When news broke that the New York Giants were signing journeyman quarterback Jameis Winston to a two-year, $8 million contract, no one was more excited about the development than Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, and the rest of the Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive backs.
One of the least risk-averse quarterbacks in the NFL, Winston has thrown an astounding 111 interceptions over his decade-spanning professional career, which is a stat made all the more incredible by the fact that he spent half of that time as a backup with seven or fewer starts per season.
Winston’s interception mark is so impressive – in a bad way – that Jimmy Kempski of The Philadelphia Voice shared an absolutely incredible Jalen Hurts stat to put it into context on social media.
Whoa, crazy, right? Well, it’s true: while Winston has thrown roughly 1,200 more passes than Hurts, he has been picked off 72 fewer times, with the former holding an interception percentage of 3.5 versus 2.0 from the Super Bowl MVP. While Winston does throw the ball a good bit more often than Hurts, an average of 39 more times over a 17 game season per Pro Football Reference, his career averages would suggest he would still throw twice as many interceptions – 18 vs. nine – versus only six more touchdowns – 25 vs. 19 – over that sample size.
Now granted, stats – real and projected – don’t actually matter in the heat of the moment. The number of interceptions thrown by a quarterback in the past has no actual influence on whether or not they will throw one on the next play. With that being said, Winston has been cavalier with the ball at every stop in his NFL career so far, from his time playing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, to the New Orleans Saints, and last year when he was throwing balls to Elijah Moore and Jerry Jeudy with the Cleveland Browns.
Do the New York Giants have the best supporting cast of Winston’s career? Yes. Could he look to be more conservative to remain on the field, instead of being benched for a rookie? Yes, as well. But in the end, if history is of any indication, Winston is going to Winston, which means players like DeJean and Mitchell will likely catch almost as many interceptions as players like Malik Nabers and Jalin Hyatt will catch touchdowns when the Eagles and Giants square up this fall.
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