Jameis Winston Comments on Players Deciding to Skip Bowl Games

LSU running back Leonard Fournette, Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey and Baylor running back Shock Linwood made headlines by electing to sit out their teams' respective bowl games, but Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston suggested they weren't the sole people making the decisions during a Monday appearance on ESPN's Mike & Mike (h/t Jenna Laine of ESPN.com). 

"I don't believe that it was the players who decided on that factor," Winston said. "I believe it was someone away that we don't even know, the people behind the scenes. Because I couldn't put that in my heart to just watch my team go out there and play."

Winston noted that he wouldn't want to watch his team play, but he was in a different position as the Florida State quarterback in 2013 and 2014 than this year's running backs.

Winston led the Seminoles to the BCS national championship in the 2013 campaign and reached the College Football Playoff the following season before ultimately losing to the Oregon Ducks. Those postseason contests took on far more importance than this season's Citrus Bowl (Fournette), Sun Bowl (McCaffrey) or Cactus Bowl (Linwood).

The 2013 Heisman Trophy winner would have directly jeopardized his program's chances at a national championship had he sat out a postseason game to remain healthy for the NFL. Fournette, McCaffrey and Linwood were sitting out games that are largely seen as glorified exhibition contests.

Winston discussed the decision to sit out bowl games further: "I can see the business side of the decision, but other than that, how great is this game of football? Why not cherish the moments you have with your teammates? These are the moments that you're gonna remember. You'll never get the chance to be like on the same team with those kids again."

The former Florida State quarterback is not the only NFL player to weigh in on the decisions from the running backs. Dallas Cowboys rookie and former Ohio State Buckeye Ezekiel Elliott took to Twitter and said he wouldn't miss the chance to play with his college teammates before backtracking when he learned of injuries to McCaffrey and Fournette:

Fournette played in just seven games this season because of physical setbacks and didn't risk another one in the bowl game against Louisville.

Winston pointed to outside forces that are "behind the scenes" as influencing the decision to sit out bowl games. Alabama head coach Nick Saban blamed college football as a whole and the decreased importance of bowl games because of the playoff system, per Mark Schlabach of ESPN.com:

While Winston and others stressed the importance of playing one more time with teammates instead of sitting out, there are recent examples of bowl games impacting the draft statuses of notable players.

Laine pointed to Michigan tight end Jake Butt—who tore his ACL in his team's Orange Bowl loss this season—and Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith—who tore his ACL and LCL in his team's Fiesta Bowl loss last season. Smith eventually went No. 34 overall to the Cowboys but sat out the 2016 season and missed the chance to sign a massive contract that could have come with being a top-10 pick.

Fournette has the chance to be a top-10 pick this year, as Bleacher Report's Matt Miller projected him to go No. 8 overall to the Carolina Panthers. Despite Winston's comments, a serious injury in LSU's bowl game likely would have hurt Fournette's standing in the eyes of NFL front offices.