Jameis Winston recently underwent LASIK surgery to improve his eyesight. The Buccaneers, though, still don’t have a clear vision about whether Winston is their quarterback of the future.
Coach Bruce Arians admitted Thursday the team still is evaluating what to do at the position, with Winston scheduled to become a free agent.
“Really, nothing has changed,’' Arians said, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “What’s Door No. 2? You know? Can we make the one we have better? All those things you go through right now.”
Winston became only the eighth quarterback ever to pass for more than 5,000 yards in a season, with his 5,109 yards in 2019 the eighth-most in NFL history. (Drew Brees has had five 5,000-yard passing seasons.)
Winston also threw 30 touchdowns, but offset that with 30 interceptions and five lost fumbles. Seven of his interceptions were returned for touchdowns, the most pick-sixes thrown in the league.
Can the Bucs coach the turnovers out of Winston? Or, after five seasons, is it time to move on from the former No. 1 overall pick?
Tampa Bay is weighing its options, seeing if it can upgrade over Winston or if he is the best choice for another year. Several big-name quarterbacks, including Brees, Dak Prescott, Philip Rivers, Tom Brady and Teddy Bridgewater, are scheduled to become free agents.
But how many of those actually become available?
“You’re just sitting there waiting to see is there someone available?” Arians said. “Is he a better option?
“And then, that’s the problem: You get about three days to decide. The legal tampering period. Is somebody going to get let go? What’s the trade values? It’s really monotonous right now, because you don’t have any answers.”
Exactly.
This offseason has “quarterback chaos” written all over it, with the Bucs among the teams in line for the carousel.