It seems Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie quarterback Jameis Winston already has learned a thing or two from Aaron Rodgers.
He’s basically telling Buccaneers fans to R-E-L-A-X.
Winston completed 9 of 19 passes for 131 yards with one interception in his preseason debut, a 26-16 loss at Minnesota on Saturday.
It was a rocky start for the top overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft, but in an interview with Steve Duemig of WDAE, via JoeBucsFan.com, Winston told Bucs fans not to “panic.”
The Buccaneers have endured four straight losing seasons. They haven’t made the playoffs since 2007 and they haven’t won a playoff game since their championship season in 2002.
Now along comes this 21-year-old who wasn’t always the most mature student-athlete at Florida State. Why should anyone believe him when he says that things will be different in Tampa Bay?
For starters, Winston showed that he can at least be a leader on the football field in his interview with former NFL head coach Steve Mariucci on the NFL Network before the draft. Mariucci drew up a red zone play on a whiteboard, then flipped the board over and asked Winston a couple of questions not related to that play. Then after a few minutes he told Winston to re-create the play on the blank side of the whiteboard. Winston recalled every detail.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – AUGUST 15: Stefon Diggs #14 of the Minnesota Vikings and Jameis Winston #3 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers speak after the preseason game on August 15, 2015 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings defeated the Buccaneers 26-16. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
Winston’s arrival has at least made the Buccaneers relevant in Tampa Bay.
Saturday’s preseason game drew a 16.1 Nielsen rating with a 26 share, according to JoeBucsFan.com via Pro Football Talk.
In other words, 16.1 percent of all televisions in the market were tuned into the game, and a little more than a quarter of all televisions that were turned on were tuned into the game.
Those ratings are comparable to games 1 and 2 of the 2015 NHL Stanley Cup final involving the Tampa Bay Lightning.
If Winston can put his money (about $6 million a year) where his mouth is, the Bucs will be playing in front of more national TV audiences in the coming years.
