Jameis Winston Rumors: Predictions for QB as Bucs Go 'All-In' on Tom Brady

Heading into free agency, things aren't looking good for Jameis Winston's future with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The 26-year-old is set to hit free agency, and the team is set to go "all-in" on luring Tom Brady out of New England to take the reins in Tampa, per Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times.

According to Stroud, general manager Jason Licht is ready to "defer" to Bruce Arians on who will be the quarterback next season. Arians has not been a vocal supporter of Winston since the 7-9 2019 campaign came to an end.

Stroud also noted the Buccaneers contingency plan if they fail to get TB12—they would reportedly target Teddy Bridgewater and Philip Rivers next.

The market for Winston is going to be fascinating. The quarterback market is deeper than any in recent memory. Brady is joined by names like Rivers, Dak Prescott and Ryan Tannehill among quarterbacks who could be changing teams. Then there are options like Marcus Mariota and Bridgewater who can be competitive backups or fringe starters.

It isn't clear where Winston sits in that hierarchy. On one hand, he has prodigious arm strength, good athleticism and led the league in passing yards last season. On the other, he led the league in interceptions, and the Bucs are 28-42 in the games he has started over his five seasons with the team.

In short, they haven't been able to build a winner with him at the helm, and his penchant for turnovers has been a contributing factor.

Still, Winston will find a team before the dust settles. Here's a roundup of some of the predictions being made regarding where he will play next season.

Las Vegas Raiders

No one seems to buy Derek Carr as the long-term solution at quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders. He's been with the franchise for six seasons, and they have had just one winning record in that time.

The unique thing about Jon Gruden's run as a media personality is that a lot of his thoughts on various quarterbacks are out there for public consumption. One such quarterback is Winston.

"When you watch Winston, you study Winston, you don't realize how athletic he is," the Raiders head coach said in 2017 (h/t the Orlando Sentinel). He continued:

"How much offense he creates. What a gunslinger he is. How exciting a player he is. And the command that he has. He can get up there and recognize the defense. He can communicate what he wants done and he has the talent to execute any play that is called. It's that combination that excites me."

Doug Farrar of USA Today believes the Gruden-Winston connection is enough to predict the Raiders will be the team that will acquire the quarterback.

That would be a major shift for the Raiders at the position. Carr does a good job of protecting the football. He has a 1.9 percent career interception rate compared to Winston's 3.5. With the 12th pick in the draft, the Raiders aren't likely to get one of the top passers coming out of college. If they are going to replace Carr, it's going to be in free agency. And Winston might be their guy.

Carolina Panthers

With Cam Newton facing similar uncertainty with the Carolina Panthers, Winston could be staying within the NFC South.

At least, that's the way John Breech of CBS Sports is thinking. In making his offseason predictions for the quarterbacks in the league, he made the case that Winston will head to Carolina to replace the departing Newton.

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reported there's sentiment in the league that Gruden could be "buying low on Cam." If that the case, the Panthers will need a quarterback for next season.

That's where Breech believes Winston could come in. The presence of Christian McCaffrey would ostensibly cut down on turnover-worthy throws because of what he can do in the passing game. Carolina is one of the teams that doesn't have a top-five pick or the means to trade up to get Tua Tagovailoa or one of the other top quarterback options in the draft.

Winston would give them a veteran option to get them to their next guy.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Despite all the offseason chatter, there's still a chance that Winston will wind up back with the Bucs.

Arians hasn't given him a ringing endorsement, but he also hasn't outright said they don't want him back. Anthony Treash of Pro Football Focus noted the success in the partnership of Arians and Winston in predicting the Bucs will bring him back on a one-year $27 million deal:

"He has the arm to make the deep throws and thrive when Bruce Arians is calling plays, as he was 13th in deep passing grade last year. The eye surgery and a one-year deal seem to be the agreement between the Buccaneers' brass and Winston, giving him one more chance."

The eye surgery Treash is referring to is the LASIK procedure Winston underwent in February. It may seem borderline comical, but with Winston correcting a vision problem, it's fair to wonder whether it might help with his decision-making.

Winston is a match in Arian's vertical passing scheme. If the Bucs miss out on Brady and their free-agent targets, bringing back their quarterback isn't the worst option.

Prediction

While all three writers bring up good points in their predictions, let's throw a fourth possibility out there: The Los Angeles Chargers.

The Chargers are likely to use their first-round pick on a quarterback. Utah State's Jordan Love or Oregon's Justin Herbert are logical options. However, neither is guaranteed to be ready to start on Day 1.

That's where Winston could come in to play as the Tyrod Taylor option. The Cleveland Browns brought in Taylor to be the starter when they drafted Baker Mayfield so they wouldn't be forced to start their rookie until he was ready.

Regardless of where Winston goes, it's likely to be on a short contract. Despite being in the league for five years, it's still unclear whether he can get it done as a franchise quarterback. Going to Los Angeles would allow him a temporary starting job while he attempts to rehab his stock as a foundational piece for a franchise.