The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Tom Brady last week, ending one of the most storied tenures with one team in NFL history. However, the addition of Brady meant that five-year veteran and incumbent starter Jameis Winston was given his release. Many Packers fans have been buzzing about bring Winston in to backup Aaron Rodgers. There has even been talk of Winston succeeding Rodgers when he retires. Here are three reasons why that would be a bad idea.
#1- All Those Interceptions
Packers fans are no strangers to their quarterback throwing interceptions. After all, Brett Favre led the NFL in interceptions twice as the quarterback of the Packers. He also threw over 20 interceptions in a season five times as a Packer. However, while there were a lot of picks, there were also a lot of touchdowns. Favre threw 442 touchdowns for the Packers, including 30 or more in a season eight times.
With Winston, there is not as much of a payoff to make up for the interceptions. He has thrown for over 30 touchdowns once, and that was last season when he also threw 30 interceptions. Aaron Rodgers, on the other hand, has one of the best touchdown-to-interception ratios in NFL history. Packers fans are now more accustomed to their quarterback being more careful and controlled and taking fewer risks. That is not the kind of quarterback Jameis Winston is.
#2- That’s One Expensive Backup
Jameis Winston made close to $21 million last season. Of course, he cannot expect to make that much money as a backup quarterback, but being a young player, he will want to be in a situation where can make as much as possible. The Packers also do not have much cap space available, making signing Winston financially impossible. In any case, the team has far more pressing needs than a backup quarterback.
#3- Aaron Rodgers
Since Jameis Winston entered the NFL in 2015, Aaron Rodgers has out-preformed him in every way. Rodgers has thrown for more touchdowns and fewer interceptions than Winston during the past five seasons. He has made four Pro Bowls compared to Winston’s one; and has zero seasons with a QBR under 90 compared to three seasons for Winston.
There has been a lot of speculation as to how long Rodgers plans to continue playing. For his part, he has said he feels like he can still outplay anyone that the Packers might bring in to compete with him (which is probably true). Linebacker Za’Darius Smith has said that he believes Rodgers will be able to play for another 10 years. Another 10 years would take Rodgers into an age 46 season, which is unheard of in today’s NFL. However, Tom Brady, at age 42, just replaced Jameis Winston, age 26, and signed a two-year contract with the Bucs. The idea of Rodgers playing well into his 40’s, all of a sudden, does not seem all too unrealistic.
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