Jameis Winston could land on his feet with San Francisco 49ers

Free agent quarterback Jameis Winston might be limited to backup opportunities in free agency. He could find his footing with the 49ers.

Jameis Winston, the first overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft and a former Heisman Trophy winner has found himself without much of a free agent market at all in 2020.

That, in itself, is probably worth a documentary as the 2020 offseason has been an historic one from a quarterback movement perspective. If that’s not documentary worthy, Winston’s 30 (plus) touchdown, 30 interception season certainly is.

The infamous 30-for-30 season has left Winston without a starting job for the 2020 season in all likelihood, but that doesn’t mean his options will be limited at the right price.

After being replaced in Tampa Bay by Tom Brady, Winston’s best chance at success is to find a city where his talent can shine and his deficiencies can be masked, even if it means taking a backup job.

Phil Simms had the idea of Winston landing with Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers, and I absolutely love it.

The offense Kyle Shanahan calls has always been friendly to the quarterback he’s got running it on the field.

In theory, Shanahan’s offense would maximize Winston’s strengths and good plays — and he has plenty of those — and would also minimize his weaknesses. Winston would be able to utilize his play-action passing skills plenty as Simms alludes to, but he would also be going to a team with a very good running game and a tremendous defense.

Jimmy Garoppolo is coming off of his first 16-game season as a starting quarterback in the NFL, and with his past durability concerns, there’s no guarantee that Winston wouldn’t get the chance to play if he were to go play with the Niners.

Not only does Garoppolo have some prior health concerns, but even coming off of a tremendous season statistically, there were many times throughout the 49ers season where he didn’t quite look like the type of quarterback who necessarily elevates the talent around him.

Although Winston certainly has his share of errant throws, he’s been a talent elevator at times and could prove himself to be a more fiscally responsible choice beyond 2020 compared to Garoppolo.

The 49ers should take a shot on Winston, signing him to a two-year deal and using 2020 as a final ‘audition’ for Garoppolo with little dead money on his contract beyond this season. They don’t have a ton of cap space to work with and had to part with DeForest Buckner as a result of that.

With Winston in place on a team-friendly deal, the 49ers would have some flexibility beyond this season to keep things rolling and perhaps get a talented player in a great system with great coaches who can help him develop and hone his skills.