After five seasons in Tampa Bay, Jameis Winston found himself looking for a job in NFL free agency last year. Fast forward a year — and a season spent with the New Orleans Saints — and the former No. 1 overall pick finds himself in the same situation. With the quarterback carousel in full swing, where will it go, where will it stop, and where are some Jameis Winston landing spots?

Jameis Winston Landing Spots

It feels like a good year to be a free-agent quarterback. Multiple NFL teams have a genuine need at the position. All except for a few lucky teams — Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys are obvious examples — there is no cast-iron certainty at the game’s most important position.

Additionally, outside of the “top four” quarterbacks in the 2021 NFL Draft, there are slim pickings. There isn’t an influx of signal-callers that inspire confidence that a team will trade in their reliable, known commodity for a younger model.

With that being said, let’s examine some landing spots for Jameis Winston.

Will Winston head back to the Bayou?

The first of the landing spots for Jameis Winston fits the previous narrative well. Why wouldn’t the New Orleans Saints keep him in-house? It makes more sense than risking a potential bust from a frankly average later pool of 2021 NFL Draft quarterback prospects. Unless they trade up from 28, they’re not in the race for one of the top four.

Following the announcement of Drew Brees’ retirement, it makes even more sense for Winston to return to the Saints. As it stands, they will only return Taysom Hill and Trevor Siemian. Despite Sean Payton’s infatuation with the former BYU utility man, is he really going to help deliver a Super Bowl back to the Bayou?

Voices inside the Saints’ locker room don’t appear to believe so. In a recent podcast appearance, defensive end Cameron Jordan intimated that Winston would be the team’s next starting quarterback. Jordan told Morten Anderson: “Jameis Winston up next, I believe, is what Sean Payton said.”

Would Washington win with Winston?

The Washington Football Team is in a similar quarterback quandary. This makes them a genuine potential landing spot for Jameis Winston. Although they re-signed Taylor Heinicke and tendered Kyle Allen, Dwayne Haskins and Alex Smith’s recent departures leave them without a true starting quarterback.

Heinicke’s heroics earned him acclaim, and Allen was serviceable as a replacement. However, would Washington fans really describe them as starting-level options? Probably not.

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Winston could provide the big-armed threat that would unlock the downfield potential of Terry McLaurin. They could add another dangerous wide receiver threat in the 2021 NFL Draft. For example, they could select someone like a Rashod Bateman in the first round. Then, they could have a truly dangerous offense.

They already have one of the most fierce defensive lines in the NFL. With an offense to match, they could become a legitimate contender in the NFC East.

Could the Chicago Bears be in for Winston?

It would appear that the start of the new NFL league year will herald the end of Mitchell Trubisky‘s reign as the starting quarterback for the Chicago Bears. There’s been no secret of the Bears’ interest in pursuing every disgruntled signal-caller throughout the offseason. Deshaun Watson has allegedly been pursued, as has Russell Wilson.

The Bears once traded up to select Trubisky. Due to select 20th in the 2021 NFL Draft, it seems unlikely they do the same to select his successor. If they fail to land Watson or Wilson, that leaves them with just Nick Foles on their roster at the quarterback position. Despite his heroics for the Philadelphia Eagles, Foles hasn’t lit any fires in Chicago.

If he doesn’t return to the Saints and the organization’s familiarity, the Bears are a potential landing spot for Jameis Winston. They recently franchise-tagged Allen Robinson. Presuming they don’t trade him, that would provide Winston with one of the best targets in the league.

What is Jameis Winston’s market value in free agency?

Of the three landings spots for Jameis Winston listed above, the Washington Football Team is in the best financial position to bring in the former No. 1 overall pick. The Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints are amongst the worst teams in the NFL in terms of salary cap situation.

That being said, the Bears are in the process of reworking some contracts to free up some cap space. Additionally, the Saints made some moves in the last week, which helped ease their cap deficit.

Last year, Winston’s one-year deal with the Saints was worth $1.1 million with the potential to earn $3.4 million in incentives. What can a team expect to pay Winston if he is viewed as the potential starter in 2021? Well, the New England Patriots recently extended Cam Newton’s contract on a one-year deal.

That deal gives us some potential context. Although it is touted as a $14 million deal, the actual salary is just $5 million. Could that be a starting point for negotiations between Jameis Winston and any potential landing spot?

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Oliver Hodgkinson is a staff writer for Pro Football Network. You can follow him on Twitter at @ojhodgkinson.

Jameis Winston Landing Spots: Potential suitors for the Saints QB