Bucs' Arians passes on discussing Winston’s future

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston might have contributed to his team's resurgence down the stretch, but that doesn't mean he has the wholehearted support of coach Bruce Arians looking past this season. Asked Wednesday how he would evaluate Winston and what he would tell team owners regarding the quarterback's starting status beyond 2019, Arians said, "I'm going to pass on that one. I'm going to wait until the end of December. There's been really, really, really good and there's been some really, really bad. I'm just going to pass until it's over and then we'll make a decision.''

According to ESPN sources, the organization remains undecided about Winston's future past this season. His fifth-year option of $20.9 million was picked up by the Bucs before the 2018 season, and Winston can become a free agent in March. Though Winston has an NFL-high and career-worst 20 interceptions this season along with 22 touchdown passes for the 5-7 Bucs, Arians has stood behind his quarterback while the Bucs have won three of their past four games. In Sunday's 28-11 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Winston completed 21 of 33 passes for 268 yards and didn't throw an interception, ending a streak of six straight 300-yard passing outings.

Arians believe some of the turnovers, which include 78 interceptions since he began his NFL career in 2015, aren't entirely Winston's fault. In four-plus seasons, he has 110 touchdown passes while completing 61.3 percent of his passes and totaling 18,287 passing yards. Winston, a former No. 1 overall pick out of Florida State, is also second in the league in passing yards with 3,659 this season.

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