Quarterback Jameis Winston presents concerns regarding his off-field personality. Quarterback Marcus Mariota may present concerns regarding his on-field personality.
Via JoeBucsFan.com, Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune recently explained during an appearance with WHBO-AM that the Buccaneers have misgivings about Mariota and his laid-back nature.
“The other thing that [the Bucs] are not a big fan of, and you’re going to hear more about this, they are not big fans of his personality,” Cummings said. “And you’ve got one very engaging guy with loads of charisma. He’s likeable when you get around him, in Jameis Winston. And then you’ve got another guy who’s very introverted, very quiet. He doesn’t really command your attention when you’re around him, a very quiet soft-spoken guy.
“The Bucs are looking at it and saying, you know, ‘I got a guy here that kind of grabs you by the throat when he’s in the huddle and says, ‘We’re going guys. We’ve got 82 yards to go. We’ve got a minute and 12 seconds to do it. We’re going to get there.’ And then you’ve got another guy who, I don’t know what he says in the huddle, but it doesn’t come across that way, at least according to scouts it doesn’t.
“So I think the Bucs are in the camp that they’re a little bit concerned about that guy, not the face of the franchise, the leader of the football team,” Cummings said. “I think they want the leader who has more natural leadership abilities.”
It’s a fair point, but weren’t folks saying the same thing last year about Teddy Bridgewater? Besides, it may be better to have a soft-spoken guy who leads by example than a guy with a propensity to stand on a table and yell an obscene phrase.
Despite Winston’s past issues, the Bucs appear to have no qualms about him. Based on Cummings’ remarks, the Bucs seem to be more concerned about the guy who has done nothing to make anyone concerned about him ever getting in any trouble.
If nothing else, it’ll make for an even more interesting comparison as the two men adapt to the NFL.