Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Fitzpatrick earns the starting job, for now

The Tampa Buccaneers had a decision to make at the quarterback position

Right about now Dirk Koetter, head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has got to be scratching his head, wondering if he made the right choice to start Ryan Fitzpatrick against Chicago on Sunday. Chicago has a ferocious defense right now, and who knows, maybe facing the Bears is a test for Fitzpatrick.

The way that Fitzpatrick has played since the start of the season, should be an indicator of why Koetter elected to roll with him headed into Week Four. Even though Tampa’s Monday night game ended with a three point loss, fans appeared to be happy with what they saw out of their Bucs.

Fitzpatrick has thrown for over 400 yds in each of his three games played this season, which is no easy feat, nor has been done by any other player in NFL history. Jameis Winston is coming off of a three game suspension, but it does not appear the team will be welcoming him back with a starting nod next weekend.

First reported by Jay Glazer on Sunday, unless Fitzpatrick horribly underperformed on primetime, he would unofficially remain Tampa’s starting signal caller for next weekend in Chicago. Fitzpatrick has proven and shown his coaches that he does deserve the starting job, regardless of his three interceptions against Pittsburgh.

Winston will return to a Buc’s team currently sporting a (2-1) record on the year. Winston was officially reinstated to the NFL at 12 A.M. on Tuesday.

So why stick with Fitzpatrick, and not hand it over to the usual guy in Winston? For starters, Ryan Fitzpatrick is the number one quarterback, as far as fantasy football goes.

Headed into Week Four, Fitzpatrick is sitting pretty with over 1,200 passing yds, over 60 yds rushing, and 11 touchdowns to 4 interceptions. Winston showed several signs of regression at his respective position towards the conclusion of last season.

Keep in mind many also thought that last season would be it for HC Dirk Koetter in Tampa Bay, however, he has remained and is thriving with Fitzpatrick under center. There’s an excellent chance Koetter not only thinks the team is better off with Fitzpatrick, but also thinks there’s a good chance the two are keeping each other employed at the moment.

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Winston, however, has not shown through his last few seasons with the Buc’s that he is their answer at the quarterback position with multiple turnovers each season, and minute growth as a player, if any. Truth be told, I haven’t enjoyed watching him throw a football since his college days at Florida State.

Another reason might be Tampa feels Winston’s attitude and character would benefit by taking a backseat for the time being. Winston has reportedly been working out during his time away from the team to improve his playmaking ability and overall skill set as a quarterback.

Hopefully, Winston has improved greatly from what we saw last season, which would bode well for Tampa. I mean really, how awful can it be to have two good quarterbacks on a team’s roster? Just ask Philadelphia.

At this point in the season, I’d say Fitzmagic is up there amongst the usual greats. All we’ve seen out of that lighting bolt he calls an arm, is nothing short of amazing work.

Expect an official announcement shortly via Tampa, of Fitzpatrick’s status as the starting quarterback and more moving forward.