Jameis Winston to Pittsburgh. It’s a popular topic that’s been covered by many an outlet since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers let Winston go in free agency.
Steelers Wire posted a recent poll, but let’s delve into the subject deeper, shall we?
A recent article from Mike Sando, senior writer at The Athletic, highlighted anonymous NFL executives discussing every team’s offseason moves.
Every #NFL team has made great moves that make sense to everyone, or something like that.
Annual review of free agency's initial phase is always a fun one.https://t.co/wwXc2xFQay
— Mike Sando (@SandoNFL) April 1, 2020
The Steelers portion (which also addresses Eric Ebron) reads:
“Mike Tomlin would do such a good job with him,” an exec said. “Jameis fits the offense there, and I’m just a big fan of Mike’s leadership and think he handles young, talented players who might need help very well. He respects talent. If you put Jameis with Mike and he backed up there until Ben (Roethlisberger) was finished, you might have something.”
It’s clear the Steelers depth at QB is questionable. We witnessed that last season after Ben Roethlisberger went on injured reserve. Mason Rudolph needs development and, maybe — just maybe — he could help get the Steelers by. But it doesn’t appear that Rudolph is quite franchise material.
The Bucs believed Winston was their franchise QB. They thought he was their future, and now he’s their past.
Hypothetically speaking, could Winston be the answer the Steelers are looking for?
Most Steelers fans don’t know much about Winston’s career, so here’s a glimpse:
When he’s on, he’s on. 2019 was a career season for Winston. He threw for 5,109 yards and 33 touchdowns, both league highs. Winston’s rookie and second years, he threw for 4,000+ yards. The least yardage came in 2017 with 3,504 and 2,992 in 2018.
When he’s off, though — he’s way off. For all the TDs Winston has in his career, he has 88 to go with them. He tossed a league-high 33 INTs last season.
For a general five-year comparison, Roethlisberger had 84 TDs and 54 INTs to Winston’s 121 and 88.
Part of Bruce Arians’ mission when hired in Tampa Bay was to “fix” Winston. The former Steelers offensive coordinator is often referred to as the “quarterback guru” for his work with Roethlisberger, Peyton Manning, and the like. However, instead of throwing fewer picks last season, Winston doubled them.
Winston played most of 2019 with a torn meniscus and a broken thumb on his throwing hand, which may have played a role in so many off-target passes.
The QB had knee surgery in the offseason, but the most talked-about surgery was that on his eyes. Winston had LASIK surgery to repair his nearsightedness, which caused him to squint while playing and to be able to see the scoreboard.
Will the surgery help Winston with his accuracy? So far, that’s unseen.
What we do know is that there’s buzz surrounding Winston to the Steelers. And it won’t go away until he’s signed to a team.
Roethlisberger and Winston have similar stature and playing style, and the Steelers’ QB situation is dicey, so the buzz is warranted.
The main question remains: At what cost? Before free agency, it was reported that Winston was seeking $30 million. Most teams have already found starting QBs for 2020, or will via the NFL draft. So, the likely scenario is a team will sign him as a backup with a salary in the neighborhood of $10 million.
The Steelers have just over $7 million in cap room for 2020. Restructure more contracts, and it could be feasible. Having Winston at No. 2 would be much better insurance than Rudolph. And if Mike Tomlin can help Winston with his INT woes, he could be a solid starter in the post-Roethlisberger era.
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