Bruce Arians: Jameis Winston decision unlikely before mid-March

Will Jameis Winston be the quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next season? We still don’t know, and it may be several more weeks before we do.

Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians said there is still no decision on Winston’s future with the organization and there probably will not be until the legal tampering period of March 16-18.

“Really nothing has changed,” Arians said, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “What’s Door No. 2? You know? Can we make the one we have better? All those things you go through right now.”

Arians admitted part of the issue in determining Winston’s fate is that the team still isn’t sure which quarterbacks will be available in free agency, thus making it tough to determine whether an upgrade on Winston will be available.

“You’re just sitting there waiting to see is there someone available? … Is he a better option?” Arians said. “And then, that’s the problem, you get about three days to decide. The legal tampering period. Is somebody going to get let go? What’s the trade values? It’s really monotonous right now because you don’t have any answers.”

We do know of one big-name quarterback who will definitely be available, and it has been indicated that the Buccaneers are seriously interested. Winston, meanwhile, has made some changes ahead of his free agency that could really help him on the field. Whether that’s with the Buccaneers or someone else is very much an open question.