TAMPA — Former Bucs coach and current NBC analyst Tony Dungy weighed in on the Buccaneers' current quarterback quandary on Tuesday during a national radio interview, and offered Jameis Winston advice on how to deal with his benching.

"I would say, 'You've got a number or teams, 31 other teams, looking at you," Dungy said on PFT Live with Mike Florio on NBC Sports Radio on Tuesday. "And my dad used to say this thing to me all the time, 'What are you going to do to make the situation better?' The best thing you can do now is be a great teammate, to study hard and be prepared. Ryan Fitzpatrick could get hurt the first snap of the game, so you've got to be ready. Make yourself great in practice, let your teammates know you're still there and let the other 31 teams know that you're still preparing and that you want to be good."

Dungy noted that even Winston has run out of chances in Tampa Bay, he shouldn't feel that this is the end for him, saying that he only need look at the ghosts of Buccaneers quarterbacks past who have found success after leaving Tampa Bay.

"We've seen it happen before," Dungy said. "All he has to do it is look at Buccaneers history. Doug Williams left here and went to a Super Bowl. Steve Young left here and went to multiple Super Bowls, so don't think this is the end of the line. Prepare for the future."

Dungy said that it's clear there's well-deserved optimism that switching to Ryan Fitzpatrick could salvage the Bucs season, but overall, it has to be a sobering feeling among the team's top decision makers and coaching staff that Winston might not be the franchise quarterback they expected.

"It's a tough situation for the Bucs," Dungy said. "The feeling is, 'Hey, we picked this guy No. 1 and here we go again. We had Vinny Testaverde as the No. 1 pick and that didn't pan out for us, and we've gone through all these quarterbacks, high picks, and we just haven't gotten this franchise guy.'

"But there is excitement, that, 'We can get back in this race. We saw what Fitz did early in the season and if he can bring that back, the defense is playing a little bit better,'" Dungy said. "I think there's excitement that Ryan Fitzpatrick maybe can spark something in the second half. But inside that building, I'll tell you, there's got to be disappointment that, 'Hey, we might have missed our way on another No. 1 pick.'"

Contact Eduardo A. Encina at eencina@tampabay.com. Follow @EddieInTheYard.