NFL: New Orleans Saints QB Jamies Winston’s tears ACL, out for the entire season

New Orleans Saints quarterback Jameis Winston’s NFL season will be cut short after he was diagnosed on Monday with torn knee ligaments, coach Sean Payton said.

An MRI showed that Winston has torn his anterior cruciate ligament and damaged the medial collateral ligament in his left knee, Payton confirmed.

During the second quarter of New Orleans’ 36-27 victory over Tampa Bay on Sunday, Winston was carted to the locker room with a left knee injury after Buccaneers linebacker Devin White pulled him down on a scramble. The 27-year-old was immediately taken to the medical tent before a cart took him away. White was flagged for a horse-collar tackle. 

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Trevor Siemian replaced Winston off the bench. The 29-year-old took over and threw for 159 yards and a score on 16 of 29 passing with no interceptions, leading the Saints on five scoring drives with two touchdowns and three field goals.

Meanwhile, Payton also stated that he’s content to stick with the three remaining healthy QBs on the Saints’ roster: Siemian, Taysom Hill and rookie Ian Book.

“We’re satisfied with the quarterback room,” Payton said.

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Winston had been 4-2 in six complete games as a starter and his 16-yard touchdown pass to Tre’Quan Smith on Sunday had tied the game against Tampa Bay at 7. That was also the score when he left the game.

Siemian was the primary backup against the Bucs because Hill was still recovering from a concussion against Washington in Week 5. Payton said Hill’s condition was progressing well, but declined to say whether Hill had been cleared to return to practice this week.

Even if Hill is back against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, Payton declined to say how he’d approach deciding whether to give Siemian a chance to pick up where he left off, or install Hill, who went 3-1 as a starter last season while Drew Brees was sidelined with rib and lung injuries.

With inputs from the Associated Press