Spears was not on the same page as Shannon Sharpe on Jameis Winston’s future with the Saints following the Falcons game.

Marcus Spears calls out Shannon Sharpe for brutal criticism of Jameis Winston’s ‘controversial’ late TD against the Falcons

Marcus Spears does not agree with Shannon Sharpe calling for Jameis Winston to be removed from the New Orleans Saints. Spears claimed it’s okay to criticize the player, but asking for the franchise to let him go is a bit too much.

With just under 2 minutes left to go on Sunday at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, the Saints led the Atlanta Falcons 40-13. There was hardly any time left for the visiting team to mount a comeback. Saints head coach Dennis Allen decided to call it ‘Victory’ which is a cue for taking a knee.

Winston, on the other hand, went a different route. Running back Jamaal Williams, who had 17 rushing touchdowns last season, missed the majority of 2023 with a hamstring injury. His quarterback decided to hand him over the ball by faking the knee and end the game with 47 points.

Although Allen’s team did not make the playoffs, the final play became a massive talking point on ESPN’s First Take. Regular contributor Shannon Sharpe said that if he were running the Saints, then Winston would be relieved of his duties. Insubordination should not be tolerated at any level. However, the Hall of Famer’s colleague, Marcus Spears, did not agree with him.

Nah, I ain’t witcha on this one. Shannon Sharpe ain’t witcha at all on cuttin the man. You can criticize the play but this too much.

Marcus Spears wrote on X

Jameis Winston’s contract with the New Orleans Saints

According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Saints restructured Jameis Winston’s current contract for 2024. Yet it will still expire before the start of the next league year. Which means the 30-year-old will be a free agent.

"This too much!" Marcus Spears calls out Shannon Sharpe for launching a verbal attack on Jameis Winston's 'controversial' late TD against the Falcons

New Orleans Saints quarterback Jamies Winston (Image via Imago)
The FSU graduate’s previous deal was set to expire in March 2024. As a result, it would have left a $10 million dead cap for the Saints to handle. What they did in the new deal was to make it into a new signing bonus. This allowed them to lower his wages to $4.5 million.

It also gives the Saints some extra liberty and keeps them open to the possibility of any kind of further deal. That depends on whether they want to keep him after March. So does that mean Winston will choose to ignore Sharpe’s advice and tie Winston down for another year as Derek Carr‘s backup? Only time will tell.