NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Jameis Winston’s four-year stay in New Orleans was a tale of unfulfilled promise.

On Sunday, he will have an opportunity to make the Superdome crowd wonder if the Saints gave up on him too soon.

In his first season since leaving the Big Easy behind, Winston has earned a midseason starting role with the Cleveland Browns (2-7), who visit the Saints (3-7) in a Week 11 matchup between teams that haven’t. had a lot going right this year.

“I’m grateful for this moment,” Winston said. “Opportunities only come so often.”

Winston, who has taken over in Cleveland for the injured Deshaun Watson, was with New Orleans from 2020 to 2023.

A 2013 Heisman Trophy winner with Florida State and the first overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, Winston hoped to revive his career with the Saints after his first team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, let him go in favor of former Patriots great Tom Brady .

While Winston’s time in New Orleans was marred by a serious knee injury and didn’t go as planned, he remembers his former Saints teammates and his life in the community fondly — and says he’s “definitely excited” to play there again.

“The people of New Orleans, I really love them,” Winston said. “They really helped that transition period in my life. They filled it with joy.”

While Winston has been a mercurial performer as a pro, the Saints know how effective he can be on his good days.

“He’s always capable of making these huge plays,” said Saints interim coach Darren Rizzi, who was on New Orleans’ staff throughout Winston’s tenure there.

“It’s going to be great to see him,” Rizzi added. “It will definitely be a challenge to play against him.”

While Winston thrived in his first game as Cleveland’s starter in a win over struggling Baltimore, he had a turnover loss against the Los Angeles Chargers in his second start in Week 9.

“I’m expecting some moon balls, you know? I know he’s going to take some shots,” Saints Safety Tryann Mathieu said with a playful grin. “And quite frankly, we’ve got to catch the ones he throws to us.”

Defensive drought

Denzel Ward hasn’t caught a break—or the ball.

Cleveland’s Pro Bowl cornerback may be having his best NFL season, but the seven-year veteran has yet to throw his first interception despite leading the league with 15 passes defensed, including one in every game this season.

He’s had potential picks slip through his hands or get knocked away by contact. Ward has been lonely as the Browns have just one interception all season — of injured linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah.

The team-wide drought has been frustrating.

“Yes, we have to get them,” he said. “We just have to keep emphasizing it. Yeah, we know we don’t have any. I don’t have any yet and I have to go get one.”

Ward, who has 15 career interceptions, believes that once he makes the first pick, they will come in groups.

“We get the first one, they’ll start rolling in,” he said. It’s just hard to get the first one.”

The real McCoy

The Saints offense expects to get a huge boost going forward this week. Center Erik McCoy is scheduled to return from a groin injury that has sidelined him since the first half of New Orleans’ Week 3 loss to Philadelphia.

“Erik is a phenomenal player,” Rizzi said. “He might be one of the more underrated offensive linemen in the league overall, not just center.”

Few sounded happier about McCoy’s impending return than Saints QB Derek Carr, who highlighted the veteran center’s ability to pass blocking assignments at the line of scrimmage.

“He can fix problems on the fly, things that nobody will ever see, nobody will ever know, deal with the unscouted looks and then win his games,” Carr said. “For a QB, it’s nice when he’s there because you know exactly what you’re getting. He knows what calls to make and all those things to get everybody else on the same page doing their job.”

Back to the Big Easy

Like almost any son in New Orleans, Browns safety Grant Delpit grew up worshiping the Saints.

His grandfather had season tickets and Delpit, who played at LSU, attended many games in the Superdome as a child.

“They used to feel me running around the stadium, up the ramps,” he said. “A little kid who just wasn’t even focused on the game just running around the stadium. Definitely has some history and some roots in that arena.”

Delpit didn’t hesitate to rattle off the names of some of his childhood football heroes, from Deuce McAllister to Joe Horn to Reggie Bush.

“He was my favorite player on the Saints,” Delpit said of Bush. “He was everyone’s favorite player.”

Delpit had to book a suite and get extra tickets to handle the large group of family members and friends expected to attend Sunday’s game. Before then, he will be treated to his favorite homecoming meal.

“My grandma’s gumbo,” he said, lighting up just at the thought. “She knows what’s going on. She’s probably fine right now.”

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