Easop Winston Jr. (born December 17, 1996) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for the

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) (Canadian French, French: ) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Washington State Cougars The Washington State Cougars (known informally as the Cougs) are the sport, athletic teams that represent Washington State University. Located in Pullman, Washington, WSU is a member of the Pac-12 Conference in NCAA Division I. The athletic pr ...

Early life

Easop Winston Jr. was born on December 17, 1996, to Easop Winston Sr. and Renee Winston. He grew up In

South San Francisco, California South San Francisco is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The city is colloquially termed "South City". The population was 66,105 at the 2020 United States censu ...

and attended Junípero Serra High School in

San Mateo, California San Mateo ( ) is the most populous city in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula. It is part of the San Francisco Bay Area metropolitan region, and is located about south of San Francisco. San Mateo border ...

, where he played

, basketball, and ran track and field. His senior year, the Padres would be named co-champions of the

WCAL WCAL (91.9 FM) is a student-run college radio station serving PennWest California (formerly known as California University of Pennsylvania) and the surrounding area, including Washington, Fayette, Westmoreland, Greene, and Allegheny counties. ...

with Archbishop Mitty Monarchs and would go on to defeat the Monarchs in the CCS Championship Final to win their first Sectional Open Division Championship in any sport and at any level. He was teammates in football and basketball with NFL player Matt Dickerson.

College career

Winston began his collegiate career at the

City College of San Francisco City College of San Francisco (CCSF or City College) is a public community college in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded as a junior college in 1935, the college plays an important local role, enrolling as many as 1 in 35 San Franc ...

. He grayshirted his first year after enrolling and had 62 receptions for 986 yards and 12

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

the following season. As a sophomore, Winston caught 71 passes for 1,171 yards and 12 touchdowns. Winston committed to play at

Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

for his remaining eligibility over an offer from

Eastern Michigan Eastern Michigan University (EMU, EMich, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern) is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal school (teachers' ...

. Winston

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

his first season with the Washington State Cougars. As a redshirt junior, he played the "Z" receiver position and had 52 receptions for 654 yards and eight touchdowns. Winston caught 85 passes for 970 yards with 11 touchdowns as a redshirt senior.

Professional career

Los Angeles Rams

Winston signed with the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

on April 25, 2020. He was waived by the Rams during final roster cuts on September 4, 2020.

New Orleans Saints

Winston was signed by the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

on May 6, 2021. He was waived on August 31, 2021, during final roster cuts and was re-signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

the next day. Winston was elevated to the active roster on December 12, 2021, for the team's Week 14 game against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Saints on January 11, 2022. He was waived on August 15, 2022.

Cleveland Browns

Winston was claimed off waivers by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

on August 16, 2022. He was waived by the Browns on August 30, 2022.

Seattle Seahawks

On October 19, 2022, Winston was signed to the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 17, 2023. On August 29, 2023, Winston was waived by the Seahawks and re-signed to the practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 8, 2024. Winston was waived by the Seahawks on August 27, 2024 and re-signed to the practice squad, but was released a few days later.

New York Jets

On November 26, 2024, Winston was signed to the

practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 6, 2025. On May 8, 2025, Winston was waived by the Jets.

Ottawa Redblacks

On July 9, 2025, it was announced that Winston had signed with the

to the team's practice roster.

References

External links

Ottawa Redblacks bioWashington State Cougars bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winston, Easop 1996 births Living people Sportspeople from South San Francisco, California Players of American football from San Mateo, California Players of American football from San Francisco American football wide receivers Washington State Cougars football players Los Angeles Rams players New Orleans Saints players City College of San Francisco Rams football players Cleveland Browns players Seattle Seahawks players Junípero Serra High School (San Mateo, California) alumni New York Jets players Ottawa Redblacks players