Theory: Sean Payton was trying to hide Jameis Winston
This may sound crazy, but hear me out. We just saw Teddy Bridgewater look great in the New Orleans Saints offense in 2019 earning himself a nice deal with the Carolina Panthers that the Saints just couldn’t match. This led to the Saints moving on from him and onto Winston.
Now, the Saints didn’t want to play Winston over Taysom Hill for this reason. If they played Winston and he balled out and lit up defenses, he would get a nice, expensive contract that the Saints just couldn’t match again given their current contract situation. Now, the Saints can as Winston only threw 11 passes and no one got a truly good look at if he progressed or improved.
This could mean that Winston looks good and the Saints just wanted to see what they had in Hill as well. My guess is if it came down to it, the Saints would roll with Winston in the playoffs if Brees was still out.
But, why would the Saints want to bring him back if they really like Hill? That’s exactly my point. Hill is locked up and essentially was the guy when Brees missed time. If that was truly the case, they would have no interest in bringing Winston back. This makes me think that the Saints just didn’t want a recreation of Teddy Bridgewater in 2019.
Another small detail: Winston after his 2019 season had Lasik eye surgery. Could that be the reason for so many of his off-target throws? Maybe he is an improved quarterback with better vision and the Saints didn’t want the NFL to see this.