Shannon Sharpe on First Take talking about Jameis Winston. Photo Credit: ESPN Photo Credit: ESPN
ESPNNFLBy Reice Shipley on

New Orleans Saints quarterback Jameis Winston finds himself at the center of controversy on Monday after a decision to defy Saints head coach Dennis Allen at the end of Sunday’s matchup against the Atlanta Falcons. ESPN’s Shannon Sharpe had plenty to say about the situation on First Take Monday, even suggesting that he should lose his roster spot on the team.

Winston and the Saints’ offense decided to run up the score with a late touchdown with under two minutes left against the Falcons, a decision that was directly against what head coach Dennis Allen wanted to do.

Allen described the situation in his postgame press conference, stating that he wanted his team to kneel the ball and run the clock out to end the game.

Instead, the offense wanted to give veteran running back Jamaal Williams a rush to get his first touchdown of the season, which is what ended up happening, tricking the Falcons’ defense since they were lined up in victory formation on offense.

Winston, in at quarterback in relief of Derek Carr, ultimately made the final call to defy Allen and give Williams the rushing attempt, a move that he said after the game was a “team decision”.

It’s understandable from Winston’s perspective to want to get a veteran locker room leader like Williams into the endzone in the final game of the season. That being said, it obviously isn’t a great look for anyone on the Saints’ offense to go against his head coach to do so.

Shannon Sharpe made his feelings on Winston’s decision very clear on First Take, saying that he would cut Winston for outright disregarding his head coach’s wishes.

“I will say this, I would cut Jameis Winston today,” said Sharpe. “That’s loser’s mentality. If you want to run the ball, let the defense line up. Don’t you fool them in victory formation and drive off the ball. That’s going rogue.”

“Dennis Allen is probably gonna have to go,” Sharpe added. “Because his players have no respect for him. I would cut Jameis Winston today. If I had been on that team, I would have jumped offside on purpose. There is a mentality that you gotta have to play winning football. Jameis Winston has a loser’s mentality. That’s why they didn’t win in Tampa. That’s why Tom Brady came there and took the same team to the Super Bowl. Look at what Baker Mayfield did with basically the same team. Got them in the playoffs, something that Jameis Winston couldn’t do. I would cut Jameis Winston today.”

Sharpe further blasted Winston on his Nightcap podcast with Chad Johnson.

“This explains why Jameis Winston will never be what people wanted him to be. Because of this. The coach called victory formation. He said it was a team decision. What team? The defense wasn’t on the field. So the team is just offense now? That’s not the team. You see what happens when you go rogue? This explains why Baker Mayfield was basically able to take the same team that Jameis had and make the playoffs. That’s why Jameis isn’t a winner in the NFL.”

These comments may sound a bit harsh from Sharpe, but he actually has a pretty valid argument here. You simply can’t have a player outright ignoring a head coach’s decision out there on the field.

To Sharpe’s point as well, this is extremely troubling for Dennis Allen moving forward, as it seems like he has zero respect from his offense moving forward.

Winston is set to be a free agent this spring, so chances are he will likely be heading elsewhere unless we see a head coaching change for the Saints.

Regardless, Sharpe clearly feels like Jameis Winston and his supposed “loser mentality” won’t help this team going into the 2024 season.

[Awful Announcing on Twitter/X, Nightcap podcast on Twitter/X, Photo Credit: ESPN]

About Reice Shipley

Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.

View all posts by Reice Shipley