Who would you take as quarterback, Jameis Winston or a Harvard man? The Tampa Bay Bucs have a short-term solution and a long-term problem, and both concern their supposedly super star and suspended quarterback Jameis Winston.

As an All-American at Florida State, Winston led the Seminoles to a national championship in 2013. He also became known for a sexual assault charge that was settled out of court before his accuser was paid $950,000 by FSU for a Title IX violation.

Since alleged sexual assault is in the news these days from Washington, D.C., to Ohio State and many other places, it is no longer okay to excuse star athletes for their personal indiscretions.

Winston was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft by Tampa Bay and has been pretty much a bust the last two years since his Pro Bowl and Rookie of the Year first season with the Buccaneers.

After the NFL suspended Winston for the first three games this season for allegedly groping an Uber driver in the drive-through lane of a fast-food restaurant, the team thought it was heading for another year out of the playoffs, which it has missed since Jon Gruden left as head coach in 2008.

The Bucs had 35-year-old journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick, and no choice but to play him for those first three games. After shocking the Saints in New Orleans and the Super Bowl champion Eagles at home, the Bucs must decide whether to turn the reins back over to Winston. Losing to the winless Steelers Monday Night in their third game might help them choose.

Fitzpatrick, who has been with seven NFL teams and had his moments for all of them, is now playing the best football of his life. In his short-term assignment, the Harvard graduate has thrown for 813 yards and eight touchdowns in the two surprise wins.  His quarterback rating is a superlative 151.5, best in the NFL.

So if you ran the Bucs, what would you do? If they win their third straight by beating Pittsburgh at home, they have to stay with Fitzpatrick, don’t they? It might help their decision that Winston’s latest accuser has also filed a law suit against him; I guess he sits until the Harvard man loses.

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