It’s only Week 4 of the regular season, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are already having trouble at the quarterback position. Ryan Fitzpatrick put the NFL on notice in his first two starts this year, defeating the Saints and Eagles. However, the journeyman quarterback is finally coming back down to earth. After throwing for just 126 passing yards and an interception in the first half, the Bucs made the decision to play Jameis Winston for the final two quarters. And here comes QB Jameis Winston for the #Bucs… It was a quick hook by coach Dirk Koetter, as Ryan Fitzpatrick goes to the bench. — Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 30, 2018 Unfortunately for Tampa Bay, this change didn’t spark their offense at all. On his first drive of the 2018 season, Winston threw an interception. Although his offensive line didn’t exactly help, the former No. 1 overall pick is receiving criticism for his production. Jameis Winston’s turn… the Bears defense is MENACING pic.twitter.com/e9v0QCZbuH — uSTADIUM (@uSTADIUM) September 30, 2018 The Buccaneers are currently trailing 45-3 to the Bears, as Mitch Trubisky has six passing touchdowns. Despite starting this season 2-0, it appears the magic is officially gone in Tampa Bay. Luckily for the Bucs, they won’t play until Oct. 14, giving them plenty of time to figure this out.<doc-sep>The Tampa Bay Buccaneers know who their starting quarterback will be when they face the Chicago Bears in Week 4, but they’re not letting that cat out of the bag. Who should get the nod? Jameis Winston is back from a three-game suspension stemming from allegations he groped a female Uber driver in Arizona in March of 2016. Veteran backup Ryan Fitzpatrick has thrown for over 400 yards in each of his three games starting in Winston’s place, making him the first player in NFL history to put together such a three-game stretch. Thanks to last week’s Monday night game, the Bucs have a short week to get Winston back in the groove, which could give Fitzpatrick the edge for this week’s starting job. With a bye the following week, the Bucs would get even more time for Winston to shake off the rust before hitting the field. Even then, Fitzpatrick’s performance up to this point has many wondering if Winston should stay on the bench until the “Fitzmagic” runs out. Who would you start at QB for the Bucs this week?<doc-sep>All signs have pointed to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers sticking with veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick for Week 4, and it looks like that’s exactly what the team will do. ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting Tampa Bay will do what many expected, starting Fitzpatrick over Jameis Winston: To no one’s surprise, Buccaneers’ quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is expected to start Sunday vs. the Chicago Bears, per league sources. Bucs continue to decline to announce their starting QB vs. Bears. pic.twitter.com/KwyuhRXrHY — Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 30, 2018 While Winston has just returned from a three-game suspension stemming from allegations he groped a female Uber driver in March of 2016, Fitzpatrick has thrown for over 400 yards in each of his three starts this season, making him the first player in NFL history to achieve the feat. Tampa Bay will face a tough challenge protecting whoever they start at quarterback, thanks to Khalil Mack and a Chicago defense that leads the NFL with 14 sacks.<doc-sep>The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have still not officially announced their starting quarterback for their Week 4 game against the Chicago Bears and their No. 1 rated defense, but it's going to be Ryan Fitzpatrick. According to several reports, Fitzpatrick -- who is off to a scorching-hot start to the season -- will unsurprisingly remain the starter for at least this week over Jameis Winston, who is returning from a three-game suspension he was dealt for groping an Uber driver. Fitzpatrick has the Bucs offense flying high with the third-most yards and fourth-most points in the NF, and he has completed over 70 percent of his passes at a league-high 11.1 yards per attempt. He had thrown eight touchdowns and just one interception in Tampa's first two games of the year, but came very close to melting down against the Steelers last week on Monday Night Football. After Fitzpatrick threw his third interception of the game, Bucs coach Dirk Koetter actually nearly sent him to the bench. Per NFL.com: According to several sources, Koetter told his team that after Ryan Fitzpatrick's third interception against the Steelers, Koetter nearly replaced him with backup Ryan Griffin. The coach told his team he was one or two plays away -- down 23-7 in the second quarter Monday night -- from giving the highly thought-of reserve Griffin his first opportunity to take the field in an NFL game. The disclosure caught players by surprise, making some believe Fitzpatrick's starting job is anything but safe. The Bucs say Koetter did not use the word "bench" in his speech to the players and that it was never about pulling Fitzpatrick for performance. It was about the possibility of giving a player who had impressed in practice the chance to do it in a game. The Bucs can spin it however they want; Koetter was apparently one or two plays from benching Fitzpatrick. That does not necessarily bode well for his future job security should he have an interception-filled half or game once again. Given Fitzpatrick's history, that seems likely to happen at some point. Koetter decided to let him play through it against the Steelers on Monday and the team nearly came back to win. Will he continue to give Fitzpatrick that kind of rope in the future now that Winston is back with the team? We'll just have to wait and see.<doc-sep>
Brian Blanco/Getty Images Ryan Fitzpatrick isn't relinquishing his grip on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' starting quarterback job just yet. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Fitzpatrick is expected to be under center when the Buccaneers clash with the Chicago Bears on Sunday. Fitzpatrick was installed as Tampa Bay's interim starter after Jameis Winston was suspended for the first three games of the regular season due to a violation of the NFL's personal conduct policy. The 35-year-old proceeded to light it up and led the Bucs to a 2-1 start, including wins over the New Orleans Saints and Philadelphia Eagles. To date, Fitzpatrick has completed 70.3 percent of his passes for a league-leading 1,230 yards, 11 touchdowns and four interceptions. In fact, he became the first player in league history to throw for at least 400 yards in three straight games following Monday night's 30-27 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. On the downside, Fitzpatrick tossed three interceptions—one of which was a pick-six—as the Bucs fell behind 30-10 through two quarters and had to scramble to make up ground against Pittsburgh. Still, the good outweighed the bad—and the Bucs couldn't flip back to Winston just yet. Moving forward, head coach Dirk Koetter emphasized he expects Winston to contribute in whatever capacity the team sees fit. Video Play Button Videos you might like "We love Jameis," Koetter said, per NFL.com's Austin Knoblauch. "He's a member of our team and anxious to get back. He'll be great in our locker room. And I know Jameis—in whatever role he ends up in—I know Jameis will embrace that role and give it everything he's got.