Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston is set to be suspended three games by the NFL for violating the personal conduct policy.
Well, there you have it. Jameis Winston is set to be suspended three games for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy stemming from an allegation from an Uber driver in 2016. The Uber driver alleges that Winston groped her in the car after picking him up.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reported the NFL is set to make the suspension official;
NFL is planning to suspend Buccaneers’ QB Jameis Winston the first three games of the season for violating the personal conduct policy, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 21, 2018
ESPN’s Tallahassee host Jeff Cameron initially reported Winston was bracing to be suspended - and he will be.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Winston could also face additional time if certain criteria aren’t met;
In addition to his suspension, Winston must meet a certain criteria related to his conduct to return to the field. This suspension could come tomorrow, but next week is more likely.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 21, 2018
Buccaneers fans are livid but we all knew this was a possibility. Now the Bucs will face an onslaught in the first three weeks without Winston under center, taking on the New Orleans Saints, defending champion Philadelphia Eagles, and the Pittsburgh Steelers in prime time on Monday Night Football.
The thing to remember is that Winston is likely being suspended for not reporting the incident to the NFL rather than any evidence the NFL may have found that the incident actually occurred. Gil Arcia of Bucs Nation laid out the conduct policy as it pertains to the Winston case here.
As if the Bucs weren’t under enough pressure, they will now have to rely on veteran backup Ryan Fitzpatrick to get them off to a hot start. Should the gauntlet they face lead to an 0-3 or 1-2 record, it could set the tone for another brutal season and a hole the Bucs just can’t dig out of.
That shouldn’t provide a built in excuse for Dirk Koetter or Mike Smith given that they’re already on the hot seat if the team doesn’t still show remarkable improvement from last season.
Per Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, Winston is not expected to appeal the ruling;
Bucs QB Jameis Winston is expecting to be suspended three games by the NFL for as early as Friday but before July 4 after an 8 month probe into allegations he groped a female Uber driver in March 2016. He's not expected to appeal.
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) June 21, 2018
I still think an appeal is possible to at least try to get back on the field for week three unless there is more information that just hasn’t become public yet.
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At the end of the day, Winston better have learned from this – again, whether the allegations are true or not – to keep himself out of precarious positions that put himself and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers organization in a bad spot.
UPDATE:
Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times has been adamant that failure to report is not the reason for the violation of the conduct policy or suspension. Mike Garafolo is reporting hearing the same;
Told same on the impending Jameis suspension. Nothing to do with failure to report. https://t.co/NWnapxmJ30
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) June 21, 2018