The Bucs are benching Jameis Winston, and it might be permanent. That puts Ryan Fitzpatrick in play as a possible top-5 quarterback the rest of the way.
Seriously, the Bucs are overloaded with receiving talent, and they’re throwing the heck out of it. They’re on pace to become the first team in league history to pass for more than 6,000 yards in a season.
Patrick Mahomes has been great this year, but the Bucs have actually put up better passing numbers. That’s using standard fantasy scoring – 4 points for TD passes and 1 for every 20 yards.
If Fitzpatrick plays anything like he did in the first three weeks of the season, he’ll be a top-5 quarterback in the second half of the season.
| TEAM PASSING PRODUCTION | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Yards | TD | Points |
| Tampa Bay | 390 | 2.71 | 30.4 |
| Kansas City | 316 | 3.25 | 28.8 |
| Atlanta | 336 | 2.14 | 25.4 |
| Indianapolis | 273 | 2.88 | 25.2 |
| Pittsburgh | 327 | 2.00 | 24.4 |
| Green Bay | 334 | 1.86 | 24.1 |
| LA Chargers | 288 | 2.43 | 24.1 |
| Minnesota | 315 | 2.00 | 23.8 |
| LA Rams | 305 | 2.13 | 23.7 |
| New Orleans | 292 | 2.00 | 22.6 |
| New England | 268 | 2.29 | 22.5 |
| Cincinnati | 268 | 2.13 | 21.9 |
| Detroit | 275 | 2.00 | 21.8 |
| Chicago | 259 | 2.14 | 21.5 |
| Houston | 272 | 1.88 | 21.1 |
| Baltimore | 292 | 1.63 | 21.1 |
| Philadelphia | 282 | 1.75 | 21.1 |
| Seattle | 222 | 2.29 | 20.3 |
| Oakland | 290 | 1.43 | 20.2 |
| Miami | 243 | 2.00 | 20.2 |
| NY Giants | 304 | 1.13 | 19.7 |
| Carolina | 237 | 1.86 | 19.3 |
| Jacksonville | 272 | 1.38 | 19.1 |
| Denver | 267 | 1.38 | 18.9 |
| San Francisco | 246 | 1.63 | 18.8 |
| Cleveland | 242 | 1.25 | 17.1 |
| NY Jets | 213 | 1.38 | 16.2 |
| Washington | 223 | 1.14 | 15.7 |
| Dallas | 202 | 1.14 | 14.7 |
| Arizona | 184 | .88 | 12.7 |
| Tennessee | 192 | .71 | 12.5 |
| Buffalo | 156 | .43 | 9.5 |
Dirk Koetter says there’s some chance the Bucs will turn back to Winston. Maybe that will occur. But financial ramifications might make them hesitant to do so. The Bucs have already picked up the fifth-year option on Winston’s rookie contract, so if he were to suffer an injury preventing him from passing a physical in the spring, they would be on the hook for all of his 2019 salary -- $20.9 million.
At this point, the Bucs might figure that they’ve seen enough to conclude that Winston isn’t their long-term quarterback, making the best option to park him on the bench, send him off in an Uber in the offseason, and then bring in somebody new.
It’s one thing to have a lesser or medicore quarterback. But everything gets ramped up when that player is also getting paid big money. Bucs need only look at their in-state neighbors to see how damaging an overpriced quarterback can be. And right now, Winston is looking an awful lot like another Blake Bortles.
—Ian Allan