Leftwich indicates Jameis Winston could be back with Buccaneers in 2020

Byron Leftwich stood in front of the media and stated he thinks Jameis Winston could be the man of the future for the Buccaneers, but does he believe it?

Quarterback Jameis Winston always seems to be the talk of the town in Tampa Bay and with the Buccaneers. As he enters the last nine games of his rookie contract without a new deal for the future, that chatter has only magnified.

Showing more of the same inconsistencies that he has shown over the first four seasons of his career with the Buccaneers, Winston has had games all over the map in 2019. Two excellent performances, a couple conservative and productive performances, and a few meltdowns, Winston has done nothing to cure any uncertainty about his future in Tampa Bay.

Yesterday, offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich stood in front of the media for his press conference and was asked about whether or not his opinion on whether or not Winston could be the quarterback of the future in Tampa has changed. Leftwich’s answer seems to indicate that he thinks Winston could still be the quarterback in Tampa past 2019.

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"“I feel that way. I feel as though we are not doing enough to win football games… if you win some of those games that you’ve lost, then the narrative is different” (Leftwich via Buccaneers)"

While it is understandable that a coach is not going to throw his player under the bus, this has the feeling of a coach deflecting a question; whether or not Leftwich believes what he actually said is to be determined after the season.

Winston is currently on pace for the worst season of his career, completing just 58 percent of his passes with 12 touchdown strikes and 14 interceptions. While he is on pace for the most passing yards and touchdowns of his career, he is also completing the lowest percentage of passes in his career and is on pace for the most interceptions of his career as well.

As far as analytics are concerned, Winston is ranked as the 20th best quarterback in DYAR and DVOA, meant to estimate the overall value and success rate of a given play against the league average respectively. Winston is also currently ranked as the 21st overall quarterback in QBR as well; He has never finished lower than 17th in the league in these given categories.

Winston still has nine games to turn his season and his future around, but at this point he does not have a new deal in Tampa and for good reason. Leftwich speaks as though he believes Jameis Winston can still lead the Buccaneers beyond 2019; will Winston justify that belief?