Jameis Winston rumors: 5 best fits in NFL free agency

3. New England Patriots

The New England Patriots are probably not a team many expected to be in this position, but we can’t figure out what’s happening with this squad. Tom Brady can’t go anywhere, right? Who knows. Maybe Brady wants to win without head coach Bill Belichick and vice versa.

What we haven’t heard a lot about is who the Patriots would go after if they were to move on from Brady. If you are going to change the legacy of the greatest quarterback of all time, then it needs to be for someone who’s going to be around for a while. They aren’t going to replace Brady with someone like Philip Rivers. It is going to have to be a younger option who can extend this team’s winning ways.

Winston might need someone like Belichick to fix his issues long term. He needs structure, which would allow him to think quickly. If someone is there to show him that his decisions to force the ball in tight spots isn’t a smart way to play football, he could see his career extended until he’s 40 years old.

The Patriots will have around $47 million in cap space. If they blow it all on Winston, that makes it harder to upgrade positions like wide receiver and tight end. There aren’t a ton of weapons on this offense. James White and Julian Edelman are nice options, but when the next-best piece in the passing game might be undrafted rookie Jakobi Meyers, that’s not a great look. It’s a hard fall from a team with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.

Still, it gives Winston the rare one-two punch to make the playoffs every year and get paid a ton. Belichick has reportedly been looking for a player who can open up the offense a little more, and Winston can definitely do that.