New Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians made it clear following his hiring earlier this week that the team was going to build around struggling quarterback Jameis Winston.
That pretty much mirrored the sentiment of general manager Jason Licht following a horrible 2018 season from the team — one that saw Winston turn the ball over at an alarmingly clip.
It’s now a foregone conclusion that Winston and his $20-plus million cap hit will return for the 2019 season.
In talking about his new quarterback on Thursday, Arians also made sure that Winston knows the pressure really isn’t on him.
#Bcus coach Bruce Arians on Jameis Winston: " “No pressure. No pressure whatsoever. I want him to relax and play the game. Talent is no issue. It’s just becoming a little bit smarter….''
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) January 10, 2019
That’s certainly one way to go about it. The idea here is to calm Winston’s nerves heading into a contract year.
But if any of you actually believe there’s no pressure on Winston, we have a beachfront estate to sell you in Kansas. He’s on the verge of being considered a bust. That will lead to a ton of pressure heading into the 2019 campaign.
The good news? Arians has worked with stud quarterbacks such as Ben Roethlisberger, Andrew Luck and Carson Palmer in the past. If Arians can’t fix Winston, no one can.