TAMPA, Fla. (AP) The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are shutting down quarterback Jameis Winston for at least two weeks in hopes the condition of his injured throwing shoulder improves.
The third-year quarterback sat out the second half of Sunday's 30-10 loss to the New Orleans Saints after being sacked late in the second quarter and landing on the shoulder he initially hurt at Arizona on Oct. 15.
The first overall pick in the 2015 draft has made 40 consecutive starts to begin his NFL career. That streak will end Sunday, when the Bucs (2-6) will try to end a five-game skid with Ryan Fitzpatrick replacing Winston against the New York Jets.
''He's going to be out for the next couple of weeks,'' coach Dirk Koetter said Monday, when a MRI was performed on Winston, who's thrown for 1,920 yards, 10 touchdowns and six interceptions this season.
Winston has played through the injury, originally diagnosed as an AC joint sprain, the past three games. Koetter said the latest MRI showed ''a lot of medical terms that I'm not an expert on, but that he needs to be off for a couple of weeks.''
The Bucs also plan to activate third-string quarterback Ryan Griffin, who is on injured reserve but can return.
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