The Tampa Bay Buccaneers finished 7-9 last season to miss the playoffs for the 12th-straight year. Much of the blame for the team’s shortcomings fell on the shoulders of quarterback Jameis Winston, who despite finishing the year with 5,109 passing yards and 33 touchdowns, tossed a league-high 30 interceptions.
With Tom Brady now officially a member of the Buccaneers, Winston’s time in Tampa Bay is done. The number one pick in the 2015 NFL draft is still searching for a home, but despite his departure from the Bucs, teammates still hold him in high regard.
Wide receiver Chris Godwin, who experienced a career-best season in 2019 with 86 receptions, 1,333 yards and nine touchdowns, came to the defense of his former quarterback in a recent interview with The Boardroom.
Here’s part of what Godwin had to say (via ESPN):
“I definitely think [Winston] got more of the blame than he deserved. I think he’s a really, really talented quarterback. Obviously there are things that he does that you can’t teach, and there are plays that he made that just weren’t smart plays. But a lot of the mistakes and interceptions that he made, I would say half of them were because of a bad read on someone else’s part.”
Several former NFL quarterbacks, including Carson Palmer, who played for Arians during their time with the Arizona Cardinals, felt Winston was primed for a big Year 2 under Arians, whose offense can be hard to master. But with the Bucs being able to lure Brady away from the Patriots, Winston will never get that shot now.
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