Jameis Winston’s infamous “Eat a W” speech apparently almost included a NSFW measuring contest.
“Right before we ran onto the field, he said, ‘This is one of those games, sometimes you guys just bring out your best and show everybody who’s bigger,'” former Buccaneer teammate Gerald McCoy said of Winston’s viral speech in 2017 on “The 25/10 Show” with Desean Jackson.
“All you know is ‘Eat the W.’ You didn’t even know that all day, brother. We had no chance of winning that day.”
The Buccaneers eventually lost 30-10 to the Saints with Winston as starting quarterback.
McCoy added that Winston shouldn’t have addressed the team that way.
According to McCoy, Winston jumped in front of middle linebacker Kwon Alexander and began putting his fingers in his mouth while the rest of the team watched in confusion.
“I say one thing, I want everyone to look at me, and after I say one thing, I pass it on to Kwon,” Winston said before putting his fingers in his mouth to represent eating a “W.” “That’s a W, let’s eat one. Let’s eat one. That’s a W. How many people want to eat a W tonight? I’m going to eat a W tonight.”
Winston’s attempt to inspire his teammates did not have the desired effect.
“I was like, ‘Dude, what are you doing?'” McCoy said as Winston began his “Eat a W” speech.
McCoy adds that tight end Cam Brate tried to tell McCoy to listen to the quarterback, but McCoy interrupted him, saying, “Man, shut up, I don’t care. What are you talking about? Why is he doing this?”
McCoy, who was an All-Pro player at the time, wasn’t the only one of his teammates who was stunned by Winston’s action.
Fellow Pro Bowl player Lavonte David, who is still with the team seven years later, had previously expressed confusion over Winston’s attempt to pump up the team.
“He meant well. But that particular thing didn’t sit well with the rest of the team, and the outcome of the game kind of proved that,” David said of The Score in 2021. “It was definitely something that kind of surprised me. I was like, ‘What?’ But it is what it is. We all love Jameis. He meant well. He’s a great competitor, but unfortunately this is going to stick with him for a long time.”
Curiously, Winston may get another chance to lead the team as calls for him to come off the bench and put Deshaun Watson in the starting lineup grow louder in Cleveland.
Winston was one of the NFL’s worst quarterbacks in Week 1 for the Browns and was sued for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman in 2020.
