Everyone who follows the NFL knew it was coming, but now it’s official. Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston has been suspended for the first three games of the 2018 NFL season for inappropriately touching a female Uber driver in a sexual manner without her consent in 2016. This is not the first time Winston has been in trouble and it’s time for the Bucs to move on from him.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Must Move on From Quarterback Jameis Winston
History
Winston grabbing the crotch of an Uber driver is reprehensible in and of itself and that alone should be enough for Tampa Bay to cut ties with him. But the former Heisman Trophy winner has made serious mistakes in the past.
He was accused of rape while at Florida State and while he was technically never charged that case was incredibly mishandled by both the school and police. There was the instance of Winston stealing crab legs from a Publix store. He also shot a BB gun in an apartment complex which caused thousands of dollars of damage. He also stood on table while at FSU and yelled something so vulgar (“f*** that p***y!”), it can’t be fully printed here. He has also said that little girls should just be silent. These aren’t just mistakes, they are a pattern of horrible behavior.
NFL Got Another Suspension Wrong
Clearly, Winston should receive the brunt of the blame and criticism. It is Winston who continues this egregious pattern of behavior. But the NFL suspending Winston for only three games is an enormous mistake (whether or not it was negotiated previous to the announcement makes no difference). The league needed to (finally) hand down a really lengthy suspension when it comes to sexual assault (or domestic violence), but it failed, yet again, to do so.
Julian Edelman of the New England Patriots is currently fighting a four game suspension for alleged PED use. How does Edelman, a first time offender, receive four games and Winston is suspended for only three? Plus, the substance Edelman supposedly tested positive for might not have even been on the NFL’s banned substance list and his sample may have been seriously mishandled. And that’s just one example of many where the NFL failed to hand down the correct suspension.
The NFL also suspended former New York Giants kicker Josh Brown for one game for domestic violence and he was only then put on the commissioner’s exempt list when the public became aware of what Brown had done. The league has shown itself to be inconsistent when doling out punishment and unable to properly discipline players, particularly when it comes to sexual assault and/or domestic abuse.
Salary Numbers
In 2018 Winston is scheduled to earn a base salary of $705,000 and a roster bonus of $3,186,992 and will count $8,066,315 against the salary cap. Earlier this year the Bucs picked up Winston’s fifth-year option of $20.922 million and it is guaranteed against injury. Since that option is only guaranteed against injury the Buccaneers can cut Winston prior to the start of the 2019 league year with no salary cap penalty. Winston entering the fourth year of this rookie deal makes it easy for the Buccaneers to cut him.
Solution For Life After Winston
The Bucs could and should try to trade for Nick Foles, who will once again be the Philadelphia Eagles backup quarterback with Carson Wentz coming back from his ACL injury. It’s certainly far from a guarantee that the Eagles would part with Foles, but their signal caller for the foreseeable future is Wentz, so they might be willing to part with their backup quarterback, especially if Tampa Bay puts together an offer that the Philly front office feels is enticing.
The Eagles reworked Foles’ contract this off-season. A complete breakdown is here. In 2018 Foles is being paid a $3 million roster bonus, $2 million signing bonus and his base salary will be $4 million. The deal is for two years, but it turns into a five-year contract if Foles is on the Eagles roster in February 2019. The Eagles can pick up his $20 million option in 2019, but Foles can also elect to become a free agent (he would need to give back the $2 million signing bonus).
Foles is a better quarterback and person than Winston. The Bucs having Foles under center would be an upgrade from Winston in every sense of the word.
Last Word
The Bucs should never have drafted Winston with the first overall pick in 2015 given his limitations as a passer and more importantly his character flaws off the field. But they did it anyway, despite all of the evidence saying they shouldn’t do it.
They now have the chance to relieve themselves of Winston with basically no penalty. Yes, it is incredibly difficult to find a starting quarterback who is capable of taking a team to and winning the Super Bowl, but Winston was never going to be that guy for the Bucs (or any other franchise) anyway, so they may as well move on from him now.
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