All Options On The Table
March 14th, 2014
Bucs GM Jason Licht was in a hiring mood while appearing on “Schein on Sports” heard exclusively on SiriusXM Radio.
This afternoon, subscribers to SiriusXM Radio were treated to a lively interview of Bucs general manager Jason Licht conducted by popular sports radio personality Adam Schein, host of “Schein on Sports” via Mad Dog Radio. How fun was the interview? At one point, in individually breaking down the Bucs’ new free agent class, Licht was so impressed with Schein’s homework that he asked Schein when his contract with SiriusXM expires so he could hire him.
Of course, Schein asked pointed, reasoned questions about the new Buccaneers, which Joe will detail over the next couple of days. But Schein also asked Licht about the draft and what positions the Bucs may be targeting.
Adam Schein: What else would you look for in free agency, and a very deep NFL draft?
Jason Licht: I think with the moves we have made in free agency this year, all options are open. We are going to go with the best available player in the draft, throughout the draft. You can never have too many good football players. We love thinking this football team is successful if we look at it from front to back. We are going to look to upgrade some [starter] positions, some backup positions, front to back, but the other positions are positions where we need to get the best players we can.
Schein: Will you consider a quarterback in the first round?
Licht: We will consider anything in the first round. If a quarterback is there that we love, we have to consider it.
Of course Licht is going to say all options are open. Joe would be shocked at some point in the draft if the Bucs don’t select a quarterback, whether it’s Johnny Football, Jimmy Garoppolo (remember, the Bucs interviewed Garoppolo at least twice to Joe’s knowledge) or Aaron Murray, for example, — unless the Bucs think Josh McCown in his remaining NFL years can help coach up Mike Glennon to get him ready to be a franchise quarterback.
And frankly, the Bucs are pretty thin on the offensive line, even if you factor in the signing of Anthony Collins. To bank of Carl Nicks returning to health and playing a full season is risky, to be polite. Jamon Meredith also was a cog in last year’s mess.
Bucs fans are beating the drum for a wide receiver, of course, which is not an irresponsible lament.
March 14th, 2014 at 4:10 pm
We signed Dietrich smith.
March 14th, 2014 at 4:15 pm
Who’s the new center they just signed?
March 14th, 2014 at 4:18 pm
Who’s the new center we just signed?
March 14th, 2014 at 4:23 pm
Lovie was already a known commodity, but I’m really starting to like this Licht chap. No façade, no fancy words, no BS. This guy is single-minded and has hit the ground running. We are getting better by each announcement and you can tell this is not just good fortune, this looks like a well thought out plan. Early Kudos to you, Jason Licht!
March 14th, 2014 at 4:25 pm
Lovie going in on free agency
March 14th, 2014 at 4:58 pm
The faces this guy makes are just hilarious!
March 14th, 2014 at 5:07 pm
He could have played the bad sergeant in Schindler’s List!! Don’t mess with Licht!!
March 14th, 2014 at 5:09 pm
Licht is fearless. I’m a bit concerned that he might be over doing it though. It almost seems as though most of these contracts are ending about the same time.
Nice contract numbers on most though.
March 14th, 2014 at 5:33 pm
With only 5 pics in the draft, if they don’t trade down, the Bucs have to be very aggressive in FA if they want to rebuild this team quickly. So far they have kept the contracts reasonable for the talent they’re getting. The L&L team seems to have a good plan and should get us some great players in the draft as well. It will be interesting to see how competitive we’ll be this year in our tough division.
March 14th, 2014 at 9:08 pm
Anybody want rock star back?
Bwaaaaaahahaha
March 14th, 2014 at 11:13 pm
Good one Eric! Lmao!
March 14th, 2014 at 11:26 pm
I think it gets a lot easier when you know what offensive and defensive philosophy you’re going to employ. Always seemed like, even though Rockstar got “names”, we kinda had the kart-before-the-horse with regard to constant change of philosophy…
Glad this cat is not flashy or show-boaty, just RockSolid – now we’re married (for better or worse) to the separate but complimentary styles on each side of the ball!
Now I’m warming to the idea – and actually would not mind seeing a QB picked at #7 overall. I’m just not sure Lovie would commit such high $$$ to a player that doesn’t look like he’ll see the field for at least a season?
I will say that they’ve certainly assembled a good staff and a great group of FA’s!
March 15th, 2014 at 12:54 am
Could this be a fake to convince other teams to trade up with the Bucs? As in “I can still choose that guy you love, offense or defense even if it’s not a natural fit, how about an offer for trading up with us?”
March 15th, 2014 at 3:20 am
Man, this guy can blow some smoke… But he has a terrible poker face.if it results in wins, then it won’t matter, but for now I’m not sure I like this Licht character.