Sports Illustrated writer weighs in on Buccaneers and Jameis Winston

Sports Illustrated writer Connor Orr laid out his “..Most Important Offseason To-Do For Each Team Out of the NFL Playoffs”, and for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he gets straight to the point with the biggest question facing the team.

Within the next 60 days we’ll find out what the future holds for the Bucs and their 2015 First-Round draft pick. And between now and then we could probably share 60 different opinions and predictions.

For Orr though, it was simple. Writing,

“Bruce Arians doesn’t have to dip into the rookie pool; there are plenty of veteran quarterbacks who will hit the market this offseason. But I can’t imagine it’s enjoyable to craft excellent game plans every week only to walk into the stadium completely unsure of how they’ll play out. Winston’s unpredictability may attract some coaches, but Arians should make a run with a more responsible player under center.”

Orr is right about at least one thing. The Bruce Arians and the Buccaneers won’t be forced to spend draft capital on a quarterback if they do let Winston walk away.

The veteran pool is deep, and filled with recognizable names ranging from Tom Brady and Drew Brees to Teddy Bridgewater and Philip Rivers.

While all four could potentially return to their teams, it’s very likely the NFL world will have a feel for who is going to be available when the new year starts before the rest of us do. Some veterans under contract for the 2020 season have even been speculated about, including guys like Matthew Stafford, Andy Dalton and Derek Carr.

Orr also writes about Jameis Winston, including him in the potential options for another franchise. According to the writer, the Chicago Bears would be wise to bring in competition for Mitchell Trubisky, and he comments on both Marcus Mariota and Winston being potential candidates for the job.