During the second quarter of Sunday’s 36-27 triumph over his former team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New Orleans Saints quarterback Jameis Winston was taken back to the locker room with a knee injury. After halftime, he was officially declared out. Winston was hurt during a horse-collar tackle by Buccaneers linebacker Devin White, who was called for a 15-yard penalty for dragging Winston down by the shoulder area of his jersey, leading Winston to fall awkwardly. As he hit the ground, Winston’s left leg was locked behind him.
On the pitch, trainers and medical personnel looked at him before assisting him to the sideline and into the medical tent. Later, he was helped onto a trolley and driven to the locker room. On his way off the field, several teammates hugged Winston, including injured receiver Michael Thomas, who was sitting on the sideline in street clothes watching the game.
Winston was replaced by veteran backup Trevor Siemian, the Saints’ only other quarterback option. Since Week 5, backup Taysom Hill has been out with a concussion, while rookie Ian Book was a healthy inactive. Siemian completed the game with 159 yards and a touchdown. Before leaving the game with the score tied at 7-7, Winston completed 6 of 10 passes for 56 yards and a touchdown and rushed four times for 40 yards.
