Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 5 Options at quarterback that could be explored

After another season that fell short of a playoff berth, Bruce Arians and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a choice to make at quarterback going forward.

The 2019 NFL season marked the 12th consecutive year that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers failed to make the playoffs. While they had two of the top wide receivers in football in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin and an improved defense across the board, the Buccaneers lived and died on the self-destructive arm of Jameis Winston.

With Winston, fresh off of the first-ever 30-touchdown, 30-interception season in NFL history, set to become an unrestricted free agent, the Buccaneers could take the chance on bringing him back, or decide to look elsewhere going forward. No one is certain what the Buccaneers’ plan at quarterback is.

Here are the five best options the Bucs have at quarterback going into 2020.

Bring back Jameis Winston

There is still a possibility that the Bucs bring Jameis Winston back. That said, if that is the route they go, don’t expect it to be on a long-term deal. It would more than likely be either on the franchise tag or a front-loaded two-year deal. However, I think they would much rather save the tag for a guy like Shaq Barrett who was far more productive this past season.

While Bruce Arians’ offense is very pass-heavy, 30 interceptions is simply unacceptable. Maybe this LASIK surgery will help Winston’s decision-making, but bringing back the former No. 1 overall pick is a huge risk.

Sign Philip Rivers

As crazy as it sounds, Philip Rivers‘ 20 interceptions would be a godsend for the Buccaneers. If Winston had only thrown 20 interceptions in 2019, the Bucs very well could have been a Wild Card team.

Rivers isn’t just on the back-nine of his career, he’s on the 17th or 18th hole. That said, we saw what Arians did with an aging Carson Palmer; he turned him into an MVP candidate. Rivers has enjoyed more success in his career than Palmer had before joining forces with Arians and he would have better weapons than Palmer did in Arizona.

Tampa Bay would almost have to draft a quarterback with one of their first two picks if this were to happen, but Rivers to the Buccaneers makes sense.

Trade for Andy Dalton

In terms of bridge quarterbacks, you could do a lot worse than Andy Dalton. The Bengals are going to take Joe Burrow with the No. 1 overall pick and Dalton will be on the market.

Dalton may not be an upper-echelon quarterback but he is a three-time Pro-Bowler and would be a solid upgrade over Winston. With the weapons he’d have at his disposal, I think we could see a strong year from Dalton and the Bucs would be a fringe playoff team.

Draft a quarterback early

The Buccaneers currently sit at No. 14 in the 2020 NFL Draft and there are four teams in the top six that will be or could be looking at taking a quarterback. Subsequently, Tampa Bay would certainly have to trade up if they’re going to get someone such as Tua Tagovailoa or Justin Herbert. However, with packaging the No. 14 and their second-round pick along with future capital, they could make their move.

Trade for Derek Carr

To me, Derek Carr would be the best realistic option for the Buccaneers. Everyone seems to underestimate his skill. In the two-year span from 2015-16, he threw for a combined 60 touchdowns to only 19 interceptions before suffering a season-ending injury before the Raiders 2016 playoff game in Houston.

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He’s also completed north of 68 percent of his passes in the past two seasons. You could make the argument that Carr is a top-15 quarterback in the NFL. With all the rumors of the Raiders pursuing Tom Brady or trying to land Tua Tagovailoa in the draft, they may be ready to move on from Carr as the franchise moves to Las Vegas.

Carr and Arians together would make the Bucs an instant threat to win the NFC South or, at the very least, a team that will be playing come Wild Card Weekend.

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