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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a golden opportunity to pass quarterback Jameis Winston. He does not deserve to be the face of an NFL franchise, not after he has been repeatedly accused of sexual assault and treated with immaturity.
And frankly, he is a fairly average quarterback, whose money is due to the expiry of his contract after this season.
Ryan Fitzpatrick gave the Bucs a great opportunity to start again. He was as good (or better than) that people were hoping Winston was this season. Buccaneers can trade Winston against a needy quarterback team before the deadline. Tampa Bay can prepare a quarter-high in the upcoming 2019 NFL draft. Fitzpatrick can stay as long as he deems fit, likely during the 2020 off-season, when the rookie quarter has had a year to develop. Then the Bucs can trade Fitzpatrick.
In about 18 months, the Buccaneers would look like the Kansas City Chiefs after exchanging Alex Smith and moving to Patrick Mahomes at the seemingly perfect time. They lost Smith's contract and can use that money to mentor a young, affordable and talented quarterback.
Could it go wrong? Of course. Fitzpatrick could regress over the next 18 months, and the Bucs' quarterback could fall. Tampa Bay could take an ambitious boost for a ugly ugly. The conservative option is to retain Winston, extend his contract at a time of vulnerability and continue to follow.
But, as ESPN's Bill Barnwell noted, NFL teams can struggle to build teams around the best quarterbacks. The New Orleans Saints and the New England Patriots may seem easy because they are among the best signalers in history. But the Seattle Seahawks and Baltimore Ravens showed the process was complicated. The Bucs could re-sign Winston and discover that they have Joe Flacco 2.0 – but without the Flacco Super Bowl victory and the story of Winton's sexual assault allegations. It's not really a bright future.
If the Bucs are worried about selling Winston to a lower level, they could reintegrate him into the attack with the hope of exceling for a few weeks. Meanwhile, a quarterback elsewhere could be injured (see: Jimmy Garoppolo). This could strengthen Winston's value for a mid-season trade.
At this point, the Buccaneers can recover Winston for seed money and use that capital to form a quarter like Missouri's Drew Lock, Oregon's Justin Herbert or West Virginia's Will Grier. And 2019 could be an interesting project with a solid amount of shift talent, but few teams in the mix to write them.
Who in the NFL thinks they do not have a quarter of tomorrow? The Giants certainly do not do it. Other than New York, it's cloudy – maybe the Miami Dolphins, the Cincinnati Bengals, the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins will want to form a quarter. But in all likelihood, these teams will remain faithful to the quarters they have. The 2019 project could be a special moment to cross. Most of the teams that should be at the bottom of the rankings have just recruited a quarterback or have a wounded veteran.
As Fitzpatrick seems to be the ideal quarterback for his short-term system, Buccaneers should look to the draft, and not on their current scorecard, for the future of their franchise.
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