with a flourish, scoring five touchdowns across New Orleans' final four regular-season games. Cook finished the season with career highs in yards per reception (16.4) and touchdowns (nine) off 43 catches. 

The South Carolina product added five catches for 54 yards in the Saints' playoff loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

Cook, who registered 68 receptions for 896 yards and six scores for Gruden's Raiders in 2018, won't be a high-volume target in New Orleans as long as wide receiver Michael Thomas is healthy. He can be a crucial asset on third down and in the red zone, though.

"We pictured a guy that we could put out there, and if you try to take away Mike Thomas and you're going to try to leave somebody one-on-one with Jared Cook, you've got a problem, and we're going to hurt you if that's what you want to do," Campbell said.

The Saints signed two-time Pro Bowl receiver Emmanuel Sanders (66 receptions last season) in April, which will further cut into Cook's target share. The 6'5", 254-pounder was third on the team with 65 targets. 

So Cook's value in the world of fantasy football will be limited and difficult to project on a weekly basis. The Saints have too many weapons, including a pair of good pass-catching running backs in Alvin Kamara and Latavius Murray and a jack of all trades in Taysom Hill, for Cook to post huge numbers.

Campbell sounds confident Cook will provide far more real-world value to the Saints in key situations, though.

Film director, producer and screenwriter Spike Lee complimented New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees for his recent comments to President Donald Trump during a Zoom call with Saints players on Tuesday.

ESPN's Adam Schefter provided the report.  

"The guest speaker on today’s Saints' team Zoom call was Spike Lee, per source," Schefter wrote. "Lee complimented Drew Brees for how he stood up to President Trump and then spoke 45 minutes about his experiences in race relations. The players loved Lee, said one person on the call."

Brees' comments were in response to the President's criticism of the quarterback's numerous apologies for remarks made about kneeling in protest against racial injustice and police brutality during the national anthem.

Brees spoke with Daniel Roberts of Yahoo Finance on Wednesday:

"So every time I stand with my hand over my heart, looking at that flag and singing the national anthem, that’s what I think about... thinking about all that has been sacrificed, not just those in the military, but for that matter, those throughout the civil rights movement of the 60s. And all that has been endured by so many people. And is everything right with our country right now? No, it’s not. We still have a long way to go. But I think what you do by standing there and showing respect to the flag with your hand over your heart is it shows unity. It shows that we are all in this together, we can all do better, and we are all part of the solution."

After much backlash from teammates and others, Brees offered multiple apologies. That soon elicited the following response from Trump:

...We should be standing up straight and tall, ideally with a salute, or a hand on heart. There are other things you can protest, but not our Great American Flag - NO KNEELING!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2020

Brees then wrote a note on Instagram that began as follows: 

"Through my ongoing conversations with friends, teammates, and leaders in the black community, I realize this is not an issue about the American flag. It has never been. We can no longer use the flag to turn people away or distract them from the real issues that face our black communities.

"We did this back in 2017, and regretfully I brought it back with my comments this week. We must stop talking about the flag and shift our attention to the real issues of systemic racial injustice, economic oppression, police brutality, and judicial & prison reform."

Brees' response to Trump was well-received by his teammates and others, including All-Pro Saints wideout Michael Thomas:

MY QB 💪🏾 https://t.co/TOSprTpFHr

— Michael Thomas (@Cantguardmike) June 6, 2020

As for Lee, four of his films have been inducted into the National Film Registry, per Donald Liebenson of Vanity Fair: She’s Gotta Have It, Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X and 4 Little Girls.

Lee also directed and produced When the Levees Broke and the follow-up If God Is Willing and da Creek Don't Rise, which largely covered the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and its impact on New Orleans.

The second film heavily featured Brees and the 2009 Saints' run to a Super Bowl victory and its importance to New Orleans.

New Orleans Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins doesn't believe the NFL has gone far enough to show its full, undivided support to black players in the wake of Roger Goodell's video statement released last week. 

Appearing on CBS This Morning, Jenkins said, "I still don't think they've gotten it right" because Goodell and NFL owners haven't "apologized specifically" to Colin Kaepernick (starting at 2:05 mark):

Jenkins also said that in lieu of an apology a team could sign Kaepernick, otherwise the NFL is unlikely to end up "on the right side of history."

Goodell issued a video statement offering support for the league's black players and said the league condemns systemic racism and police brutality:

We, the NFL, condemn racism and the systematic oppression of Black People. We, the NFL, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest. We, the NFL, believe Black Lives Matter. #InspireChange pic.twitter.com/ENWQP8A0sv

— NFL (@NFL) June 5, 2020

Goodell admitted "we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier" but didn't specifically mention Kaepernick by name in the video. 

Joe Lockhart, former NFL executive vice president of communications, wrote an opinion piece on CNN.com that discussed Kaepernick going unsigned in the aftermath of his decision to kneel during the national anthem in 2016 to protest systemic oppression of black people.

"No teams wanted to sign a player—even one as talented as Kaepernick—whom they saw as controversial, and, therefore, bad for business," Lockhart wrote.

Lockhart did note Goodell and other NFL executives tried to persuade owners to change their minds, but Kaepernick has remained a free agent since opting out of his contract with the San Francisco 49ers in March 2017. 

Jenkins and former NFL wide receiver Anquan Boldin are co-founders of the Players Coalition. The organization was established in 2017 to provide advocacy, education, awareness and financial resources to address social justice and racial equality at all levels of government. 

Exasperation is the expectation. At least one rant, right? The past few months should have been impossible to process for a proud man like Jameis Winston.

He was the youngest player to ever win the Heisman. A national champion. A No. 1 overall pick. A quarterback with a cannon of a right arm who just threw for 5,109 yards—the eighth-most prolific passing season, you know, ever. His name is right there in the record books with legends: Manning and Brees and Brady and Roethlisberger and Mahomes and Marino. Indeed, his statistics through his first five pro seasons are eerily similar to those of the five-time MVP Peyton Manning.    

Thus, it'd be very easy for this quarterback with this resume to wonder if what happened back in free agency is some cruel conspiracy.

The last time we saw Winston, he sure seemed pissed. Moments after becoming the NFL's first 30-interception QB since 1988, after what'd be his final game as a Buccaneer, he took the podium and became fed up with questions about the picks. He told the world then, sternly, that if he fixes this one issue, "I'm going to be the best. That's bar none. You better check your sheet." He's glad he spoke up. He felt like those in the room were trying to make him out to be a terrible quarterback.

"I know what I'm worth," Winston tells B/R by phone from Alabama. "And I know day in and day out, without publicly coming in and saying it, that historically I'm one of the best quarterbacks to play the game."

So now that the dust has settled—after all the NFL's general managers and head coaches made it clear Winston, in fact, isn't even a starter at the moment—you half-expect him to detonate with fury.

Yet he does not. Not even close.

He defends his raw emotion in that moment, calling it a "confidence point" in his career, and Jameis Winston is genuinely rejuvenated…excited. You'd never know he's a backup. His voice spikes with very real enthusiasm. He isn't pissed at the Buccaneers, isn't pissed at anyone. Rather, Winston is 100 percent embracing what's essentially a do-or-die crossroads in his career.

"It's a love of the game, bro. It's bigger than me," he says. "Do I feel like I've earned my stripes? I do. Do I feel like I'm better than a lot of starting quarterbacks in this league? I do. But God has a plan that I haven't even thought of yet. I have to respect this game first. Respect is earned.

"So if a team believes I'm not good enough to be their starting quarterback, OK, let me earn my way back up. I've done it my whole life. It's not like it's just starting to happen."

And that's precisely what he plans to do: Earn it. Winston has a master plan to become an NFL starter again, one set into motion the instant that 2019 season concluded.

He went vegan, losing 17 pounds and counting.

He had Lasik surgery to improve his vision.

He's fixing the interception problem. Drill to drill.

He's now learning from a Canton-bound quarterback.

He's trying to strike the balance between staying true to himself as a football player while, still, evolving. So many people hear his name now, Jameis Winston, and think of one thing and one thing only: interceptions. Many calories have been burnt screaming about what he does wrong, but Winston believes in the essence of what he does right—and believes that, above all else, will bring him back.

"The fact that I'm fearless," Winston says. "The fact that no matter what the score is, no matter what the situation is, I'm always expecting to win. I'm always going into a game—no matter what happens—I still believe. Until that clock hits four zeroes and we can't snap the ball again, I believe we can win the football game. And that confidence is going to always stay with me. That's just how I'm wired.

"My entire life, I've been a winner. Little League football. Middle school. High school. College. Obviously, the NFL is a little more difficult. But I've been a winner. I don't want to be viewed as a loser. It's going to come. It's going to happen. This is something I've been fighting for my entire life. Building up to this.

"If people think I'm just going to lay down and give up because of a few losing seasons, that's never going to be the case."

My entire life, I've been a winner. Little League football. Middle school. High school. College. Obviously, the NFL is a little more difficult. But I've been a winner. I don't want to be viewed as a loser. It's going to come. — Jameis Winston

In his mind, he can't lose. Not with his dad's "three rules of football" still ringing in his head to this day: Never give up. Never give up. Never give up. Not with everything he's doing this offseason. Not with how clear his mind is.

Winston promises this: "It's not over for me."

"I'm 26," he says. "There's people talking about me like I'm an old, washed-up quarterback. Like I'm 40 years old! I've got so much life. I've got so much energy, man."

He repeats it once more.

"This is not over for me."

---

Whenever Winston does take the field again, you may not recognize him. He had a scope done on his knee Jan. 17 to repair a torn meniscus, the doctor told him the quickest way to recover was by eating better and—easy decision—he went vegan Jan. 18.

"My body just transformed," he says.

By early May, Winston had dropped from 242 to 225 pounds.

He'll sneak in a cheat meal here and there, but Sunday through Friday? Winston's diet is downright TB12-esque. There's nothing but plants and fruit as he details one typical day's meals with Food Network zest. He loves kale, green beans, collard greens and creamed corn. One go-to meal is combining chopped-up sweet potatoes with plantains. And fruit, he's discovering, provides juuuust enough sweetness to satisfy his palate.

The first couple of weeks, Winston wasn't convinced about this whole vegan thing. He looked down and saw a gut still poking out. By the time he hit that third week, and then the fourth, he started seeing real changes. Any and all skepticism faded for good.

Now Winston is a convert. He's amazed at how a vegan lifestyle has led to wholesale changes.

Physical recovery sure helped, too. Last season was more painful than anyone realized.

In addition to the torn meniscus, Winston played through a broken thumb on his throwing hand the final three-and-a-half games, when he had 10 of his interceptions (but also another 11 touchdowns). How bad was it? He needed to immobilize the thumb in a hard cast for an entire month. This wasn't an off hand either. "This is my throwing thumb," he says with emphasis. He can still remember all the Should I play? talks with Bucs medics, week to week, quarter to quarter. Yet even with star receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin lost to hamstring injuries, even with playoff hopes dead and a potential free-agency windfall looming and every logical reason to shut it down in late December, the choice for Winston was easy.

It's always been easy.

The choice is central to his football mentality.

"No injury, unless it's something really, really serious, is going to keep me from going on the field," he says. "Because I've got my teammates out there. They're depending on me. The whole city of Tampa was depending on me."

He thought back to an old saying at Florida State: "Love is the reason for the fight." The blood, the sweat, the tears he and his teammates shed from July right on through January make the pain they suffer worth it. This is why Winston plays, why he also missed only three games when he sprained the AC joint in his right shoulder back in 2017. Nothing matters more to him than gaining sincere love in his locker room, from the practice squad rookie nobody knows to a player making $100 million.

Gain this love, he says, and you realize that love is for football itself. The game.

That love binds 11 players together striving for the same thing.

"So I take that approach. It's bigger than me," he says. "No matter what I'm dealing with, no matter what I'm going through, I'm out here to serve these guys who are out here putting their life on the line, too."

And then, poof, it was over. The Buccaneers moved on.

Winston wouldn't be gritting through any injury for any Bucs teammate any longer.

Of course, part of him understands Tampa Bay's decision. He can live with telling his son they had to leave Tampa Bay because Tom Brady, the greatest ever, was replacing him. He wanted a Patriots No. 12 jersey himself as a kid.

But mock that "Eat a W" speech all you want. Winston's raw passion is real. He believed in his group in Tampa—believed they were building a Super Bowl winner. So when that belief wasn't reciprocated? That stings. He thought about his teammates. The fact he'd never throw to Evans again or bleed on Sundays with guys like Ali Marpet and Ryan Jensen and Ndamukong Suh...and Winston keeps listing off names because there are so many teammates he genuinely enjoyed playing through those injuries for.

Two days. It took a solid two days to mentally reset and move on when the Bucs moved on.

"I thought to myself, 'Hey, man, I love the city of Tampa Bay, and I really want to be here. This is where I want to be,'" Winston says. "I've done so much in this community. This community has received me well. When I first got here, I had to overcome so much. I'm going to work my tail off to be there in this city. Two days. Just because I'm human."

Then, he was fine.

It hit Winston: The Bucs don't want me? Fine. They don't want me. And he went to work fixing the reason he wasn't wanted.

---

The absolute worst thing Winston could do is stick his fingers in his ears and ignore the noise. No, he does not agree with everyone going on and on about those 30 picks, pointing out that he hadn't cracked the 20s his four other pro seasons. He declares last year an "anomaly."

He defends his fearlessness on the field. It's who he is. He views gunslinging as his No. 1 strength. So, no, he cannot do a 180, cannot play afraid of his own shadow. But he also cannot ignore the reality that the lows are as low as the highs are high. He knows he must learn how to control the game.

Change is needed.

Self-reflection is needed.

"I know, like, 'Hey Jameis, you can't go out there and throw the ball to the other team,'" he says. "But how do I apply that? How do I insert that into my training? How do I make that something that's habitual?

"In every criticism, there's some type of truth. In every critic, there's some type of truth. So I'm going to take the little truth in this negative outlook on my career—my season last year—and work on it. Instead of me getting mad at the world, I'm like, 'OK, I'm going to work on this.' I'm going to come up with a way that I can eliminate these things."

Trimming a layer of fat should make him more nimble in the pocket. Winston now, theoretically, can dip and dodge away from pressure to buy himself an (extremely valuable) extra split-second before the ball leaves his hand to make more conscious decisions. Lasik should help, too. Up to this point, he's battled nearsightedness and astigmatism. The field won't be as blurry now.

The combination of it all makes this the most fascinating quarterback case study of this era.

Winston must strike a balance that may or may not exist.

"Sometimes, your biggest strength can be your biggest weakness," he says. "I'm an attacker. I'm trying to attack consistently. I'm trying to attack every time I play. I want you to feel my presence every time I'm in the game. But at the same time, I'm the quarterback. I have the ball. I'm the one who says this goes here and that goes there. I am the answer.

"So learning how to manage that attack mode and how to manage that not-attack mode is the balance. I'm trying to find that perfect balance."

He isn't just regurgitating talking points. He's meticulously rewiring his quarterback brain, using very specific workout routines to find that balance and achieve an everyday mentality of "making great decisions."

Winston runs through his process: Practicing in his backyard with his trainers, he'll first reach maximum exhaustion. Then the moment he does—the moment he can best simulate being tired as hell in a game—he'll move into a drill designed to target that decision-making. Winston gives an example: He'll drop back with a trainer sending medicine balls at him at full speed, forcing him to scramble. At which point, he'll read "targets" set up at various routes downfield. "Targets," as in nets that will be left open or turned shut at the last second.

The point is to force Winston to "embrace the pain" and make a smart decision on the fly under duress.

"So if somebody's running after me at full speed, and both of those targets are closed, where is the only place I can throw the ball?" he says. "Out of bounds. Practicing throwing the ball away."

He already can feel the tide turning.

Recently, in this exact drill, Winston had set up nets at dig and flat routes—a go-to route combination in the NFL. He avoided the medicine balls, spun away from a "defender" (a trainer chasing him), rolled left and, with that defender barreling down, had to make that crucial split-second decision.

The flat route was covered, but the dig route? Wide open.

That dig was so, so tempting. Winston has flipped his torso around, on the run, and gripped and ripped so many times in his career. In 2019, he would've done it. Not anymore.

This time, Winston tucked the ball. Ran. Gained what would've been a yard. Maybe two.

"This was a maturity step for me," Winston says. "Just making those simple decisions—every day—it adds up. It adds up. Because in real life, when Aaron Donald is chasing me from the right and I'm scrambling to the left, and I have Michael Thomas coming in on a dig route but I can't really see the backside safety about to rob and pick off this dig, and I have Alvin Kamara in the flat but he's covered up, I might just have to throw that ball away or tuck it and run. Let's keep the ball in our possession and find another way to get it, to get the job done."

Avoiding a hypothetical turnover isn't exactly the type of clip players spam social media with this time of year to beef up their brands. But in Winston's world, you bet it's cause for celebration. And this is just one of, uh, many drills. You might've seen Winston swinging a stick like a baseball bat, too. 

.@Jaboowins getting creative ♨️ https://t.co/UPSPzdJ9c0

— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) May 23, 2020

There's a method to this madness. Rep to rep, day to day, week to week, Winston believes this all will seep into his subconscious.

He believes he will strike that balance.

"If I can make a great decision when I'm out here training with other people," Winston says, "when I'm tired, in this hot sun and it's a worldwide pandemic going on, well, I can make a great decision when I'm in the pocket playing for the New Orleans Saints."

---

He is currently the 55th-highest-paid quarterback in football, right behind recycled busts Geno Smith, Mike Glennon and (don't gag) Blaine Gabbert. And yet, it's impossible to tell. You'd never know a QB once daydreaming of a $100 million contract needed to settle for $1.1 million. Winston speaks with the jubilation of someone who just reset the whole damn market.

The reason why is the fit. Winston sees the Big Easy as the perfect spot to revive his career.

For starters, Sean Payton sincerely wanted him. Out of all the coaches he talked to, Payton was the most fired up about his game. About his strengths. Payton told him he already had a Hall of Famer (Drew Brees) and a dynamic backup (Taysom Hill), but there was room for him.

"That was the first coach in the free-agency period," Winston says, "that talked to me with that much confidence."

The chance to play Tampa Bay twice a year, he admits, "was a positive," but so was what so many others would deem a miserable consolation prize. Instead of seeing his smiling mug on a billboard somewhere—marketed as the face of a franchise—he is now competing for a No. 2 job. He is competing with Hill, who, by the way, just inked a contract with $16 million in guarantees. Thing is, Winston never heard the sad trombone wail. He sincerely cannot wait for this daily pressure, this new challenge. And of course, there's Brees. Winston couldn't put a price on having daily access to one of the greatest quarterbacking minds ever. This move is a career investment.

Not only will Brees retire No. 1 in practically every conceivable quarterback statistic…he's also had the same coach for 14 years.

That means a hell of a lot to someone who cycled through three in five years.

They go back, too. As Brees and Winston staged shootouts in the NFC South the past half-decade, they stayed in regular contact. Brees responded to Winston's texts and calls quicker than any other vet QB in the NFL. There was no triple-padlocking information in the name of competitiveness. Brees got back a day later at the absolute latest any time Winston had a question.

Now, Winston will be in the same room. There's no need for him to search for workouts on Google anymore.

"It's different when you have someone who's a Hall of Fame quarterback that you can ask," Winston says. "He can say, 'Hey, bro, don't watch this stuff. Just watch me. Come work out with me. Let's work out together. Let's do this again. Let's watch film together.' Now he has no choice, because I'm going to be sitting in the room. I'm going to be with him every day."

Brees' strength—reading the field and reacting—is Winston's weakness. There's been next-to-no slippage in the 41-year-old's game. The past three seasons, Brees has thrown eight, five and four picks while also ranking No. 1 in completion percentage each time (and it's never been close). Brees' final marks of 72.0, 74.4 and 74.3 percent rank light-years ahead of his Hall of Fame contemporaries.

Aaron Rodgers? He was 21st last season (62.0).

Tom Brady? Way, way down at 27th (60.8).

If anyone can help reboot Winston's career, it's Brees, whose last 30 picks took 1,910 attempts, compared to Winston's 626. And whenever Brees does choose to ride off into the sunset, maybe Winston 2.0 is ready to be the successor.

Not that he is looking that far ahead.

This is the chance to take a deep breath behind a future Hall of Famer, which one current Hall of Famer believes can, no doubt, revitalize his career. Warren Moon, who has known Winston since his FSU days and has watched his pro career closely, makes it very clear: Jameis Winston can make every throw. Jameis Winston is not some bust of a No. 1 overall pick. The pressure has been on him since day one, and now…it's off. A "chance to exhale," as Moon calls it, is precisely what Winston needs.

Moon, too, calls the 30 picks an "anomaly." He cites receivers who admitted to running the wrong routes and Bruce Arians' high-risk offense. (Side note: Carson Palmer threw 22 picks his first year with Arians.) He believes the Lasik surgery is a way, way bigger turning point than anyone realizes. Moon remembers that one of his Vikings receivers, Jake Reed, got his vision fixed in the 1994 offseason, and his reception total skyrocketed from five to 85. So Moon can only imagine what this will do for a QB, for a player whose vision of the field is even more vital.

And, No. 1, Moon also anticipates a major Brees effect.

Seeing Brees dump the ball off to backs—in practice, in games, on film, over and over and over again—further helps that rewiring. Has an osmotic effect.

"When he was in Tampa Bay," Moon says, "I don't think he really had anybody like that because he was 'the guy.' Now he's not going to be the main guy. He can sit back and just kind of take it in and be a sponge with all this new information he's going to be getting. Because he's only 26 years old. He has a lot of time left to play the game.

"He doesn't have to make every throw. Sometimes, I think Jameis feels like he can or has to make every throw down the field. And that gets him in trouble a lot. Once he learns that he doesn't have to make every throw down the field, that he can throw the ball away or dump the ball off, he'll really start to make that change of being a more efficient quarterback."

Moon adds that one audition is all it'll take. One mini-stretch of proving to teams he has put the diet, the drills, the conversations with Brees all to use. Teddy Bridgewater did, and Teddy Bridgewater was paid.

"He's going to do well being in that environment," Moon says. "The guy can play football. He knows how to play the game. He just needs to make one major adjustment to his game, which is taking care of the football."

---

So what will we see?

What will the New Jameis Winston, whenever its grand reveal happens, look like?

He isn't losing one iota of bravado. This offseason was humbling, but this offseason has not shaken his confidence at all. Everything you see on Instagram, he insists, is "100 percent Jameis." He does not plan on completely changing who he is as a player.

"I'm 100 percent Jameis Winston, no matter what jersey number I'm wearing," Winston says. "I'm going to live being Jameis Winston, and I'm going to die being Jameis Winston."

He's always been the pied piper, the one who'll fight through any injury, any mistake for his teammates. That's always been his instinct—to lead.

Now, he can't. Not yet, anyway.

And that's OK. He even stuck around Tampa into May and dismisses any thirst for sweet revenge. A week prior to this chat with B/R, he helped feed 1,000-plus families in the city because part of him will always feel indebted to the community.

Soon enough, it's off to New Orleans. And once he's there, who knows when we'll see Jameis Winston, the player, again?

Whenever that time comes, here is what he says you'll see:

"Expect to see the national championship, Rookie of the Year, Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback being the best version of himself, taking care of the football, bombing the ball down the field, throwing touchdown after touchdown, leading the pack and being cool as the other side of the pillow."

Until then, opinions all around Jameis Winston will remain split. There's no consensus on his talent. His career, legitimately, could juke one direction or the other. Winston himself doesn't break cadence.

He's not worried a bit.

He knows, for certain, he'll be back.

"I'm 100 percent confident that I will be the quarterback I want to be for the remainder of my career."

           

Editor's note: Interviews for this piece were conducted before Drew Brees’ statement about kneeling during the national anthem and his subsequent apology. Winston could not be reached to comment on that.

Tyler Dunne covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @TyDunne.

New Orleans Saints All-Pro wide receiver Michael Thomas committed $20,000 to RIP Medical Debt, who will translate Thomas' donation into "relieving more than $2 million in outstanding medical debts for people struggling to make payments in the Greater New Orleans Area," Thomas' Athletes First agency announced Monday (h/t NOLA.com's Luke Johnson). 

Johnson relayed Thomas' donation will help 1,025 people.

The 27-year-old has also been using his platform for other causes in recent months.

Last month, Thomas partnered with Raising Canes to provide 3,000 meals to Louisiana frontline hospital workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last week, the reigning Offensive Player of the Year organized a video featuring Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes and other prominent NFL stars demanding a better response from the league on police brutality and racial injustice in the aftermath of George Floyd's death in Minneapolis police custody May 25:

"I decided, ‘Hey, I’m just going to go rogue here. If I can get one player to buy in, we’ll take a chance at this and see what can happen."

How players + frustrated league employees created the video that forced Goodell's hand. With @JourdanRodrigue: https://t.co/3WnCeqcWqO

— Lindsay Jones (@bylindsayhjones) June 6, 2020

https://twitter.com/Cantguardmike/status/1268712743860928513

Well said Roger ✊🏾 https://t.co/IwqNZKGcY0

— Michael Thomas (@Cantguardmike) June 5, 2020

Thomas led all receivers with 149 catches for 1,725 yards last season. Overall, the Ohio State product has recorded 5,512 yards and 32 touchdowns since the Saints took him in the second round of the 2016 NFL draft.

Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe spoke with Drew Brees after the New Orleans Saints quarterback drew criticism for his comments about players protesting during the national anthem.

During FS1's Undisputed on Monday, Sharpe detailed the conversation he had with Brees. He told Brees that "what hurt the most is because it came from you" because "no white quarterback in the history of the NFL has had black support like you."

.@ShannonSharpe describes his phone call with Drew Brees:

"I said Drew, for one second we didn't want you to be Drew Brees, we wanted you to be one of us. What hurt the most is that it came from you. No white QB in the history of the NFL has had black support like you." pic.twitter.com/wDO2F7uNM6

— The Facility (@TheFacilityFS1) June 8, 2020

When former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began his protests against systemic racism and police brutality against people of color in 2016, Brees was outspoken in saying he felt the demonstration was "disrespectful to the American flag."

The 13-time Pro Bowler largely echoed that sentiment while speaking with Yahoo Finance's Daniel Roberts last Wednesday, citing his two grandfathers who fought in World War II:

Highlight: @readdanwrite asks @drewbrees what the star NFL quarterback thinks about "players kneeling again when the NFL season starts."@drewbrees: “I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country.”

Full exchange: pic.twitter.com/MpCkFyOMed

— Yahoo Finance (@YahooFinance) June 3, 2020

Sharpe offered a direct critique and noted black veterans were discriminated against both when they were serving and upon returning home from war. Along with that, he said the American flag can symbolize something much different to other people:

"What makes the black man’s fight so hard is people like Drew Brees. If you can't get a guy who grew up with blacks in the locker room from pee-wee, high school, college and the NFL to understand our plight, then who will?"

— @ShannonSharpe pic.twitter.com/tfVYlylXny

— The Facility (@TheFacilityFS1) June 4, 2020

Brees apologized for his comments on Instagram, writing in part:

"In speaking with some of you, it breaks my heart to know the pain I have caused. In an attempt to talk about respect, unity, and solidarity centered around the American flag and the national anthem, I made comments that were insensitive and completely missed the mark on the issues we are facing right now as a country. They lacked awareness and any type of compassion or empathy."

He also directed a message to President Donald Trump, who said in September 2017 that NFL owners should "fire" any player who protested during the anthem and stated last Friday that Brees shouldn't have apologized:

“We can no longer use the flag to turn people away or distract them from the real issues that face our black communities.”

Drew Brees wrote a message responding to President Donald Trump's tweets earlier today. (via @drewbrees) pic.twitter.com/b6VEz3kkyI

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 6, 2020

Brees' Yahoo interview was considered especially tone-deaf in the wake of George Floyd's killing while in police custody.

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter after he was seen on video kneeling on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes. Three other officers were charged with aiding and abetting murder.

Floyd's death sparked protests across the U.S. to demand meaningful reforms to address police brutality and systemic racism.

The New Orleans Saints reportedly held a 100-minute meeting via teleconference Thursday that featured an emotional apology from Drew Brees and basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal urging the team not to divide from within moving forward.

Peter King provided details in his Football Morning in America column, noting he is "pretty sure" Brees cried during his apology.

What's more, one witness told King that O'Neal told the Saints a message along the lines of "They're going to try to divide you, just like they divided us with the Lakers! Me and Kobe [Bryant], we had a great thing going, but the media divided our team. We could have won five more championships! Stay strong. Don't let the media divide you! Don't let social media divide you!"

O'Neal was part of the Zoom meeting because he was a previously scheduled guest. He discussed meeting with the Saints on NBA on TNT:

.@SHAQ joined the @Saints team meeting today and described Drew Brees' apology to his teammates. pic.twitter.com/U9nKtOiydd

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) June 5, 2020

The Lakers won three straight championships from 1999-00 to 2001-02 but traded O'Neal to the Miami Heat prior to the 2004-05 season after the big man's relationship with Bryant was the focus of plenty of headlines and speculation.

As for the Saints' meeting, it came during a week for Brees that included incendiary comments, initial praise from the sitting president and a return message to the White House from the quarterback that earned approval from his teammates.

Brees initially said he disagreed with kneeling during the national anthem as a way of protesting police brutality and racism in an interview with Daniel Roberts of Yahoo Finance on Wednesday: "I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America." He went on to say his grandfathers fought in World War II:

"So every time I stand with my hand over my heart, looking at that flag and singing the national anthem, that's what I think about... thinking about all that has been sacrificed, not just those in the military, but for that matter, those throughout the civil rights movement of the 60s.

"And all that has been endured by so many people. And is everything right with our country right now? No, it's not. We still have a long way to go. But I think what you do by standing there and showing respect to the flag with your hand over your heart is it shows unity. It shows that we are all in this together, we can all do better, and we are all part of the solution."

He apologized for his comments Thursday:

I would like to apologize to my friends, teammates, the City of New Orleans, the black community, NFL community and anyone I hurt with my comments yesterday. In speaking with some of you, it breaks my heart to know… https://t.co/Jg36d0Ad0l

— Drew Brees (@drewbrees) June 4, 2020

Step-by-step you will see my heart for exactly what it is and the way everyone around me sees it.

I’m sorry it has taken this long to act and to participate in a meaningful way but I am your ally in this fight. https://t.co/GTq962B8Ok

— Drew Brees (@drewbrees) June 5, 2020

However, Donald Trump believed Brees should not have apologized and stressed as much while saying he is a fan of the Saints quarterback. In 2017, Trump famously said NFL owners should "Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, he's fired" if a player knelt during the national anthem.

...We should be standing up straight and tall, ideally with a salute, or a hand on heart. There are other things you can protest, but not our Great American Flag - NO KNEELING!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2020

After Brees' apology and the president's response, the quarterback issued a statement to Trump saying the kneeling is not about disrespecting the flag.

"To @realdonaldtrump. Through my ongoing conversations with friends, teammates, and leaders in the black community, I realize this is not an issue about the American flag," Brees wrote in part. "It has never been. We can no longer use the flag to turn people away or distract them from the real issues that face our black communities."

Drew Brees’ message to President Donald Trump about systemic racial injustice and the national anthem protest pic.twitter.com/SMtOi8S6eE

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 6, 2020

That earned a positive response from teammate Michael Thomas:

MY QB 💪🏾 https://t.co/TOSprTpFHr

— Michael Thomas (@Cantguardmike) June 6, 2020

All of this came as nationwide protests dominated headlines in the wake of the killing of George Floyd on May 25. Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes as Floyd pleaded for his life.

Chauvin was charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao, who were the other officers involved in the arrest, were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.

Brittany Brees, the wife of quarterback Drew Brees, has said the couple received death threats following comments the NFL star made earlier this month regarding national anthem protests.

In an Instagram post Saturday, Brittany Brees posted quotes from Martin Luther King Jr. and the Bible along with a caption describing her change in mindset:

"WE ARE THE PROBLEM . I write this with tears in my eyes and I hope you all hear our hearts. I have read these quotes and scripture 1000 times and every time I read it and the words sink into my heart. I think yes this is what it’s all about...Only until the last few days, until we experienced the death threats we experienced the hate… Did I realize that these words were speaking directly to us.. how could anyone who knows us or has had interactions with us think that Drew or I have a racist bone in our body? But that’s the whole point . Somehow we as white America, we can feel good about not being racist, feel good about loving one an another as God loves us. We can feel good about educating our children about the horrors of slavery and history. We can read books to our children about Martin Luther King, Malcolm X., Hank Aaron, Barack Obama, Rosa parks, Harriet Tubman.. and feel like we are doing our part to raise our children to love , be unbiased and with no prejudice. To teach them about all of the African Americans that have fought for and risked their lives against racial injustice. Somehow as white Americans we feel like that checks the box of doing the right thing. Not until this week did Drew and I realize THAT THIS IS THE PROBLEM."

This comes after her husband was widely criticized for saying he didn't agree with those kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial injustice.

"I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America," the New Orleans Saints quarterback told Daniel Roberts of Yahoo Finance.

Brees apologized multiple times for his comments, first in a post and then in a video.

He also responded to President Donald Trump, who questioned his need for an apology:

Drew Brees’ message to President Donald Trump about systemic racial injustice and the national anthem protest pic.twitter.com/SMtOi8S6eE

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 6, 2020

Brittany noted in her post why the flag wasn't the issue at heart:

"To say 'I don’t agree with disrespecting the flag' .. I now understand was also saying I don’t understand what the problem really is, I don’t understand what you’re fighting for, and I’m not willing to hear you because of our preconceived notion's of what that flag means to us. That’s the problem we are not listening, white America is not hearing. We’re not actively LOOKING for racial prejudice. We have heard stories from men and women we have known and loved for years about the racism that occurred in their lives .. stories that were never shared or talked about because somehow they were considered normal. To all of our friends and anyone we hurt ...we will do better.. We want to do better , we want to HEAR you, and we will fight for you because thinking we are not part of the problem...is checking the box it means we are are not doing enough. It’s our job to educate ourselves. We are sorry."

Although Drew Brees was called out by teammates on social media for his initial comments, many have since accepted his apology.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell also admitted the league was wrong about the peaceful protests, indicating the beginning of a shift in mindset around the NFL.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees wrote a response to President Donald Trump's criticism of Brees' apologies after the 19-year NFL veteran initially said that he would "never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America" in response to a question regarding kneeling protests during the national anthem.

"To @realdonaldtrump. Through my ongoing conversations with friends, teammates, and leaders in the black community, I realize this is not an issue about the American flag," Brees wrote. "It has never been. We can no longer use the flag to turn people away or distract them from the real issues that face our black communities."

His full post can be viewed below: 

Drew Brees’ message to President Donald Trump about systemic racial injustice and the national anthem protest pic.twitter.com/SMtOi8S6eE

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 6, 2020

Trump provided his remarks in a pair of tweets Friday:

...We should be standing up straight and tall, ideally with a salute, or a hand on heart. There are other things you can protest, but not our Great American Flag - NO KNEELING!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2020

Brees said the following to Daniel Roberts of Yahoo Finance on Wednesday, in part:

"So every time I stand with my hand over my heart, looking at that flag and singing the national anthem, that’s what I think about...thinking about all that has been sacrificed, not just those in the military, but for that matter, those throughout the civil rights movement of the 60s.

"And all that has been endured by so many people. And is everything right with our country right now? No, it’s not. We still have a long way to go. But I think what you do by standing there and showing respect to the flag with your hand over your heart is it shows unity. It shows that we are all in this together, we can all do better, and we are all part of the solution."

Brees soon offered a pair of apologies on social media following a torrent of criticism that included comments from his own teammates.

They included video comments from safety Malcolm Jenkins, who said the following (h/t Jason Owens of Yahoo Sports):

"Our communities are under siege, and we need help. And what you’re telling us is don’t ask for help that way. Ask a different way. I can’t listen to it when you ask that way.

“We’re done asking, Drew. People who share your sentiments, who express those and push them throughout the world, the airwaves — are the problem. And it’s unfortunate, because I considered you a friend. I looked up to you. You’re somebody who I had a great deal of respect for. But sometimes, you should shut the f--k up."

Brees initially issued his first apology Thursday.

"In an attempt to talk about respect, unity, and solidarity centered around the American flag and the national anthem, I made comments that were insensitive and completely missed the mark on the issues we are facing right now as a country," Brees said in part.

Some found Brees' first apology missed the mark, and that included ESPN's Michael Wilbon, who said the Saints quarterback's comments didn't properly address the issue of people questioning the patriotism of players who kneeled in protest of racial injustice during the national anthem.

Brees then offered a video apology Thursday.

"I’m sorry it has taken this long to act and to participate in a meaningful way but I am your ally in this fight," Brees wrote in his Instagram caption.

Numerous people accepted Brees' apologies, including teammates Michael Thomas, Alvin Kamara and Demario Davis, per TMZ Sports.

The issue picked back up with Trump's tweets Friday, leading to Brees' response, which has received overwhelmingly positive remarks from analysts and retweets from his teammates.

*This* is a statement. https://t.co/2RzIm3GKfd

— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) June 6, 2020

Drew Brees just added one more fourth quarter comeback.

— Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) June 6, 2020

https://twitter.com/JimTrotter_NFL/status/1269097618119913472

👀 https://t.co/BVlyHFismi

— Benjamin Watson (@BenjaminSWatson) June 6, 2020

Brees and the Saints are scheduled to take the field Sunday, Sept. 13 at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to begin the 2020 regular season.