Arians: Buccaneers can 'definitely' win without Winston

Bruce Arians is confident the Tampa Bay Buccaneers could build on their late-season success in 2020 without quarterback Jameis Winston, who's a pending free agent.

"If we can win with this one, we can definitely win with another one, too," the head coach said Monday, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times.

Winston continued his polarizing play in 2019, becoming the first player in NFL history to throw 30-plus touchdowns and 30-plus interceptions in the same season. He was the only quarterback to throw for 5,000 yards this year, but his turnovers repeatedly doomed the Buccaneers.

"Yeah, it's frustrating," Arians said. "To see the growth was great, but to see the regression in some areas was very frustrating.''

Tampa went 7-9 in Arians' first year at the helm, winning five of its final eight games. The Buccaneers had a chance to finish the season at 8-8, but Winston threw a pick-6 in overtime of their regular-season finale.

Arians came out of retirement in January to take over the Buccaneers and was confident at the time that he and his staff could cure Winston of his turnover issues.

Tampa hasn't made the playoffs since the 2007 season and hasn't won a playoff game since Super Bowl XXXVII.