The decision by Jameis Winston not to attend the 2015 NFL draft may have actually come from the NFL. According to Bleacher Report's Jason Cole, the league pressured Winston to stay at home for the draft out of concern his presence there may trigger disruptive protests.
Winston's off-the-field issues, which include theft and allegations of rape, have turned the former Heisman winner into a maligned figure in the eyes of some of the public. So much so, according to Cole, that the NFL doesn't want Winston in the building on draft night.
"In talking to multiple league sources over the past week, don't be surprised if the NFL put a little bit of pressure on Jameis Winston to not be there," Cole said Tuesday. "... And why is that? The NFL in the aftermath of everything they've dealt with, from Greg Hardy to Ray Rice to Adrian Peterson, is very much afraid of the protests that are going to go along with Jameis Winston being a first round pick let alone being the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft and essentially being the face of the NFL draft in 2015.
"So there's a pragmatic approach here. How do they mute the protests (that are) likely to happen in the aftermath of Winston's selection? This decision by Winston not to attend is an attempt to mute that reaction."
Cole indicated Winston's decision - whether entirely his or not - to skip the draft was made in an effort to keep a low profile, a directive that seemingly came out of his five-hour meeting last week with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
Multiple NFL experts project Winston to go first overall to the Tampa Bay Buccanneers. According to what Winston's father told ESPN on Monday, his son made the decision not to attend the draft because of a desire to spend the day with friends and family.
