The Tampa Bay Bucs badly need a quarterback and they likely never thought it would lead them back to an old face in Jameis Winston.
However, Buccaneers’ insider Rick Stroud doesn’t see head coach Bruce Arians going down that road.
“I don’t think Bruce Arians is fine with it. Been there, done that. There was a time when they were 7-7 in his one year here under Bruce. I thought he was going to make it, he threw for like 460-something two games in a row. Then they played Houston…then they played Atlanta and he threw both those games away. I saw on Bruce’s face that day he had reached his limit with Jameis Winston,” Stroud said during an interview on The Rich Eisen Show.
Stroud added that offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich and quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen would both be happy to have Winston under center.
“I will tell you this. There are two coaches there that would have him tomorrow. One is Byron Leftwich, who wished he had more than eight months with him. The other one is Clyde Christensen, his quarterbacks coach. Both those guys, I think would be fine with Jameis.”
Winston was drafted by Tampa Bay with the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NFL Draft and still has a few connections to the organization, but only spent one season as the Buccaneers’ starting quarterback with head coach Bruce Arians running the show.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NFL stories via Google! Follow Us
According to NFL Network’s Jim Trotter, the Saints will eventually enter contract negotiations with Jameis Winston.
“The system is in place, and the investment in Jameis makes me believe that’s the guy they’ll want to go after,” Trotter said. “My understanding is that if they have not already opened contract talks with him, they will very shortly.”
Winston was having a steady season with the Saints before suffering a torn ACL. Prior to going down with an ACL injury, Winston had 1,170 passing yards, 14 touchdowns and three interceptions.
