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Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston was suspended for the first three games of the regular season for violating the NFL's personal driving policy, the league said Thursday. Tom Pelissero of NFL Network later reported that Winston will not appeal the ban. Gregg Rosenthal examines the implications – immediate and long-term – for Winston and the Bucs.
Losing a franchise quarterback for any period of time is a problem. Losing one during a historically difficult opening period – with jobs on the line – seems particularly daunting.
That's what the Tampa Bay Buccaneers face with this three-game suspension, which stems from an alleged incident of a female Uber. The NFL opened an investigation on November 17, 2017.
The suspension raises questions about the organization as a whole and about Winston's future. Bucs coach Dirk Koetter and general manager Jason Licht have already entered the pack this year after the Hard Knokers' favorites underperformed by winning just five games last season. Even before the suspension, Winston still had a lot of work to do in the field with his second potential contract looming.
These are some of the most important issues, but Koetter's staff will immediately be confronted with a series of games.
The Bucs Can Survive in September
The Buccaneers' first three games are against the Saints, Eagles and Steelers, who all won their division last season and combined 37-11. Although the analysis of the strength of the schedule can be overestimated, it is impossible to ignore this trifecta, which includes the first three toughest games for the entire team of the Super Bowl era . for 0-3 for the moment, though. At Ryan Fitzpatrick, the Buccaneers have one of the most experienced back quarterbacks in football. He played 299 stresses in the last regular season for Tampa when Winston missed the match due to a shoulder injury, the Bucs having won two of Fitzpatrick's three starts. He knows the attack and he has gone so far with a rare confidence that exceeds the strength of his arm.
Fitzpatrick's performance with the Bucs was his career in a nutshell. There were backstage scenes, such as when he almost led the team to a 31-0 deficit against the Cardinals. There were horrible expanses extended against the Jets and Falcons where the Bucs could barely move the ball. There was finally a great start – against Miami – and enough help from Fitzpatrick's teammates to steal some wins, which should be the case for the Bucs.
Even without Winston, it's a passing attack full of talent. The broad group of receivers goes four deep with quality and there are two dynamic close ends in Cameron Brate and O.J. Howard. Tampa's faint defense has taken over the defensive linemen this season and the Bucs will be home for their games against the Eagles and Steelers. A 1-2 start with this schedule is enough to keep the Bucs season afloat.
On paper, this should not be a monumental task. But it's a franchise that has been better on paper than in reality for an uncomfortable time.
Koetter and Licht in the Honor
There will likely be a group of casual fans who watch the Bucs play in Week 1 and think, Wait, Dirk Koetter is still their coach?
Scheduled to be sent back after last season, Koetter seemed to get a reprieve when Jon Gruden chose to hold his meeting tour in Oakland rather than in Tampa. There may not be another coach in the league with as much pressure to win now as Koetter, who got the job partly because of his early success in developing Winston as an offensive coordinator.
Koetter will have to pilot a training camp that prepares Fitzpatrick to start the season opening, while preparing Winston for the rest of the year. (The Bucs also have quarterback Ryan Griffin, 28, who they liked to sign in overtime last August.) The September games will have additional pressure, with Koetter knowing that a start Slow year could get him fired During the season,
The suspension is an opportunity for Koetter to show that he can overcome a major hurdle and showcase a formation built by Licht with a lot of power. There are potential weaknesses in the secondary line and along the offensive line, but winning a few games without Winston will prove that it's not a depth chart to be kidding. If the Bucs collapse this year after spending so much money in the offseason, the property could question Licht 's stewardship since its arrival in 2014. This sequence includes 22 wins, 42 losses and no playoff participation.
is joined at the hip with Winston, and he is still on the quarterback to prove to Licht the wisdom of taking him first in 2015.
A crossroads for Winston
C & # 39; a particularly disappointing personal setback when it comes to Winston, considering all the off-road issues he had to answer before the NFL draft. Winston vehemently denied the initial report – and no charges were filed – before presenting vague excuses to Uber's driver on Thursday. And this suspension comes before a crucial year for the young quarterback.
After three seasons, Winston proved that he was a dynamic player prone to turnovers. He looks like a quarterback starting the league at worst and he's only 24, but he has not yet experienced a breakout season as a producer of difference. "Hard Knocks" shed light on Winston as an engaging and leading personality, but availability is a key element of leadership. Missing the start of his fourth season puts Winston at the crossroads in his career, as does the conversation about his next contract.
The Buccaneers have landed the fifth year option of Winston's rookie contract for 2019 and it's hard to imagine. play anywhere else, anytime soon. But this suspension is accompanied by warnings
Failure to obtain the assessment or to cooperate with the treatment will result in greater discipline, "the league said in a statement. violation of personal conduct policy "
This helps to highlight the precarious status of Winston, which may be suspended longer if another incident occurs, an uncertainty that could lead to an extension of contract. also has a lot of development to do on the field with his decision making, a lot of potential still unrealized.
It was already going to be a tense season in Tampa, Koetter and Licht – or any future Bucs employee – will be the men who will guide Winston into the next stage of a career that begins at an uneven pace.
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