Winston, Bucs ready for fresh start under Arians

Coming off an abysmal five-win season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are looking for a fresh start. A fresh start they believe new head coach Bruce Arians can give them.

Hope for the Future

It’s a make or break year for quarterback Jameis Winston in the final year of his rookie contract. The Bucs drafted Winston No. 1 overall out of FSU back in 2015, but it’s been a bumpy ride since. Despite his regression and off-the-field issues over the last two seasons, Winston’s attitude going into 2019 in a new offense is nothing but positive.

“I’m just excited to be back,” he said “You know, just a new start. A new start to get better and a new start to get your ducks in a row and get ready to prepare to be a great football team.”

Not a Rebuild

Despite losing two of its top receivers in Adam Humphries and DeSean Jackson, Tampa Bay does not want to consider this a rebuilding year for the offense. Between Winston and Ryan Fitzpatrick taking turns at the helm, the Bucs finished with the NFL’s best passing offense in 2018 at 320 yards per game. Humphries and Jackson might not be out there anymore, but wide receiver Mike Evans still is, and he’s coming off a 1,524 yard season.

“We don’t want to view this as a rebuilding year,” Winston said. “It’s not going to be that. We’re going to go out there and play good football and be a great team.”

The New Offense

As for learning a completely new playbook, that doesn’t worry Winston in the slightest. He even said constantly working in the same offense can become a bore.

While he hasn’t had a chance for much work with Arians and his new coaching staff just yet, he’s spent as much time as possible studying his previous offenses in preparation for the season.

“I’ve been watching tape on Ben [Roethlisberger] for a long time,” he said. “He’s one of the best quarterbacks in this league. But watching Carson [Palmer] as well. Carson was a great quarterback in this system. I’m watching as much as I can right now. It’s football time. It’s fun.”

Watch Winston’s entire Tuesday press conference here:

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