Does Jameis Winston want to return to Tampa Bay Buccaneers?
The narrative of the season has been whether or not the Buccaneers should retain Jameis Winston, but the question must be asked: does he want to return?
After Sunday’s loss in overtime to the Seattle Seahawks 40-34, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers drop to 2-6 on the year and into even more uncertainty. This was a performance where quarterback Jameis Winston was almost perfect, with only a fumble which was caused by left tackle Donovan Smith hitting hitting throwing hand while in motion; yesterday’s loss was not on the quarterback.
Winston was 29/44 with two touchdowns and no interceptions; he finished the game with a 103.9 quarterback rating on the day. Wide receiver Mike Evans was a huge impact on this game, especially in the fourth quarter when the Bucs were trying to make a comeback.
While everyone in the fan base is either on the Winston train or their sick of him and want him gone from the Tampa Bay Area, there may be another angle of looking at this situation. This time we’re gonna take a look at the future beyond 2019 from Winston’s point of view.
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As the fan base and media discuss whether or not Winston should be back in Tampa Bay and in the pewter and red next season, there is one question that still must be asked:
Does Winston actually want to come back? Would he rather leave in free agency and pick and choose where he wants to be? Where would this leave general manager Jason Licht and head coach Bruce Arians if this is the case?
In theory let’s say Winston plans to leave for greener pastures in free agency; who needs a quarterback and who would be a good fit for him? With the Miami Dolphins, Cincinnati Bengals, and few others in need of a quarterback, could he go elsewhere other than Tampa this offseason?
When you take a look into Winston’s career, he has thrown for 17,035 yards, 104 touchdowns, and 70 interceptions; he has a career quarterback rating of 84. This does not seem like such bad a bad place for a quarterback needy team to come knocking should Winston have interest in going elsewhere.
In addition, let’s say only 50 of these interceptions are Winston’s fault; this would make him even more appealing outside of Tampa. The unknown remains: outside of Tampa, who has remained rather quiet on their future plans with the former first overall pick in the draft, does Winston have a market and does he have suitors?
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At the end of the day, the question is just as much about Winston as it is about the Buccaneers. While it is important to find out if the Bucs want Winston back in 2020, it is equally important to get into the psyche of the Heisman Trophy winner to figure out whether or not he wants to return to Tampa as well.