Following a poor outing by Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston in their 23-20 loss to the Houston Texans, fans are naturally calling for his job and wanting a replacement. It’s not a secret that I personally am a fan of Winston and think given another year, or even two, he can fix his vision and turn everything around, as long as he doesn’t forgo the gunslinger mentality that makes him the threat he is.

The Buccaneers pass the ball too much to not have a guy that can get the ball downfield quick and in a hurry. This is the same reason the world saw Fitzmagic last season — he fit the system. Now sure, Bruce Arians system is not the same as Dirk Koetter’s, but they still pass the ball a heck of a lot. You have to when you’ve got two of the best receivers in the league on the team in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.

I’ve also been very open about Winston being the best guy for the job based on the situation in Tampa Bay. The 2020 draft isn’t quarterback talent heavy this year and the list, which we will get to in a moment, of quarterbacks playing on expiring contracts offers no feasible upgrades for the Buccaneers. I wasn’t shocked when Ian Rapoport reported that Winston would be retained for 2020 because I had already seen what was going to be available.

With that, here is a look at the upcoming 2020 free agent quarterback market.

Quarterbacks becoming free agents

Tom Brady – simply put, not happening. Don’t waste your time trying to think of ways that Brady will be joining the Buccaneers.

Drew Brees – in the same boat as Brady. The New Orleans Saints are not moving on from Brees. He will be a Saint until the day he retires.

Philip Rivers – Rivers is an older, less mobile version of Winston. He’s been called a gunslinger the same way that Winston is. He is able to throw you in to games and throw you out of games. Rivers is also 38 years old.

Eli Manning – Already had his swan song, threw 4 INT in his last home game as a New York Giant, and they cheered him because they knew he was retiring. Much like Rivers and Winston, he will get you some volume in yards, but he has that gunslinger mentality and will turn the ball over.

Marcus Mariota – If you’re not a fan of Winston, there is no reason why you’d be a fan on Mariota just at face value. He wasn’t offered a new deal for the same reason that Winston wasn’t – his team was unsure about him. He’s more mobile than Winston, sure, but that’s not what the Bucs are looking for. Unless he turns into a Russell Wilson, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes-type of player in a new environment. I’d be OK with the Bucs signing Mariota as Winston’s backup and testing the waters.

Dak Prescott – The Dallas Cowboys aren’t going to let Prescott leave. He’s a solid quarterback, playing on a very good team that has a terrible coaching staff. He will be the Cowboys’ quarterback long-term. Plus, there is nobody that is on this list that is an upgrade from Prescott that the Cowboys have a real chance at bringing in either. Not a dig at backup quarterback Cooper Rush, but if the Cowboys don’t think that Prescott is their best bet, do you really think that Jerry Jones believes that Rush is?

Jacoby Brissett – I like Brissett, but is he an upgrade from Winston? No. His 2,780 passing yards are not going to help the Buccaneers win games. His QBR is 54.5, Winston’s is 54.3. Again, I like Brissett, but he’s not putting the Buccaneers in any better position. Where else would the Colts go for quarterback? A lot of the franchise is still holding their breath that Andrew Luck just wanted to take a year off and will come back next season.

Ryan Tannehill – Tannehill is another guy that I like. He’s the reason Jarvis Landry became a household name. If you want to know what to expect if the Bucs signed Tannehill look at his best season as a Miami Dolphin from 2015 – 4,208 yards, 28 TD and 12 INT. He’s injury prone, though, and his last two injury-plagued seasons with the Dolphins was ultimately the reason why the team moved on from him. He’s played 11 games for the Tennessee Titans this season and his 2,544 yards just passed Matthew Stafford’s 2,499, and Stafford only played eight games this season. I think Tannehill’s the perfect fit for the Titans offense and would expect them to keep him around.

Teddy Bridgewater – I saved Bridgewater for last because I do think this is the only scenario in which the Buccaneers have at least a shot in the dark at signing a quarterback that is an upgrade. The issue with Bridgewater is that he’s stated that he wants to remain with the New Orleans Saints, even as a backup. Brees is 40 years old, and looks to just be checking off his bucket list of things he wants to accomplish in the NFL. I don’t know how many more seasons he has left in him, which leads to the question: Do the Saints? If the team has any idea about the time frame for Brees to continue playing, this holds heavy for Bridgewater as he’s already shown them that he can successfully take the reigns and guide this team.

Those are your free agent quarterbacks going into the 2020 offseason. If I’m a betting man, I’m putting my money on Winston taking another full, and possibly final, season as your Buccaneers quarterback. Bridgewater is to me the only real option in terms of an upgrade, and I just don’t know if the Saints will let him leave for the reasons I listed above.

Now that this Buccaneers team has bought into the Arians system, they can spend the entire offseason working on Winston’s decision-making. Even take just a meager 10 less interceptions on the season and I think you can still win with that, because his upside is so good.

[lawrence-related id=26574,26565,26556,26548]