Tampa Bay radio host endorses Jameis Winston to Steelers, dismisses Antonio Brown to Bucs with Tom Brady

No move during free agency was as big of a deal as Tom Brady going to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, so we talked to Jay Recher of WDAE Radio about how it transpired.

It sounds like it was a slow boil that started in January.

“We’ve been talking about this for about two and half months now, just throwing it out there,” Recher said. “We went from 0% to 5% to 10% to 20-30%. Then in the last two weeks or so we said, ‘Wow! The Bucs are a legit contender, aren’t they?’”

Recher says part of the pull for Brady to Tampa — aside from the weather, no state income tax and the allure of throwing to standout receivers such as Mike Evans and Chris Godwin — might have been the notion of playing for head coach Bruce Arians.

The former Steelers assistant has worked with other big-time quarterback peers of Brady’s in Ben Roethlisberger, Peyton Manning and Carson Palmer.

Recher calls the Brady and Arians relationship a “melding of the minds.” He expects the offense to be a hybrid of assertiveness down the field as we saw with Jameis Winston at quarterback a year ago and the precision and efficiency of a Brady offense that we have come to know in New England.

Recher seems to think Brady wanted to come to the NFC because the path to another Super Bowl may be more clear. He explains why.

Meanwhile, don’t look for Antonio Brown to make his way to Tampa. Brady may want him there, but Recher says that move is unlikely.

“It’s a talking point but, I’d say 98% of people want nothing to do with him,” Recher declared. “They want to get distractions out of the building. There will be enough hoopla and enough of a circus here in Tampa Bay with Tom Brady. You don’t want to add to that with Antonio Brown.”

Recher suggested that stirring Brown into the mix would create an issue with keeping people happy on the offense.

“There are only so many targets to go around (between) Evans, Godwin, (O.J.) Howard, (Cameron) Brate,” Recher continued. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they signed a pass-catching running back like Dion Lewis, to complement what they already have in Peyton Barber and Ronald Jones. I don’t think [Brown joining the team] is a good fit.

“It just wouldn’t work.”

And what becomes of Winston? There has been a lot of national chatter about him coming to Pittsburgh as Roethlisberger’s backup. And Recher thinks that is a great idea.

“If he’s the backup for Ben or (Drew) Brees, he is going to take that job and do it to the best of his ability. He is going to be a fantastic teammate,” Recher said. “The fans are going to love him and if Ben has a tough game, they might be calling for Jameis.

“One of the quarterbacks he was compared to here was Ben Roethlisberger. He’s a big guy. He can move in the pocket. Defenders hang all over him and they fall off. He’s a warrior.”

Recher insists Winston was upbeat even when he sat behind Ryan Fitzpatrick at times in 2017 and 2018, and Recher claimed he’d be a better option than Mason Rudolph or Devlin Hodges as Roethlisberger’s backup.

“He loves to push the ball down the field. I think he’d get a lot more production out of Diontae Johnson and JuJu Smith-Schuster,” Recher said.

Winston had problems in Tampa Bay, though. He threw 30 interceptions last year to offset his 33 touchdowns and a league-leading 5,109 yards.

His off-field troubles have been well documented as well. He was accused of sexual assault during his time at Florida State. He was never charged, although the matter remained in civil litigation through late 2016 before it was settled out of court.

Winston also faced shoplifting allegations and was suspended for three games by the league in 2017 for allegedly groping an Uber driver.

Recher, though, insists that behavior is behind Winston.

“I know he had some off-field transgressions early in his career. The last three-and-a-half or four years, he was a model citizen on and off (the field). He was the guy who worked hardest. He got in early and stayed late. I think his second chapter is going to be much different than his first. When he cleans that slate, he is going to have some success in the National Football League,” Recher predicted.

I keep hearing that Pittsburgh would be a good fit for Winston. I’m just not as convinced Winston would be a good fit for the Steelers. That goes for salary cap restraints more so than anything else.

Well, that and the 30 interceptions.

You can hear the full discussion with Jay Recher here.

Listen: Tim Benz and Jay Recher discuss Tom Brady’s fit with Buccaneers, and talk of Jameis Winston joining Steelers