Bruce Arians refutes NFL Network report that Bucs are bringing back Jameis Winston

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians dismissed the idea that a decision has been made on Jameis Winston’s future.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are one win away from finishing the season 8-8, something that seemed impossible just over a month ago when they sat at 3-7.

The big second half turnaround can be attributed in part to quarterback Jameis Winston, who despite having 28 interceptions has played some of the best football of his career the past month. In Week 15’s win over the Detroit Lions, Winston became the first quarterback in league history to throw for 450 yards in back-to-back games.

It seemed like Winston had done just enough to convince the Buccaneers to bring him back next season. Winston, the former number one overall pick by Tampa Bay, was playing out the fifth and final year of this contract this season, so the Bucs were under no obligation to bring him back.

But NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported last Saturday that the team was slated to bring Winston back in 2020. Of course, that report came out before Winston went out and threw four interceptions in a loss to the Houston Texans, including another pick-six.

Perhaps that’s why head coach Bruce Arians seemed to dismiss Rapoport’s report after the game, according to ESPN’s Jenna Laine.

This could of course just be Arians giving the typical answer coaches give when asked about the future of certain players: “Everything waits until the end of the season.”

So, while Winston very well could be back in Tampa Bay next year, we’ll have to wait a little bit longer to know for sure.

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