Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Offensive Coordinator Byron Leftwich is a “rising star”

Leftwich and Winston building a relationship

Rosen was not the only former Cardinals’ quarterback to praise Leftwich, as Cleveland Browns’ backup Drew Stanton says Leftwich’s confidence is “infectious” and he “commanded respect right off the bat” (Laine via ESPN). His next task in Tampa Bay? Connect with Jameis Winston.

"“The first thing I told Jameis is, ‘I just need honesty. I don’t care what the answer is, just give me honesty,’ because once I know how he’s winding and how he thinks, I can begin to call plays for him…Jameis and I are building a friendship also, like I’m doing with the rest of these players, we’re building friendships…” (Leftwich via ESPN)."

In response, Winston told Laine, “I think it’s very important, building that relationship with Byron… He’s a very detail oriented coach… it’s just good to have” (Winston via ESPN). It sounds like Winston is working to take the necessary steps and leaning into Leftwich in his contract year.

Leftwich’s biggest strength according to Laine: his ability to relate to players. Laine points to Leftwich’s benching and release by the Jacksonville Jaguars as a point he can connect and mentor Winston on, who was benched last season.

"“Leftwich understands the psychological parts of playing quarterback, specifically in this system, which is predicated on taking risks and doesn’t afford quarterbacks too many opportunities for max protection” (Laine via ESPN)."

As Arians enters his first year as the head coach of the Buccaneers at 60-years-old, it would not be surprising to hear in a few years that he had a transition plan in place at his hire for Leftwich to take over the job. For now, the “rising star” in Leftwich has a big opportunity to unlock the potential of Winston and the entire Buccaneers’ offense.