NFL Has Begun Investigation Into Allegations Against Jameis Winston

Adam Schefter, citing a league source, reports that NFL has already begun their investigation into allegations levied against Jameis Winston last week by interviewing Buccaneers’ head of security, Andres Trescastro.

Schefter says that the NFL’s conversation with Trescastro was more “introductory and exploratory” and no further talks with Trescastro are scheduled at this point in time.

According to Schefter, the NFL’s investigation into Winston is not expected to completed by the end of the 2017 season. Instead, it’s possible that Winston’s case could drag out during the offseason much like Ezekiel Elliott’s case did this year.

The Uber driver who accused Winston of groping her has hired attorney John Clune, who also represented the Florida State student who accused Winston of sexual assault in 2012. Clune has reportedly asked the NFL to also investigate a claim made by Eagles CB Ronald Darby last weekend that Winston did nothing inappropriate with the driver.

Darby came forward and vouched for Winston last weekend that he did nothing inappropriate to an Uber driver back in 2016, despite the claim that he groped her.

“I felt the need to come forward and clarify some inaccurate accounts of the evening of March 13, 2016 when myself, a friend and Jameis Winston took an Uber ride in Arizona,” Darby said in his statement. “There were three of us in the car, not just one as has been reported. Myself and Jameis were in the backseat. I am confident that nothing inappropriate in nature happened in the car that evening and Jameis did not have any physical contact with the Uber driver. The accusations are just not true.”

Talal Ansari of BuzzFeed reported that the NFL has officially opened an investigation after an allegation surfaced that Winston grabbed a female Uber driver’s crotch back in 2016.

According to Ansari, the female Uber driver, stopped outside of a party in downtown Scottsdale, Arizona to pick up a passenger around 2 a.m. on Sunday March 13, 2016.

The woman said that Winston “behaved poorly” by shouting homophobic slurs at pedestrians and later “reached over and he just grabbed my crotch” while they were waiting in line at a drive-thru.

“I wasn’t just creeped out,” said the woman. “I was frozen.”

“I mean he’s an NFL quarterback and I’m 5 ft 6. I’m not prepared for that. So I completely froze,” she said.

“I have been empowered by my sisters who have forged this path by speaking up, and I must do my part to make it a little more well traveled,” she said. “If I’m silent, I fear that further harm will come to other women, if it hasn’t already.”

She added, “He sexually assaulted me, and I have every right to tell the damn truth about it.”

The woman later filed an incident report to Uber describing in detail what had occurred.

Winston, 23, is a former first-round pick of the Buccaneers back in 2015. He’s currently in the third year of his four-year, $25.35 million contract and stands to make base salaries of $615,000 and $705,000 over the next two years of the agreement.

In 2017, Winston has appeared in eight games and thrown for 1,920 yards while completing  61.4 percent of his passes to go along with 10 touchdowns and six interceptions. He has also rushed for 51 yards. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 15 quarterback out of 34 qualifying players.

We’ll have more regarding Winston as the news is available.