In the world of false promises and hollow statements, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston wins going away.
Entering his first full offseason in the NFL, Winston is letting it known that he’d be in favor of taking a pay cut in order for the Buccaneers to draft his former teammate, Florida State defensive back Jalen Ramsey:
“We (FSU) definitely have the best player in the world in Jalen Ramsey,” Winston said, via Pewter Report. “People talk about his position. But Jalen is the best cornerback, safety… I will take a pay cut to play with him again. He has a fierce mentality.”
That’s fine and dandy. Two issues with this statement.
Tampa Bay is currently $19.3 million under the cap. With the rookie wage scale now impacting the pay of first-year players under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, no one in this draft is going to cost anywhere near that much on an annual basis.
And while Winston himself would love to play with his former Seminole teammate, there’s no way Ramsey will drop to the Buccaneers slot at No. 9 overall come draft time. He’ll be one of the first three or four players off the board.
Winston is correct in assuming the team needs some help in the secondary. Even after signing Brent Grimes in free agency, this remains a major issue. If the Bucs were to somehow acquire Ramsey, potentially in a trade up, he’d likely play free safety in their defense. Though, that seems a bit far-fetched right now.
In any event, it’s cool to see Winston take the team-first approach, even if it’s in jest.