Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Dirk Koetter is officially worried about Jameis Winston, his young quarterback who is currently on pace for 40 turnovers in 2016.
“I’m very concerned,” Koetter said, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “He’s not regressing, but we’ve got to take care of the football. I mean, we’ve got to take care of the football. We can’t turn it over three times in a half. We just can’t do that.”
Winston threw two more interceptions during Tampa Bay’s 27-7 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday. He now has eight for season, plus two lost fumbles. Only Ryan Fitzpatrick of the New York Jets has played a part in more giveaways to start 2016.
The Buccaneers have lost three straight games to fall to 1-3, and Winston has at least one interception in all four games. Both of his picks against the Broncos were immediately turned into touchdowns, showing the disastrous effect turnovers can have in a big game.
“Not every play is going to be a big play,” Koetter said. “We went through this very similar thing the first four games last season. And hopefully we’ll learn the same lesson we learned last year and get on a little roll here.”
Winston is actually beating his turnover pace from a year ago. The No. 1 overall pick in 2015 had eight turnovers—seven interceptions and a lost fumble—through his first four NFL games last season. He finished with 15 interceptions and two lost fumbles.
Winston isn’t a rookie anymore. Turnovers in the NFL lose games, and Winston can’t take the next step as a quarterback until he figures out how to better protect the football. The Carolina Panthers—who intercepted Winston six times last season—are next on the schedule.
