The infectiousness of Jameis Winston will be back in the Caesars Superdome on Sunday, when the New Orleans Saints (3-7) face Cleveland (2-7) at noon.
But for the first time since 2019, it won't be cloaked in a Saints uniform.
Winston will make his third consecutive start at quarterback for the Browns, after having spent the 2020-23 seasons as a Saint, starting 10 of the 21 games in which he made an appearance and leading New Orleans to a 6-4 record in those games. Winston ascended to the starting lineup when starter Deshaun Watson ruptured his Achilles in the first half against Cincinnati on Oct. 20.
Winston, who completed 200 of 334 passes for 2,367 yards and 20 touchdowns, with 11 interceptions in his time with the Saints, ran hot and not-so-hot in his previous two starts with Cleveland.
The "hot" Winston showed in his first start, against Baltimore: 27 of 41 for 334 yards and three touchdowns, with no interceptions, sacked once and lost a fumble in a 29-24 victory.
The "not-so-hot" Winston appeared the next week, against the Chargers: 26 of 46 for 235 yards with a touchdown, three interceptions, sacked six times and a fumble (he recovered it) in a 27-10 loss.
"He gave them a huge boost in that Baltimore game," Saints interim head coach Darren Rizzi said. "I think the difference from the Baltimore game to the Chargers game for Jameis was the turnovers.
"He's got the big-play ability, he's got unbelievable leadership qualities. He's a natural leader. He did the same thing when he was here. He's an easy guy to follow, because you talk about energy, his energy is unmatched at times. So he's always the same guy every day.
"He sparked them in that Baltimore game. I thought for him, I think he'd tell you the same thing, they turned the ball over a little bit in the L.A. game, which hurt them.
"But Jameis has always been a big-play guy, his whole career. From way back when he was at Florida State, when he was in Tampa, when he was here, there – he's always capable of making those huge plays."
Saints who were his teammates fondly remember their interactions with Winston, who rarely, if ever, seemed to have a bad day at the office or in life.
"He's one of the greatest teammates I've ever had in my life," Saints quarterback Derek Carr said. "I love Jameis. He's an amazing teammate. An amazing friend he was to me in our time here. And I always root for him; he's a guy that you just always root for.
"Very happy for him – never want someone to get hurt to have that opportunity happen, but I'm happy for him to have an opportunity. He deserves it, he works so hard. He works so hard and he's really, really talented. He's a really good player.
"I know he'll be excited to come back and play here, just like I would be to play the Raiders. It's exciting. It's your old team, you've got friends on the team – that's fun. But knowing Jameis, he's not going to treat it different than any other game."
That's what the Saints' defense is expecting: the hot, the not-to-hot, and all points in between.
"I'm expecting a few moon balls," safety Tyrann Mathieu said. "I know he's going to take a few shots and quite honestly, we've got to catch the ones that he throws to us.
"But, nah, Jameis is playing great. He's always been one of those guys that when you plug him in, he gives you that surge of energy that you need. You can see that.
"We've got to do a great job winning first down, getting those guys in those second-and-longs, and then trying to make it hard for him."
