The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are expected to start Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback against the Chicago Bears on Sunday despite the return of Jameis Winston. But despite Fitzpatrick’s impressive performances to start the season, it seems that decision to keep him as the starter may not have been a foregone conclusion for Bucs coach Dirk Koetter.

As Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports, Koetter told the team during their Wednesday meeting that he nearly pulled Fitzpatrick in their Monday night loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

According to several sources, Koetter told his team that after Ryan Fitzpatrick's third interception against the Steelers, Koetter nearly replaced him with backup Ryan Griffin. The coach told his team he was one or two plays away — down 23-7 in the second quarter Monday night — from giving the highly thought-of reserve Griffin his first opportunity to take the field in an NFL game.

Rapoport further explains that Koetter’s intention wasn’t to put down Fitzpatrick’s less-than-stellar performance, but to highlight the possibility of giving a player who had impressed in practice (in this case, Griffin) an opportunity to play.

Despite his three interceptions against the Steelers, Fitzpatrick still added to his streak of games with at least 400 yards passing with three touchdowns, which is now at three. It would’ve been hard to justify replacing Fitzpatrick after he put up such fabulous numbers.

But while Fitzpatrick has kept his starting job for now, he may not do so again if he has another sloppy outing against the Chicago Bears on Sunday, especially with Winston back and eager to reclaim his starting spot.