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Sports
Bucs To Pick Up Option On Jameis Winston, 'Have A Lot Of Faith In Him'
Bruce Arians Indicates
Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht doesn't care if his head-coaching candidates are offensive-minded or de- fensive-minded. He isn't worried what scheme they will use, or even if the Bucs have to wait until after the playoffs to make a hire.
One thing is for certain, however: Whoever replaces Dirk Koetter must accept Jameis Winston as his quarterback.
The Bucs will be picking up Winston's fifth-year op- tion, worth $20.9 million. That becomes fully guaran- teed at 4 p.m. ET on March 13.
"Jameis is someone we hold in high regard here," Licht said Monday. "... There's a lot to like about Jameis. He will be here next year. Based on the texts and phone calls and emails
In Bucs’ Coaching Job
I've been getting since roughly 8 o'clock last night, I don't think that's gonna be an issue."
Winston and Koetter weren't always on the same page in their four years to- gether -- three of which Koetter was the head coach. There was a reported rift last season when Win- ston suffered a shoulder in-
jury, but both denied the feud publicly. Licht said Winston won't be part of the hiring process or helping to vet candidates, but sources within the organiza- tion felt and even advocated for a coaching change be- cause they believed it was needed to help Winston take his game to the next level.
Vance Joseph To Interview For Head Coaching Position With Bengals
VANCE JOSEPH
The Cincinnati Bengals are planning to bring in former Denver Broncos head coach Vance Joseph for an inter- view. The Bengals are just a day removed from firing long- time head coach Marvin Lewis who was the second longest tenured head coach in the NFL.
Joseph served as defen- sive backs coach for the Ben- gals from 2014-15 under Lewis before moving on to the Miami Dolphins as defensive coordinator in 2016 and, ulti- mately, head coach of the Broncos for the last two sea- son.
He finished his head coach- ing career 11-21 in Denver, re- sulting in the franchises first back-to-back losing seasons since the 1971-72 seasons. He was fired by John Elway and the Broncos on December 31, 2018.
DeSean Jackson Wants To Return To Eagles
JAMEIS WINSTON
Bruce Arians recently said he would consider coming out of retirement for the pos- sibility of coaching one NFL team and one team only, but it would appear the list of jobs the 66-year-old is interested in has grown.
On Monday, Arians told Ian Rapoport of NFL Net- work that he would listen if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers reached out to him.
Arians may have only meant that he would do his friend the courtesy of not
BRUCE ARIANS
hanging up the phone, but he knows how people are going to interpret the remark.
He Would Be Interested
Antonio Brown Reportedly
An underachieving De- Sean Jackson wants out of Tampa Bay, and he appears to be eyeing the team that he began his NFL career with over a decade ago. For the money he's making and his lackluster efforts to run routes or knock down uncatchable balls, the Buccaneers probably want him gone.
The Buccaneers wide re- ceiver “would really like” to play for the Philadelphia Ea- gles next season. Jackson posted a picture of himself wearing a Philadelphia 76ers jersey to Instagram on Thurs- day night.
The 32-year-old Jackson was drafted by the Eagles in 2008 and spent his first six ca- reer seasons there. Over that time, he topped 1,000 yards receiving three times and
Yelled ‘I’m Done,’ Did Not
DESEAN JACKSON
earned three Pro Bowl selec- tions as well as one All-Pro nod.
Injuries have limited Jackson to 12 games for Tampa Bay in 2018, and he re- quested a trade earlier in the year. The Eagles have re- ceivers Golden Tate, Jor- dan Matthews, and the injured Mike Wallace all due to become free agents this offseason, so the fit here at least makes some sense.
Formally Request Trade
Antonio Brown does not seem to be on solid ground with some of his Pitts- burgh Steelers teammates, coaches and superiors, but the star wide receiver has appar- ently not asked ownership to trade him.
It was reported on Tues- day that Brown has asked the Steelers to trade him this offseason but did not make a demand.
However, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport has a differ- ent understanding of the events that have unfolded in
ANTONIO BROWN
Pittsburgh over the past week, as he was told Brown brought trade talk into his outburst at practice but did not formally request to be dealt.
Jets Players Saddened By Firing Of Todd Bowles
The last few weeks have provided a loudspeaker on Todd Bowles’ deficiencies, both real and imagined. But a day after the end of another disappointing Jets season and Bowles’ four-year tenure, as players emptied out their lockers, the focus was on the coach’s virtues.
Many players liked Bowles, and many liked playing for him. And though his legacy with the Jets will be one of failure — he went 24- 40 — it was clear that more than a few people were sad to see him go.
“I really liked Coach Bowles, from the moment I
TODD BOWLES
got here,” wide receiver Jer-
maine Kearse said. “The conversations we’ve had, I felt I’ve grown as a man. Today is just part of the business. It’s an unfortunate part of the business, but it happens. As players, we just learn and try to move forward.”
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