The thirty-thirty man is still out there. Jameis Winston — one of one — is a man without a home. While Nick Foles was traded, Tom Brady landed in Tampa and Marcus Mariota even got a pretty nice contract from the Raiders, the few things we’ve seen from Winston are workouts and him pushing an SUV.
Winston is good enough to play in the NFL. He threw for over 5000 yards last season. He had 33 touchdown passes. Yes, he had 30 interceptions and took 47 sacks, but there has to be someone out there that thinks they can lessen the bad and increase the good. It doesn’t look like Winston is going to get a big deal. He may have to resign himself to being a backup or playing on a one-year prove-it deal. Still, Mariota got a contract and he was benched last season for Ryan Tannehill. These teams should look into the former No. 1 pick.
Denver Broncos
The Broncos just let go of Joe Flacco. Their current veteran backup is Jeff Driskel. If the Broncos want to be competitive all year, they need to have insurance for Drew Lock. Yes, Lock is the future in Denver, but he has an extremely small sample size.
The Broncos could stash Jameis for a year. Maybe they don’t even have to use him. If for some reason they do, they can play conservative on offense. Courtland Sutton is a wide receiver who is similar in stature to Mike Evans. Winston will be able to get him the football. Again, this isn’t a situation where Winston will come in as a starter, but maybe he needs a year as a backup to rebuild his value.
Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers seem like the obvious choice. Tyrod Taylor is perfectly fine for a team that wants to compete. He is a true professional. He doesn’t turn the ball over. He also doesn’t take any chances.
The Chargers are in a weird position. They are rebuilding but have the defense to be a true competitor. They have talent on offense. They will most likely look into drafting a young quarterback. Adding Winston would be a luxury.
Winston is still more talented than Taylor. He is a bigger name for a team that’s struggling to gain a foothold in the Los Angeles market. He would plugin and he’s not any worse than what Philip Rivers offered the Chargers last year. Bring in Winston on a short-term deal and let him compete with Taylor for the starter spot.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Winston would be a backup in Pittsburgh, but he’d be better than anything they have currently. Ben Roethlisberger isn’t getting any younger and his style of play makes him more injury-prone.
The Steelers are built to win now. They have a top of the league defense. They have an offense that needs a quarterback as its engine. They can’t come back this season with Duck Hodges and Mason Rudolph as their only options at quarterback. We know how that ends for Pittsburgh.
Jacksonville Jaguars
I mean, why not. Jameis wouldn’t even have to leave the state. The Jaguars need a backup quarterback after they got rid of Nick Foles. Maybe Gardner Minshew is a flash in the pan. It’s not like he was lights out toward the end of the season.
The Jaguars would likely be able to get Winston on the cheap. Jacksonville isn’t in win-now mode. They need to win now to save Doug Marrone’s job but that’s exactly the type of situation where a team may want to bring in Winston just in case.
Los Angeles Rams
Again, this is strictly as a backup, but the Rams took a chance on Blake Bortles as the backup last year and they haven’t come to a deal to bring Bortles back just yet.
This is a situation where Winston can learn from one of the best offensive minds in football. He would have no pressure on him. He would be the Rams’ latest reclamation project. The Rams currently have John Wolford as Jared Goff’s backup.
