The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will end their season next Sunday when they host the Atlanta Falcons at Raymond James Stadium. With a win, the Bucs would finish the year 8-8, the thought of which seemed absurd just over a month ago when the team was 3-7.
The story throughout the season was the uncertain future of quarterback Jameis Winston in Tampa Bay. The former number one pick had failed to live up to expectations and had not guided the Bucs to a postseason appearance in any of his four prior seasons.
Despite missing out on the playoffs for the 12th-straight year, the Bucs felt confident enough in Winston’s growth under first-year head coach Bruce Arians to commit to him in 2020.
But, Tampa Bay is unlikely to offer Winston a long-term deal, instead hoping to see improvement on the near 30 interceptions he’s thrown this year. And, had backup Blaine Gabbert not been on IR all season with a shoulder injury, there’s a good chance he could’ve seen some action this season.
Tampa Bay could very well try and bring Gabbert back next season to backup Winston, but, if they’re smart, they’ll try and make a run at current Titans backup and former starter Marcus Mariota.
Mariota, who was drafted one spot behind Winston in the 2015 NFL Draft, was benched earlier this season by the Titans after a slow start. Backup Ryan Tannehill assumed the starting gig and now has the Titans fighting for a playoff spot. Mariota, like Winston, was on the final year of his deal and will become an unrestricted free agent in 2020.
While he will certainly command a lot of attention on the open market, it could be a beneficial marriage for both parties if he joined the Bucs. Not only would Mariota get to learn from the quarterback guru himself, Bruce Arians — who has Jameis Winston on the verge of a 5,000-yard passing season — but, given how often Winston turns the ball over, Mariota could get a shot to start at some point next year. He’s still a young quarterback, too, so, if Tampa Bay liked what they saw they could turn the keys over to him after next year and part ways with Winston.
Again, it’s a long-shot for sure, but it would give the Bucs depth at the quarterback position, which was something they sorely lacked this year because of Gabbert’s injury.
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