Is Jameis Winston playing at 250 pounds a good thing?

Winston’s listed weight on the Bucs roster is 231 pounds, which was the same he weighed at the NFL Scouting Combine in 2015 and the same weight he played at during his three years at Florida State. Winston weighed 200 pounds coming out of high school in 2012, according to Rivals.com.

So if he won a national championship playing at 230 pounds. Winston was drafted first overall weighing 231 pounds and he made his first and only Pro Bowl playing under 250 pounds.

So why does Winston think it’s a good thing to play 20 pounds heavier than he did when he had his best success? Good question.

Bucs QB Jameis Winston – Photo by: Getty Images

“I’m getting it. I’m going to play bigger this year,” Winston said Saturday at Bruce Arians’ golf tournament in Arizona, as reported by the Tampa Bay Times. “I’m about 250. Yeah. A solid 250. It’s just about hydration and being at the peak body, too.”

It was just three years ago in the 2016 offseason that Winston wanted to drop weight. He said he lost 18 pounds, which meant he probably weighed closer to 250 pounds at that time.

“My body feels much better,” Winston said at the time when he was down to between 225-230 pounds. “When you’re working out consistently and staying in shape, you never have to get in shape. That’s the biggest thing.”

Mobility in and out of the pocket has always been one of Winston’s strongest suits. While he is considered to be much more of a pocket quarterback than a scrambler, Winston’s penchant for making big plays in the passing game sometimes occur outside of the pocket when moving laterally behind the line of scrimmage.

Winston looked lean when he returned to the Bucs last year after a three-game suspension. He also rushed for a career-high 281 yards and a career-best 5.7-yard average despite playing in just 11 games with nine starts.

Is Winston playing 10-15 pounds heavier at 250 pounds going to make him faster and more elusive this season? The last quarterback the Bucs had at that weight was Josh Freeman, the team’s first-round pick in 2009.

Freeman entered the league at 6-foot-6, 248 pounds, which was what he measured at the NFL Scouting Combine in 2009 after his junior year at Kansas State. But Freeman was naturally a much bigger quarterback and entered K-State weighing 231 pounds and played at 250 pounds by the end of his freshman season.

Freeman had his best season in Tampa Bay playing at 250 pounds in 2010 before losing 20 pounds in 2012 to get down to 230 pounds. Losing weight didn’t cause Freeman to play any better.

Ex-Bucs QB Josh Freeman – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Although Freeman became the first 4,000-yard passer in Bucs history in 2012 and set a new franchise record with 27 touchdowns, he also threw 17 interceptions, which were the second-most in his career. Dropping weight didn’t necessarily make Freeman more mobile, as he rushed for 139 yards, which was a career-low, along with his 3.6 average.

While Freeman might have been the biggest quarterback to start for the Bucs, Byron Leftwich, who was signed to be the veteran starter and mentor for him in 2009, was a close second. Leftwich, who will be working with Winston as Tampa Bay’s new offensive coordinator under Bruce Arians, weighed 245 pounds at the time.

So is Winston weighing 250 pounds Leftwich’s idea – or is it Winston’s? And is it necessary?

And more importantly, will weighing 250 pounds make Winston less or more effective in 2019? It’s a big unknown.

I suppose we’ll find out soon enough.