Bruce Arians has been down the rabbit hole, and he doesn’t seem interested in going back.

As Arians’ Buccaneers face uncertainty at the quarterback position, the team is reportedly not interested in pursuing Jameis Winston for a return to Tampa.

“I don’t think Bruce Arians is fine with it. Been there, done that,” Bucs insider Rick Stroud said on “The Rich Eisen Show.”

Winston was drafted first overall by the Bucs in 2015 and spent five seasons with the team, culminating with the 2019 season – Arians’ first as head coach. In that season, the former Florida State QB threw for over 5,000 yards and 30 touchdowns – but also threw 30 interceptions.

After losing the team’s final two games of that season (in which Winston threw six interceptions) to drop the team to 7-9, Tampa decided to cut bait with Arians publicly criticizing Winston for his abundance of turnovers. They ended up signing Brady in the offseason.

“There was a time when they were 7-7 in his one year here under Bruce,” Stroud said. “I thought he was going to make it, he threw for like 460-something two games in a row. Then they played Houston…then they played Atlanta and he threw both those games away. I saw on Bruce’s face that day he had reached his limit with Jameis Winston.”

Winston is now a free agent for the third time in as many offseasons, having spent the last two years with the Saints. It seems possible he could return to new Orleans again, as the team went 5-2 with him as a starter before he tore his ACL.

If not, it appears the Bucs are an unlikely destination. Tampa has Blaine Gabbert and Kyle Trask on the roster, but would likely want to swing bigger at the QB position, with reports that they could pursue Russell Wilson or Aaron Rodgers should they become available.