The Buccaneers are doing more than just considering a move to Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback in order to allow Jameis Winston’s right shoulder to heal for a little bit.
Buccaneers coach Dirk Koetter said on Monday that the team is going to do exactly that. Koetter said, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, that Winston will be “off for a couple weeks” after doctors looked at the results of the MRI on his shoulder. Winston, who has never missed a game in the NFL, originally injured it against the Cardinals three weeks ago and left Sunday’s loss to the Saints after taking another hit to the affected area.
Koetter’s decision means that Fitzpatrick will get the start against the Jets in Week 10. Fitzpatrick used to play for the Jets while Jets starter Josh McCown used to play for the Buccaneers.
The Buccaneers will activate Ryan Griffin from injured reserve to serve as Fitzpatrick’s backup until Winston is ready to resume football activities. While the Bucs say that will be a couple of weeks, one wonders if that might be revisited if Winston isn’t all the way back and the team is 2-8 with little chance of accomplishing their team goals for 2017.