Ryan Fitzgerald went from the toast of the NFL to apparently losing his job very, very quickly.
Despite Fitzpatrick’s remarkable start to the season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did not hesitate to bench him at halftime while behind 38-3 to the surging Chicago Bears, bringing Jameis Winston on to start the third quarter.
And here comes QB Jameis Winston for the #Bucs… It was a quick hook by coach Dirk Koetter, as Ryan Fitzpatrick goes to the bench.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 30, 2018
While this could theoretically be an effort to get Winston some reps in a game that is now a blowout, it may be that he’s staking his case for the starting job after returning from suspension. Fitzpatrick went 9-of-18 for 126 yards with an interception, though the blowout wasn’t really his fault with the way his Chicago Bears counterpart played.
Winston threw an interception on his first drive of the second half, so it remains to be seen if he really stands out in relief of Fitzpatrick.
