The Tampa Bay Buccaneers entered the 2019 season with high hopes and newfound optimism, thanks in large part to the hiring of head coach Bruce Arians and defensive coordinator Todd Bowles.

Arians, the self-proclaimed quarterback guru, was supposed to be the answer to quarterback Jameis Winston’s woes. The former Heisman Trophy winner and number one overall pick has failed to live up to his billing, and entering the final year of his rookie contract, it was time for Winston to put up or shut up this season.

Despite a few strong outings, including Week 4’s monster game against the Los Angeles Rams, Winston came crashing back to earth yesterday in London in the team’s loss to the Carolina Panthers, throwing a career-high five interceptions and getting sacked seven times. Not only that, he fumbled the ball on back-to-back plays near the end of the second quarter, turning it over to the Panthers the second time.

Tampa Bay is now 2-4 heading into the bye week and the playoffs now seem like a pipe dream for a team that hasn’t played a postseason game since the 2007 season.

So, if the Bucs finally decide it’s time to move on from Winston, the 2020 NFL Draft could offer the perfect chance for them to find their next franchise quarterback.

And, it seems Bucs personnel are already doing their due diligence, as they were in attendance for last week’s Oregon game to watch quarterback Justin Herbert in action, even before Winston’s miserable game Sunday.

While many of those teams already have franchise quarterbacks and were likely scouting other players, you can be sure the Bucs were there to see Herbert.

I’ve written before how the Ducks quarterback seems to be a perfect fit for the type of quarterbacks Bruce Arians has worked with. If Tampa Bay continues to lose, they could be in a prime position to draft Herbert.