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The offseason always makes for interesting moments. Especially if you’re a fan of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Bucs are possibly entering the franchise’s most important offseason since Dungy was fired, and a lot of the focus will be centered on what to do with Jameis Winston.
Should the Bucs apply the franchise tag or the transition tag? Should they sign him to a long-term deal? Should they let him walk?
It’s a huge decision that will impact the franchise for the next 3-5 years - or even longer - depending on what happens.
The first question that usually comes to the mind of the people making this choice - especially since it’s a quarterback - is whether or not the franchise can win with said player, or if they can find someone else to do the job.
Bruce Arians was asked that exact question by the media during Monday’s media availability and his answer was interesting, to say the least.
“With another quarterback? Oh yeah,’’ Arians said to reporters on Monday. “We can win with this one, we can definitely win with another one, too…we’re going to have this defense.’’
Click here for the video of his comment. The question is asked right around the 11:27 mark. Things tend to sound/read differently on paper, so I figured I’d show y’all the video to help gain full awareness of the situation.
There’s a few different ways to look at what Arians said, but at the end of the day, please keep in mind that this is literally Day Two of the offseason. A lot can change during the coming months.
1) We all know BA has swag and hubris. This could just be the quarterback whisperer assuming that he’s got things going in the right direction and that he could plug someone in at quarterback right now and everything would go just fine. I mean, he felt that way about Jameis heading into 2019.
2) Arians’ specifically mentioned the defense at the end of the comment. We all know how much a good defense can help out a quarterback, especially a struggling one. He probably believes that he and Todd Bowles are building an elite defense that would help create opportunities and short fields for anyone behind center.
3) BA may in fact believe that he can do better at the position. But that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll act on that possible notion. Regardless of the speculation, he did have another interesting in quote when referencing Winston’s interceptions and how usually, a quarterback is benched for those mistakes, but a lack of options is one reason why Winston remained the starter in 2019:
“A big part of it was Blaine (Gabbert) getting hurt and we had to find out. This is the franchise, so we had to find out.’’
That right there adds a layer to the original quote and it certainly elevates the intrigue as to what the Bucs will do with Winston in the offseason.
4) And, of course, saving the best for last. There’s always the possibility that Winston is just too much of a turnover-machine and this team does want to cut ties and move on.
Arians has also said many things in one presser, just to do something differently on the field or in the clubhouse, so I’d also take the comment with a slight grain of salt.
This is going to be a long offseason.
What do YOU think the Bucs should/will do with Winston? Let us know!!
Poll
What should the Bucs do with Jameis Winston?
This poll is closed
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6%
Long-term deal
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45%
Franchise/transition
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48%
Let him walk