Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston reportedly practiced with the second-team offense on Thursday while Mike Glennon took reps with the first team.
While that may seem to be an interesting role reversal during the team’s first set of OTAs, head coach Lovie Smith warned against reading too much into it:
“Jameis and everybody else have to earn their position,” Smith said, via the Tampa Bay Times. “Jameis is getting his first-team reps. You guys are here on Thursday, and Wednesday he was with the first group then. Don’t look too much into that. We just want the guys we think can play to get reps, and we want them to work with a lot of different combinations.”
While all signs are seemingly pointing to Winston being under center in Week 1, Smith’s comments are a reminder that he’s still vying for a starting job.
For his part, Winston understands this completely:
“I was never given anything in my life, so the way I was brought up, I have to earn everything,” Winston said. “The main thing is to earn the respect of all these players out here.”
Winston also claimed he enjoys learning from Glennon and embraces the competition.
Overall, it’s not a bad situation for a fledgling Buccaneers squad.
Photo: USA Today Sports