Tampa Bay Buccaneers Rumors: Jameis Winston May Have Just Dropped A Big Hint That He’s Headed To Tampa

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are reportedly leaning toward taking Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston with the top overall pick, and the controversial quarterback may have just fueled the rumors with his choice of apparel.

Winston was spotted with his girlfriend, Breion Allen, with the quarterback wearing Manchester United gear. Normally that wouldn’t be a big deal, especially considering the increasing popularity of the Premier League in the United States, but Tampa fans caught the connection immediately.

Manchester United is owned by the Glazer family, who also own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Many fans took it as more than a coincidence that Winston wore the Man U gear.

If the rumors are true and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers do draft Jameis Winston, it would be a bit of a surprise. Many consider Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota to be a more polished prospect, and Winston has the stain of some off-the-field issues, including conduct issues and rape allegations that prosecutors ultimately decided not to follow.

Others believed that Winston’s stock had lost too much after his poor performance at the Rose Bowl this year. Bleacher Report noted that Winston’s fumble problems left a bad impression with scouts.

“The play itself was not Winston’s fault — tight end Nick O’Leary fell on his route, and Oregon’s eight-man coverage shell did its job — but the way in which it happened was. It was a meme-able, GIF-able, Internet-able moment on par with Mark Sanchez’s butt fumble.”

Jameis Winston remains a very polarizing player in the eyes of fans as well. The polling firm Public Policy Polling recently conducted some testing about Winston’s popularity, finding that while many do not believe he was guilty of rape, they still don’t have warm feelings about him.

The Tampa Bay Times noted the findings.

“39 percent “admire” Winston, while 52 percent do not. Among FSU alums, those numbers are 38 percent and 54 percent, respectively.”

While the rumors may point to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafting Jameis Winston, a lot can happen between now and the NFL Draft — and often does.

[Image via Houston Press]