The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are set to begin the season with quarterback Jameis Winston out of the lineup for the first three games due to his alleged involvement in a groping situation with female Uber driver. This has put backup Ryan Fitzpatrick into the starting up for that stretch of the year.
With that in mind, Bucs All-Pro defensive tackle Gerald McCoy has voiced to Josina Anderson of ESPN that he believes Fitzpatrick can capture some of the same success the Philadelphia Eagles had with Nick Foles.
Here was our discussion in part on #NFL Live on Bucs QB Jameis Winston, who is facing a 3-game suspension, at this time. pic.twitter.com/QTyKJ9LWOC
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) June 23, 2018
“He said we do believe in Ryan Fitzpatrick. He had a 2-1 record with them last year and completed 58 percent of his passes. He had seven touchdowns to three interceptions. He was still efficient and they believe in him. I said really you guys believe in Ryan Fitzpatrick. Not saying that he can't do what he wants to do. We talked about it the other day, this is a very important year for Jamies and that offense to take another leap. But he did say this, last time I checked the Super Bowl-winning champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, did it with a backup quarterback. We have faith in our guy just like they had faith in their guy. We will take it from there and take of our business and see where the chips fall.”
This is some lofty expectations from McCoy toward Fitzpatrick as Foles had played phenomenal in this past season's playoffs with his play picking up in both the NFC Championship Game and Super Bowl as he was the leading factor that helped the Eagles win both games.
Foles played at the highest level of his career that saw him throw for 971 yards on a 72.6 percent completion rate with six touchdown passes and an interception while holding a 115.7 passer rating in three playoff games. He also recorded more than 240 passing yards and held a passer rating above 100 in each contest. All of this was highlighted by his stellar performance in the Super Bowl, where he completed 28 of 43 passes for 373 yards and three touchdowns that earned him the Super Bowl MVP award.
This isn't stating that Fitzpatrick can't be a stable option under center, but Foles was playing some of the best football of his career in the playoffs. Keep in mind; the Bucs have a difficult stretch of games to begin the year with the New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, and Pittsburgh that could determine how their 2018 campaign plays out. Nonetheless, it is clear that the franchise is confident that Fitzpatrick can get the job done.
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