Would the Buccaneers be smart to retain Jameis Winston?

Among the options they have, would the Tampa Bay Buccaneers be smart to  keep Jameis Winston?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers could make a change at quarterback this offseason, with a lot of cap space and as Jameis Winston heads into free agency among a multitude of available options. The idea of keeping Winston is out there, and Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports is of the opinion the Buccaneers must find a way to do so.

Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians has seemed plenty open to having a different quarterback. Philip Rivers, Teddy Bridgewater, Ryan Tannehill or even Tom Brady are potential options who are out there as free agents right now, with Cam Newton and Andy Dalton as a potential trade targets.

But is the best path for Tampa Bay to just keep Winston?

Winston led the league with 5,109 passing yards last year on a league-high 626 pass attempts. In league history, only Drew Brees (four times), Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger (once each) have thrown for more yards in a season than Winston just did. His 33 touchdown passes were second in the league.

But with the good comes the bad. Winston also threw a league-high 30 interceptions last year, and they came in typical bunches with one five-interception game, two four-interception games, and two three-interception games.

It inspired plenty of jokes, but Winston recently had LASIK surgery to fix his vision.

Devoting some cap space to bolster the defense and fortify the running back position would line up the Buccaneers nicely to climb the NFC South standings next season, regardless of the direction they go at quarterback. Winston is a known quantity, for better or worse and apparently with improved vision now, and he’s 26 years old. In comparison to a 38-year-old and similarly interception-prone in 2019 Rivers, there’s a case to choose Winston.

But Winston is exactly that for Tampa Bay. A known entity, who (focusing strictly on the field) makes bad decisions and who they’ve struggled to win with even if he’s not been the only problem. Even if he’ll be able to see better, the Buccaneers have to have clear visions of a future without Winston.

For the Buccaneers, it’s not necessarily about making the perfect decision as they move on from Winston. It’s about shaking things up at little, to show the rest of the team and the fan base there are higher aspirations in place.

And don’t forget about Arians. He is only heading into his second season as head coach, but speaking strictly to his age and his own motivation is almost certainly not going to be in the job for a lengthy period of time. That’s called being in a win-now window, however under the radar it is, and based on his resume Winston is simply not the quarterback to push Tampa Bay to a higher level in 2020 or beyond.