Fat Jameis Winston Photo is a Month Old, Here's the Story

Jameis Winston looks … fat? Out of shape? Photos can be deceptive, but this one popped up on twitter Saturday and quickly made the rounds. Its provenance was unknown, so I checked in with QB guru George Whitfield, who is currently coaching the Florida State QB, to see if a) it was Winston, and b) if it was recent.

“The photo of Jameis was taken in early-mid January,” Whitfield said by phone. “If people are saying he looks out of shape – well, did they notice he had the leash tight around his waist? That may have had something to do with it,” he laughed.

“Jameis is in shape and doing great. Anyone saying he’s out of shape, they can check him out at the Combine this week.”

Winston will be at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis this week, when the countdown will officially begin as to whether the Tampa Bay Bucs will take him 1st overall on April 30th in the NFL Draft. The Bucs released last year’s starter, Josh McCown, earlier this week, essentially locking them in to a QB with the No.

1 pick.

The heavy favorite is Winston, but there’s still a small chance they surprise everyone and take Oregon’s Marcus Mariota. If Tampa had kept McCown, it could have at least given the impression they mighttrade down, and perhaps gotten somebody to overpay for Winston. Nobody’s going to buy that bluff now, unless they secretly covet UCLA’s Brett Hundley (probably a couple years away from starting) or Baylor’s Bryce Petty in the 2nd round.