The NFL needs to find a way to ensure that Jameis Winston remains a starting QB for the rest of his career

What a delightful NFL football game. Browns vs. Broncos was a visual treat from start to finish. Thanks solely to the almighty, God-fearing (but slightly problematic) quarterback extraordinaire Jameis Laneed Winston. Jameis gave us everything you would want to see from a football game. Yards and points. Jameis Winston had distributed yards and points from his right arm all night. More yards and points than his own team could handle. That’s exactly the type of QB he is. A selfless, gunslingering, snow-loving type of quarterback who may have done some rape in college, but it was settled out of court, so everyone just let it go. He was everything an NFL fan would want to see on a Monday night.

But somehow…somehow…after what we all saw yesterday. And what we all saw the week before in snowy Cleveland, Ohio. This is where Cleveland Browns fan Jeff D. Lowe’s thoughts went immediately after the game.

Not: “Thank you, Jameis, for blessing us with the most entertaining football game of the week.”

Not: “I’m so lucky to have a quarterback as fun and exciting as Jameis Winston.”

Not: “I wish Jameis Winston would quarterback every NFL team, all 134 FBS college programs and the 9 professional teams in Canada.”

No. Browns fans are already escorting Jameis Winston out the door.

Now to a fan whose main interest is “winning football games”, me assume I can understand where people like Jeff D. Lowe are coming from. I can understand that watching Jameis Winston throw for 171 yards the wrong way and score 14 points for the opposing team can be less enjoyable when you think about things like, “Maybe one day you’ll make it back to the… Playoffs”. But unfortunately someone has to carry the cross Starting quarterback Jameis Winston.

If the Cleveland Browns reject that responsibility out of self-interest, there are 31 other teams in the NFL. At no point in Jameis Winston’s 10-year career have there been 32 quarterbacks better suited to lead a team. He will definitely be one of the top 32 QBs in the league next year. In an NFL where passing yards are scarce and games are getting more boring every year, the NFL needs Jameis Winston as its starting player now more than ever. If the Browns insist on doing what’s best for their franchise and decide to move on from Jameis, we simply can’t afford for him to sign with a team that wants to bench him.

I don’t care how they do it. I don’t care if they have to rewrite the rules and have Jameis sign some kind of special contract that allows him to move from team to team depending on who needs him most at any given time. Let’s say Tua Tagovailoa suffers his 37th concussion during training camp next season. In this case, Jameis would go to the Dolphins. When Tua’s brain has “recovered” and he’s ready to play again (even though the whole world is begging him to just retire the hell), then Jameis goes back on the market. Maybe it will go to the highest bidder. Maybe he’ll be treated like he’s on waivers. The only condition would be that whoever picks it up is obliged to start it. If they ever decide to move Jameis to the bench, he will be right back on the market.

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If we find ourselves in a situation where no team is willing to have Jameis Winston as their starter, the NFL will be forced to step in and assign him to a team. This team is legally obliged to use him. “Sorry, Jacksonville, but we’ve seen enough of Trevor Lawrence. He is not your QB of the future. For the good of the sport, Jameis Winston will take over.”

But I don’t think it would come to that. There will always be a team with injuries at quarterback. There will always be a fan base that is fed up with their current situation and welcomes Jameis Winston with open arms. Consider the current NFL landscape. Jameis is clearly the best option for the Browns. But even if he wasn’t, there would at least be the Giants, Cowboys, Titans, Raiders and probably the Jaguars after Trevor Lawrence was beheaded.

Some teams may be upset about playing Jameis if they are trying to improve their season (e.g. currently the NY Giants). But if that’s the problem, then just open the playbook. Have Jameis throw the ball 60 times. Lose your games 49-45, with 3 pick sixes per week. You don’t have to struggle with playing the most boring type of soccer there is. Why not refuel in style? Tank with Jameis Winston.

This is just an idea. All I know is that I’ll be sick if we have to watch any more crappy football games while Jameis Winston rots on the bench somewhere. The Saints have already wasted 4 years of his career. Jameis Winston, ages 26 to 29, in the prime of his life, just sat there and did nothing. That’s hundreds of TDs and INTs and 15,000 yards of offense taken away from us. But thankfully Jameis still has plenty of great and terrible football left in the tank. The NFL needs to do everything in its power to make sure it gets as much juice out of the second half of his career as possible.

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