Patriots unlikely to pursue Jameis Winston as potential replacement for Tom Brady, per report

Jameis Winston doesn't look like he'll be heading to Foxborough

Don't bet on a quarterback swap between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New England Patriots. Yes, Tom Brady will officially be taking his talents down to Florida as the Bucs announced his signing on Friday, but free agent quarterback Jameis Winston, who has spent his entire career with Tampa, doesn't appear to be heading to Foxborough anytime soon. 

Mike Giardi of the NFL Network asked a "high ranking Patriots official" if the club had any interest in bringing in Winston and noted that it is "unlikely at this juncture." Giardi followed that report up by noting Bill Belichick has long valued protecting the football, which hasn't been a strong suit of Winston's over the course of his five-year NFL career. 

Despite leading the league with 5,109 yards passing in 2019, Winston threw a league-high 30 interceptions. Those turnovers are what led the Buccaneers to head in a different direction and pursue Tom Brady, who has 29 interceptions in the previous four years combined, and is what is likely keeping him from being looked at as a bigger free agent prize this offseason. At this point, most starting spots under center are pretty much solidified throughout the league, which may force Winston to accept a backup role on some franchise's roster. 

As for New England, it could simply look to go internal to fill the GOAT-sized void under center and look to second-year quarterback Jarrett Stidham as the starter for 2019. The club also has veteran Cody Kessler under contract for 2020 and it wouldn't be too surprising if they brought in another lower-level veteran to compete for the job. 

If they were to make a bit of a flashier transaction, Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton and former NFL MVP in Carolina's Cam Newton are firmly on the trade block. Whichever direction they go, they likely won't make a hasty decision simply because Brady walked out the door. As he does often, Bill Belichick will lay in the weeds and make a calculative next and first step in the post-Brady era. The only thing we know currently is that Winston isn't a part of that future.