Jameis Winston’s turnovers are well known, and they are not getting any better. He currently leads the NFL in interceptions thrown with 10.
Winston was off to a good start taking the team down the field, but then he threw an interception. That was the beginning of Winston’s 4 interception outing.
Winston seemed to be ill-prepared for this contest and looked lost at times. I saw him wildly spin in the backfield with no one near enough to him for him to do so. Then he lobbed up a pass that could have been another interception. He forced throws, and in one instance he threw an ugly pass instead of taking the sack, resulting in another interception. “Winston overthrows his receiver,” was said way too many times on Sunday.
Towards the end of the first half, he did finally connect with DeSean Jackson for a long TD pass but came back out and threw another interception. It was more than apparent that Jameis Winston had an off day on Sunday; he looked downright terrible.
He was 18 for 35 for 267 yards, 1 TD, and 4 interceptions, good for a 45 rating. Terrible.
With 2:20 left in the 3rd quarter Winston threw his 4th and final interception that was returned for a touchdown. Tampa decided to put him on the bench.
Backup QB Ryan Fitzpatrick came in and performed his magic tricks, rallying for a comeback. He threw 15 passes, connecting on 11, two of them for TDs. One of those was a long 72-yard bomb to Mike Evans. Fitzpatrick faced the same defense that Jameis Winston did, so what’s the deal? He played for roughly 16 minutes and tied the game. Fitzmagic threw for 194 yards during the short time he was in, and one has to wonder whether we would have won the game if he had started out the second half.
An unlikely rumor is brewing around Tampa Bay that Jameis could be traded before the deadline on Tuesday. I don’t think so because I do not think Ryan Fitzpatrick is able to play consistently. But neither is Winston. After yesterday’s performance, back-up QB Ryan Fitzpatrick may have regained the starting QB role.
So what does that mean for Winston’s future? Well, he is vying for a big contract. As of now, with all the issues plaguing him with turnovers and taking into account the suspension, he hasn’t earned a big contract.
So do we trade him? There are teams that would be interested in him, there’s no doubt, but would it be worth it to get rid of our former #1 overall? The 2019 draft is not full of QBs, so that’s not a great place to start looking for one, and there are very few free agent QBs out there. We could look to trade for another team back-up as there are several that are favorable. It just seems that the Bucs are doomed to suffer more until something gives.
I’m not trying to start a Jameis Winston smear campaign. I’m just pointing out things I see. Those who come to his defense—I was one for a long time—love citing that he is still young and can still fix his mistakes. I do not think that he can. You cannot coach out poor decision making. Jameis Winston says he has to work on his turnovers, but when asked by Laura Okim prior to the start of yesterday’s game if he is working on his turnovers, Jameis replied that he cannot focus on that, that he has to focus on winning. Maybe he should focus on fixing his turnovers. You can’t win football games by throwing 4 interceptions and only 1 TD.
Winston admitted that he knows the reason he is making mistakes. It’s due to his overexcitement about making a good play and wanting to make another one right afterward. But that normally results in a mistake being made, such as a turnover.
As of right now, Bucs head coach Dirk Koetter is not naming a starting QB for next week’s contest against the Panthers, and why should he?
Video: Dirk Koetter says he doesn’t have to name a starting QB for next week today, but he’ll make the decision when he has to. pic.twitter.com/3v1nekAxO4
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) October 28, 2018
And if the Bucs do decide to let Jameis go:
Ryan Fitzpatrick has only played for 16 odd minutes since being benched after the first half of week 4’s contest, and the comparisons are not good. Winston has thrown 10 interceptions in the last 4 games.
An interesting trade scenario has been coined by fans and that is trading Winston to the Jaguars and offering Gruden some picks for QB Derek Carr. I am not against acquiring Derek Carr, however unlikely it seems.
