Tampa Bay Buccaneers: ‘Bleacher Report’ Doesn’t Expect Good Season For QB Jameis Winston

Jameis Winston was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft with the hope that he could become one of the NFL’s elite quarterbacks. Unfortunately for the Buccaneers, that has not happened. Not only has he not developed into an elite quarterback, he has also shown bad behavior off the football field.

Point in case, the NFL has suspended Winston for the first three games of the 2018 NFL season due to accusations and admittance that he touched a female Uber driver inappropriately back in 2016. That’s right, an NFL quarterback resorted to sexual harassment against an Uber driver.

Outside of that situation, Winston has had off-the-field issues on multiple different occasions. He was accused of rape, stealing crab meat, and also had a BB gun incident. Every single one of those situations has been due to immaturity and the inability to control himself.

On the field, Winston hasn’t been much better. He struggled mightily last season when he was healthy and missed a chunk of time due to injuries. Winston has not developed into being a team leader, nor has his arm showed much development since coming into the league.

All of those things have led to Bleacher Report predicting that Winston does not get things together in 2018 and continues struggling for the Buccaneers.

“We’ve been waiting for Winston to grow up since before he entered the NFL—and yet the same song keeps playing. That won’t suddenly change.”

.@damienwoody is tired of people making excuses for Jameis Winston. pic.twitter.com/2QNdZLQwCe

— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) June 29, 2018

Last season with Tampa Bay, Winston ended up completing 63.8 percent of his passes for 3,504 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. Those numbers simply aren’t going to cut it for the Buccaneers. Tampa Bay went out and signed DeSean Jackson to give him another weapon and Mike Evans is one of the best receivers in the NFL.

Granted, the Buccaneers did not have a ground game to take pressure off of Winston’s arm. Doug Martin struggled once again and ended up leaving town this offseason. Tampa Bay needs the ground game to step up for Winston to have any chance at taking a big step forward this season.

It’s time for Winston to grow up and learn that his career is a missed step or two away from ending. Tampa Bay isn’t going to continue putting up with mediocrity. Just look back at Josh Freeman, who was a talented starting quarterback with tons of raw potential, but the Buccaneers moved on fast from him when he didn’t develop.

Expect to see Winston continue on the current trajectory that his career has been on. He may improve a bit this season, but he simply has shown no sense of urgency.

Tampa Bay is beginning to get fed up with his antics and it might not be too long before they are looking for a new starting quarterback.