Walking around the Arizona Biltmore where the 2019 NFL Annual League Meeting is being held, it is a who’s who of NFL personalities – from owners, general managers and national media members – to the local beat writers.

On Monday morning, PewterReport.com ran into ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter who took a few minutes to talk about the Buccaneers hire of head coach Bruce Arians and the future of Jameis Winston.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter – Photo by: Mark Cook/PR

Schefter said the hire of Arians has been well-received around the league, and feels like Winston will be the biggest benefactor.

“He’s (Arians) a very respected guy with a great offensive mind and I think they were looking for a veteran presence that could bring the best out of Jameis,” Schefter said. “A lot is riding on Jameis and his future, and they felt like this guy (Arians) was the guy to do it.

“There is so much much riding on Jameis. And if you have that much riding on one guy, you would want the one guy who is most likely to get the most success out of him, and that would be Bruce Arians.”

Due to health issues, Arians sat out for one season and worked for CBS in the booth as a coordinations commentator before feeling his health was good enough to get back on the sidelines. Schefter said that was a concern, but like everyone, he is hoping for the best.

“I guess everyone is waiting too see,” Schefter said. “You’d like to see him stick around as long as he can. He is great for the game. He is fun and he is an excellent coach. So hopefully he can get the Buccaneers on the right track and bring some life to the franchise. Which is what they were looking for when they hired him.”

Four years ago, at this time, the big debate was Winston vs. Marcus Mariota. Tampa Bay obviously chose Winston and Mariota ended up in Tennessee, but neither have had the success that their teams hoped. Schefter talked about the two quarterbacks who will always be linked.

Titans QB Marcus Mariota – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“I think they both have a chance to, but they haven’t yet” Schefter said. “And I think Jameis can be a very good quarterback, and Tampa really believes in him. So this is his chance with the right guy, and either you get it done now or you aren’t going to get the contract you want.”

The Buccaneers have taken a cautious approach to free agency, partly out of necessity due to their salary cap situation, but Schefter said that isn’t a particularly bad thing.

“You are never going to solve all of your issues through free agency and if you are going to try and do that, you are probably going to be disappointed,” Schefter said. “Free agency has been proven to be something to complement excellent drafting. And you have to draft well and then you can supplement with some good solid free agents. But you can’t go build a team through free agency. I don’t remember too many teams that have won championships that way. By and large in this league you have to draft well, get those favorable rookie contracts and rookie talent, and then complement it with some reasonably priced free agent veterans.”