Report: Ryan Fitzpatrick to Remain Buccaneers' Starting QB over Jameis Winston

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are hoping "Fitzmagic" can continue even after Jameis Winston's three-game suspension comes to an end.

Ryan Fitzpatrick will be the one who lines up under center for the Buccaneers in Week 4 against the Chicago Bears, reported Jay Glazer of Fox Sports, via Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk. Fitzpatrick will remain the starter until he does "something dramatically bad," per Glazer.

Winston has one game left on his three-game suspension to start the 2018 regular season for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy stemming from a March 2016 incident in which he allegedly groped a female Uber driver. The 24-year-old signal-caller apologized for his actions, via NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

With Winston sidelined, journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick filled in at quarterback for Tampa Bay and has been one of the biggest stories of this young season. He has led the team to a 2-0 record, completing 78 percent of his passes for 819 yards, eight touchdowns and one interception.

Fitzpatrick's 417-yard, four-touchdown performance in Week 1 and 402-yard, four-touchdown performance in Week 2 earned the veteran back-to-back NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors.

Although many assumed Winston would be back in the lineup upon return, Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht revealed on WFLA TV in August that nothing was guaranteed for the former Pro Bowl quarterback.

"I don't think it's fair to say right now that he's going to be the guy," Licht said, h/t ESPN.com's Jenna Laine.

Licht noted that there were a couple of factors that could come into play. For starters, Tampa Bay's schedule would not make it easy for Winston to return in Week 4. The Buccaneers enter their game against the Bears on a short week, having played the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football in Week 3.

Also, the team's bye week in Week 5 would provide Winston with more time to get reacclimated with the offense—if that's the direction the team wants to go.

On the other hand, Licht acknowledged Fitzpatrick's play could control the situation.

"[If] Ryan Fitzpatrick, Ryan Griffin, whoever it is, is playing lights out, I don't think it's fair right now just to say, 'Yes, automatically, [Jameis] is going to be the guy,'" Licht said in August. "Now, he may be. Dirk and I—Dirk in particular—he's got some time to think about that."

Well, Fitzmagic forced the Buccaneers to make a difficult decision by getting off to an unbelievable start this season. And the team has no choice but to ride the momentum. It certainly didn't hurt Fitzpatrick's cause to have three-time Pro Bowler DeSean Jackson in his corner:

Fitzpatrick has played for seven teams in his 14-year career. And even though he entered the season with a career record of 48-70-1, he does bring stability to the quarterback position. He led Tampa Bay to a 2-1 record when Winston missed three games last season due to a shoulder injury. Also, it was just three years ago he led the New York Jets to a 10-6 record, missing out on the playoff due to a tiebreaker.

After being taken with the top pick in the 2015 NFL draft, Winston has gone 18-27 as a starter in the NFL. He has been plagued by inaccuracy (60.8 career completion percentage) and an inability to take care of the football (44 interceptions and 31 fumbles in three seasons). 

It remains to be seen how long Fitzpatrick's stint as starter will last. Tampa Bay picked up the fifth-year option on Winston's rookie deal earlier this year, so the organization likely still believes he may be a franchise quarterback. But if Fitzpatrick plays well against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday and again against the  Bears in Week 4, he could make it tough for coach Dirk Koetter to make a change while the offense is clicking.