For five seasons, free agent QB Jameis Winston had many ups and downs for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. At times, he was spectacular, and at other times, he was a train wreck. Obviously, when the Buccaneers drafted Winston with the number one overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, they expected a guy who won a national championship in college, to lead the franchise to big things. Unfortunately, that never happened.
Winston was 28-42 as a starter with the Buccaneers and could not lead the team to the playoffs. It was mixed bag for Winston, and nothing epitomized that more than what happened with him in 2019, where Winston threw for 5,109 yards and 33 touchdowns, which was canceled out by his 30 interceptions.
Fortunately for Tampa Bay, Winston is gone, and arguably the greatest quarterback of all-time, Tom Brady has arrived.
While things did not work out the way Tampa Bay wanted it to with Winston, according to Buccaneers GM Jason Licht, Winston is not a bust and still has a bright future.
“We have a lot of respect for Jameis,” Licht said during a video call today. “Jameis was still part of our plan if things went a different route. I’ve got a lot of respect for him. I thought he did a lot of great things and I think anybody in our office, or our building, would say the same thing. He did some spectacular things for us. I would never say that personally – and I think I speak on behalf of the organization – that he was a bust.
“I think he’s got a bright future ahead of him. It just really comes down to, we had a chance to get Tom Brady. Tom Brady is a hell of a player and we are very excited about that. I’m very confident that Jameis is going to go on and get an opportunity. That’s not the last you’re going to hear from Jameis.”
The 26-year-old Winston still does have a bright future, and he young enough where he could still have success with another team. At this point, it seems that Winston may have to be a backup in 2020, which might not be a bad thing. It could be an opportunity for him to take a step back, and if all goes well, he could go try to find a starting position in 2021.
Winston is not a bust, but the Buccaneers would love to have had more success during his time in Tampa Bay.
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