DENVER — Monday night will, in some ways, be familiar to Browns quarterback Jameis Winston and Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton. Yet there will also be strangeness.
Winston and Payton spent five seasons as NFC South rivals after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made the quarterback the No. 1 pick in 2015. That meant twice-yearly battles against the New York Saints. -Orléans, with Payton on the sidelines as head coach.
That’s what made 2020, among many other non-football reasons, so strange in some ways for Payton. Suddenly, the quarterback he had faced twice a year for five years was sitting in the Saints meeting room as Drew Brees’ backup.
“You have to remember there were years when he played in Tampa against us,” Payton told reporters in Denver on Wednesday. “I hated him because he was one of the opposing teams’ quarterbacks, but we always had good battles. When he came into our program, he was a backup sponge.”
Winston spoke of that first year in New Orleans in reverential terms. He explained how working alongside future Hall of Famer Brees, then in his final season, made him a better quarterback.
But it wasn’t just Brees. Winston spoke of Payton, one of the NFL’s certified offensive masterminds, as another key influence on him.
“What Sean had was a leadership quality that was very important to our New Orleans Saints team, because I always put Drew on that pedestal and I knew this was Drew’s team,” Winston said Wednesday. “But in a sense, Sean was one of our greatest leaders, our greatest workers. Without a doubt, he was a leader among men and that’s how I say it. He was one of best leaders I have known.”
Injuries and football matters have kept Winston and Payton out long-term. Winston would start the Saints’ first seven games of 2021 before tearing the ACL in his knee, then Payton would leave coaching after that season to spend a year on television.
Winston remained with the Saints through the 2023 season. This was also Payton’s first season as head coach of the Broncos.
Now, Payton has the chance to return to the good old days, where his team was trying to beat Winston’s team. However, he couldn’t help but reflect fondly on the time he spent with the quarterback in New Orleans.
“I enjoyed it,” Payton said earlier in the week of coaching Winston. “…He’s great in the locker room. I’ve said it before, he’s got this infectious personality, a smile on his face every day he’s at work. You hear it before you see it, that kind of guy. … He is the ultimate pro. He has natural leadership abilities, and it shows with him.”
Those around the Browns, both inside the locker room and organization and outside, are nodding in agreement there. For the success Winston has had on a limited scale through four games as a starter — his 295.5 yards per game average is second only to the Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow in that stretch — he’s the personality that has attracted people almost every time he spoke.
There is an aura around Winston when he speaks, an aura that can hypnotize those who listen to him. Whether it’s quoting Eminem in a post-game TV interview or coming out of the locker room after a win in the snow singing “Jingle Bells,” you can’t help but be drawn to his personality.
“It’s contagious,” Payton said. “We used to give him a hard time because we were in the same division. So you went from someone you don’t know to someone you just say ‘Ahh’ to, but then , he’s got that personality, and I think it’s genuine. I think he leads that way, and I think it’s honestly brought a spark to their team.
The Browns (3-8) come to Denver looking for their second straight victory after winning in Week 12 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Those same Steelers await next Sunday in Pittsburgh, a place, like Denver, where Cleveland has struggled intensely over the decades.
For all the talk about Winston and Payton’s past relationship, the Browns quarterback is aware that the Browns’ next loss would ensure they have a losing season. So it’s not about beating Sean Payton for Winston.
“We’d beat the Denver Broncos, right?,” Winston said. “And I think that’s the main goal. But getting a win in this league is important, regardless of the opponent. … So I think it would be an important win for the Cleveland Browns go get a victory in Denver.”
Chris Easterling can be reached at [email protected]. Learn more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article was originally published in the Akron Beacon Journal: Browns vs. Broncos reunited quarterback Jameis Winston and head coach Sean Payton
