The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ season ended with a Jameis Winston pick-six in overtime against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. It was Winston’s 30th interception of the season, making him the first quarterback ever to throw for 30 touchdowns and 30 interceptions in the same year.
It was a tumultuous year for the former No. 1 overall pick, who also threw for over 5,000 yards. Given that Winston was playing on the fifth and final year of his rookie contract, the team is under no obligation to bring him back next season. And, while reports have indicated that the team plans to bring Winston back in some capacity, nothing is certain as of right now.
And, when asked Monday if he thinks the team can win with a quarterback other than Winston under center, head coach Bruce Arians provided an answer that some may view as a shot at Winston.
“Another quarterback? Oh, yeah. If we can win with this one, we can definitely win with another one too. We’re gonna have a defense.”
First, referring to Winston as “this one” instead of by name is a bit of a slight in and of itself, but to say “we can definitely win” with another quarterback makes it sound like Winston is nothing special.
Maybe that’s not how Arians meant it, but it has to be frustrating for a head coach to see his team suffer losses because of the quarterback’s erratic play.
Arians also admitted that the injury to backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert provided Winston with more leeway than he otherwise would’ve gotten had a healthy and experienced backup been available.
“A big part of it was [backup] Blaine [Gabbert] getting hurt and we had to find out [if] this was the franchise [quarterback]. We had to find out.”
Arians said he and management will look over film from all 16 games in the coming weeks before deciding what direction to head in. Should Winston be back next year, you can bet the team won’t be as patient with him when it comes to his turnovers.
[lawrence-related id=26853,26847,26838,26824]