Jameis Winston wouldn’t be the first quarterback to turn his career around after a change of scenery. One example would be Vinny Testaverde, who former New York Jets executive Mike Tannenbaum compared to the New Orleans Saints contender.
Like Winston, Testaverde started over from scratch after washing out with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Both players were former first overall picks for Tampa Bay, but Testaverde’s road ran a while longer before he landed on his feet again. He didn’t cut it in Cleveland or Baltimore before landing with Tannenbaum’s Jets in 1998.
In six years and 76 games with the Bucs, Testaverde completed just 52% of his passes while lobbing just 77 touchdowns against 112 interceptions — compare that to Winston’s 72-game run in five years, which saw him complete 61% of his targets for 121 touchdowns, giving away 88 interceptions.