The Buccaneers were happy with what they got from quarterback Jameis Winston during his rookie season and it’s been clear this offseason that they want to use it as a base for bigger things in 2016.
Head coach Dirk Koetter cited previous experience working with Blaine Gabbert when he was a rookie with the Jaguars as the reason why -- in his previous role as offensive coordinator -- he didn’t want to put too much on Winston’s plate during his first season. Year Two is going to be fuller for Winston and Koetter said the approach this year will be to push things as much as possible and then assessing if there are things that need to be scaled back.
“Of course, now that Jameis knows what to expect -- he’s been through a full NFL season offseason, preseason, regular season -- everything’s not new to him,” Koetter said, via the Talk of Fame Network. “Sure, we’re giving him more and more. We want him to test the boundaries. And you can always reel it back it when you get to the season and see how it’s going. We also think we’ll continue to be a good run team.”
The Bucs ran for the fifth-most yards in the league last year and Doug Martin is back after re-signing this offseason, so remaining strong on the ground is a reasonable expectation for Koetter. If they are, it should help Winston spread his wings without having too much worry about the impact that the miscues that come with such expansion will have on the team as a whole.
