Jameis Winston returned to practice with his New Orleans Saints teammates after resting his back and ankle injuries the last two weeks, though the team’s first injury report listed him as a limited participant. Saints coach Dennis Allen explained that it’s all part of the plan.
“I think this is part of the process here, eventually he has to get out here and practice football,” Allen said after Wednesday’s practice session. He added “It’s another step in the right direction.”
Winston attempted to play through the pain earlier this year, but the mounting injuries were clearly impacting his performance, and Allen finally made the right decision to put him on ice for a few weeks to recover.
Now, whether that time has allowed Winston to fully rest up from four cracked vertebrae and a sprained ankle (plus anything else; it hasn’t been listed on the injury report, but Winston has also told reporters he’s rehabbing a hip flexor issue) remains to be seen. He’ll have the opportunity to continue practicing on Thursday and Friday, and then the Saints will make a decision as to whether he’ll start on Sunday.
It’s going to be a difficult decision. New Orleans faces a quick turnaround in hosting the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 16 before flying out to visit the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday, Oct. 20. If Winston is rushing back too quickly the risk of aggravating those injuries will only increase.
Andy Dalton has looked competent in his absence, but it’s tough to read too much from just two games in the lineup — and only one game with Alvin Kamara available to him. When all things are equal, Winston is obviously a better quarterback than Dalton at this stage in their careers, but ultimately the healthier quarterback should be out there. We’ll see if Winston gets the green light to play on Sunday and beyond.
