Saints' QB Jameis Winston suffers horrible knee injury

The Saints can only sit tight as they await news of the severity of their quarterback's injury

Saints QB Jameis Winston injures his knee

Speaking after Sunday's 36-27 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, head coach Sean Payton said he believed that quarterback Jameis Winston suffered a "significant" knee injury. Winston, who was playing against his former team had to be carted off the field in the second quarter of Sunday's game.

"I cried when I saw him coming in," said Payton. The Saints coach went on to acknowledge that he could give no further details on the injury until speaking with doctors. "It's hard," he said.

Winston backs the Saints to the end

In a display of team spirit that will surely be talked about, Winston was said to be dancing on his crutches as the Saints celebrated their victory in the locker room post game. Winston also tweeted after the game with a simple but clear "WHO DAT!"

The Saints have to be credited as backup QB Trevor Siemian replaced Winston and then proceeded to carry his team to a victory over a Tom Brady led Buccaneers team. Brady himself committing three turnovers, the third of which - caught by P.J. Williams - led to the game clinching touchdown return with 1:24 remaining on the clock.

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Who will start at QB for the Saints now?

Though Siemian deserves praise, it still remains unclear as to who will start at QB for the Saints heading into their week 9 clash with the Atlanta Falcons. Indeed, should Winston have to miss a significant amount of time the Saints will have problem on their hands. Taysom Hill who would be the natural replacement is still yet to return having suffered a concussion in week 5.

How did Jameis Winston get injured?

The unfortunate moment for the Saints' QB occurred when Buccaneers linebacker Devin White pulled Winston down by the shoulder area of his jersey - for which he was flagged 15 yards - resulting in the quarterback landing awkwardly. As could be seen, it was Winston's left leg which was pinned behind him as he fell to the ground. Medical staff were immediately dispatched to attend to him and finally had to assist him as he limped off the field to the cart which would finally take him to the locker room.

At that time Winston had completed 6 of 10 passes for 56 yards and a touchdown. The former rookie of the year had scrambled four times for 40 yards before he was forced off the field with the score tied at 7-7. In terms of the season itself Winston has registered 95-of-151 passing (59%) for 1,170 yards with 14 TDs and three interceptions.

Trevor Siemian and the Saints support Winston

"First I want to say how gutted I am for Jameis. This win was for him," said Siemian, who completed 16 of 29 passes for 159 yards and a touchdown. "I just feel for the guy, I love him so much. Just being around him, you can't help it, he's got this infectious personality. And you're just frickin' gutted when you see anybody hurt. But watching him get hurt was tough." Siemian noted that he had numerous messages waiting for him on his phone after the improbable victory but joked that, "Most are from my mom."

"I kind of lost the sense of how fun it is when you're out there in a huddle and in the middle of a drive and you score," Siemian said. "There's a joy to this game that you can't get chasing anything else, and that was kind of fun to do that."

Williams, who was actually a teammate of Winston at Florida State and was one of many Saints players who voiced their support for Winston after the game. Coach Payton said he gave Winston a game ball. Several teammates could be seen hugging Winston as he left the field of play.

Buccaneers Devin White shows solidarity

The Buccaneers linebacker who was involved in the fateful tackle was quick to voice his sorrow and support as well, explaining that he spoke with Wilson directly, telling him, "I hate that this happened to you, man. Because you're playing good ball and just praying for you. Because, man, Jameis is a good guy. He's a great guy. I'm gonna put an emphasis on that," White stated.

The two of course were teammates during Winston's time with the Buccaneers between 2015 and 2019. "All last year when they was playing and we was playing, he was texting - I don't know if he was texting everybody, but me and him was close. When I came in, he kinda showed me around - and just telling me how proud he was of me. Even when we won a Super Bowl, he was one of the first texts, like, 'Congratulations, man. I wish I could be a part of that, but y'all deserve it. You put a lot of work in, and we always talked about how special you all could be.'

"He's a great guy. You hate to see that happen. I hope it's not serious, man. I'm just praying for him. But it's a long season. I hope he can come back and fight with his team."