NFL hot seat: 5 quarterbacks who could lose starting jobs in 2019

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CINCINNATI, OH – OCTOBER 28: Jameis Winston #3 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers watches from the sideline during the fourth quarter after being benched in the third quarter of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium on October 28, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Cincinnati defeated Tampa Bay 37-34. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

No. 2: Jameis Winston, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

OK, the previous quarterbacks were players who either should be on the NFL hot seat but haven’t lost starting jobs yet. At least not directly due to performance, such as the case with Ryan Tannehill.

But the final two QBs have already lost their status as starters for on-field reasons. And perhaps there’s no better example of quarterbacking headache than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Jameis Winston.

Winston’s stock value wasn’t helped by his three-game suspension to start the year, which gave way to backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick’s surprising start.

But Fitzpatrick started to struggle, and Winston returned to the starter’s role in Week 6. He was awesome, tossing four touchdowns against two interceptions and posting a 115.4 passer rating in the process. Yet then he looked terrible in the Cleveland Browns the following week, while his four-interception game in Week 8 against the Bengals was finally enough for head coach Dirk Koetter to pull the plug and put Fitzpatrick back in.

Winston might not start again in 2018.

The Bucs picked up Winston’s fifth-year option already. But, combined with his struggles and off-field concerns, it would be about the most foolish thing Tampa Bay could do by not cutting him before that fully guaranteed $20.9 million goes into effect at the start of the 2019 NFL new year.