Buccaneers name Jameis Winston starting quarterback

Jameis Winston has been named the starting quarterback by Buccaneers coach Lovie Smith. Winston’s public debut was delayed until Sunday after Saturday’s open practice was canceled because of storms. With that resume and a positive evaluation leading up to training camp, Winston got the starting nod over third-year signal-caller Mike Glennon.

“He’ll be taking first-team reps”, Smith told reporters. “We put him in that position, but eventually you have to put them in the lead position and let them go”. “It’s not like it was a total shock to him or anything like that”. “We brought him here to be our quarterback, and he is”. Winston, who had off-field issues at Florida State, hasn’t fallen into trouble this offseason and reportedly hasn’t had issues picking up Dirk Koetter’s playbook. The Bucs have repeatedly said they are comfortable with Winston’s past after doing extensive research on him.

During the press conference, Smith elaborated on his decision to hand the keys to Winston immediately. “It’s what we already knew, what we saw in training camp; it’s what he has done on and off the field here”.

Glennon has gone 5-13 as a starter over the past two seasons. The same was true last season when he appeared in six games and threw 10 touchdowns and six interceptions. “Jameis doesn’t need a mentor”, Smith said.

Jacksonville’s Blake Bortles was selected with the third overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft was the first quarterback taken previous year.

“As I look at what (Seattle quarterback) Russell Wilson did, at first he was asked to do a lot less than what he was a little bit later in the season”.

“I felt like we had a good start to our offseason program; kinda setting the direction we wanted to go”, Smith said. We’re not Tennessee-ready by any means at a lot of positions.