Fantasy Football Impact of Jameis Winston suspension

The Buccaneers will be without quarterback Jameis Winston for the start of the season. How does this impact his and his teammates fantasy football value?

Just because we’re in the middle of baseball season doesn’t mean football takes a backseat. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers struggled last season, finishing 5-11 and could be on track to do the same this season. The team will be without quarterback Jameis Winston for a few games due to a suspension. How does his absence affect his and his teammates’ fantasy football value?

Many reports say that he will be out the first three games of the season. Barring injury, he will be play another 13 games in a season. The suspension stems from an alleged incident with a Uber driver in Scottsdale, Arizona, in March 2016. I won’t go into the details of the incident as this post is for fantasy football, no legal information.

Winston played in 13 games in his third season in the league. He finished with 3,504 yards, 19 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He was sacked 33 times and posted a 50.3 quarterback rating. These numbers are a regression from his 2016 line.

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As a result of his bad performance, offensive teammates suffered. Mike Evans posted the lowest yardage and second-lowest receptions in his career. Cameron Brate and DeSean Jackson also posted career lows in some stats.

Winston’s absence decreases the threat from the quarterback position. He can stand in the pocket or avoid pressure and keep the play alive. Regardless of who the Bucs name as the starter in Winston’s place will limit the offense. The team has Ryan Fitzpatrick, Ryan Griffin and Austin Allen on the roster as backups.

I think Fitzpatrick gives the offensive players the best option to put up big numbers but looking at his stats from last season doesn’t support that as much. He made three starts, averaging 248 yards and a touchdown per game. He did throw one interception in that span.

The Bucs first three games are against the New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers, three impressive teams. The Bucs may start out 0-3 even if Winston was the quarterback. With their Week 5 Bye Week, I could see the team holding Winston out until Week 6. It’s unlikely but it’s possible.

With fantasy football drafts just a couple of months away, owners are preparing their rankings and practicing with mock drafts. NFL.com rankings have Winston has the ninth-best quarterback. With his regression and expected time missed, I would drop him outside of my top 12. He is a backup option in most leagues.

Evans falls to the bottom half of the top 10. Brate is a top-15 tight end in standard scoring. These two are good enough to perform regardless of who the quarterback is but not having Winston’s playmaking ability hinders the offense some.

Next: Which RB should go #1 in your Fantasy Football draft?

I would not draft Winston unless you play in a 15-team league. You must draft another quarterback just for the first three games. I’d take a flyer on Patrick Mahomes, Derek Carr or Philip Rivers just to fill in until Winston’s back

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