The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are entering a season where they have to make a long-term decision on Jameis Winston. Byron Leftwich, Tampa Bay's offensive coordinator, denies that the coaches need to “fix” Winston.
Per Rick Stroud in the Tampa Bay Times:
“We’re not here to fix this kid,’’ Leftwich said. “This kid can play already. Everybody has a head coach, an offensive coordinator, a quarterback coach. Right? You know, granted, B.A. (head coach Bruce Arians) is going to bring the best guys around. But we don’t need to fix this kid. This kid is perfectly fine. We can win football games with Jameis as our quarterback. We believe that. I believe that.
Entering this season, Winston is playing in the final year of his rookie contract after the team picked up his fifth-year option before the 2018 season. The Buccaneers organization is hoping that new head coach Bruce Arians and Winston can rejuvenate Winston's career in 2019.
The Buccaneers drafted Winston with the No.1 pick in the 2015 NFL Draft out of Florida State. There was a ton of hype surrounding the Seminole out of college. Without a doubt, Winston lived up to the hype in his rookie season with 4,042 yards and 22 touchdowns in 2015.
Over the past three seasons, though, the 25-year-old quarterback hasn't shown much growth from under center. Last year, Winston shared the QB duties with Ryan Fitzpatrick with both of them proving inconsistent.
In his nine starts in 2018, the Florida State product accounted for 2,992 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. The biggest weakness for Winston has been his decision making over the years.
There's no denying the talent that Winston possesses and Tampa Bay is confident they can win games for years to come with him as their franchise signal-caller.
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