“I Hate Free Agency”
February 27th, 2020
Hater
Does general manager Jason Licht have an attitude problem?
It sure sounds like it.
Licht has been a busy man buzzing around the NFL Scouting Combine and struggling to find time for a good steak.
It’s also the time of year when he’s meeting with agents to try and re-sign his player and feel out the market for other free agents.
Licht admitted Tuesday that he’s a March Scrooge.
“I hate free agency,” Licht said. “Well, just because so many unknowns. You don’t know what the guy’s going to do after you pay him. You don’t know if he’s going to like the city. You don’t know if he’s going to become acclimated to the coaching staff. There’s just so many unknowns. I love paying our own guys. We got lucky in free agency last year that all of them were great guys, they performed well and we want’em back.”
While Licht hates free agency, he loves the way his team works with Bucs coaches and said “it paid off” last year.
Joe gets why Licht is a March hater, but Jiminy Christmas, one would think a GM absolutely would adore the opportunity free agency presents.
The Buccaneers don’t get to the Super Bowl (in Joe’s opinion) without signing Joe Jurevicius and Keenan McCardell off the street before the 2002 season.
Embrace free agency, Jason. Lose those Swaggy Blues!
**Speaking of McCardell, he’s now a Jaguars receivers coach and Joe talked to him yesterday. Man, Joe felt old seeing the gray in 50-year-old McCardell’s beard.
February 27th, 2020 at 8:26 am
He hates drafting pass rushers, good RBs and likes kickers more than pass rushers
Just not a good GM at building a winning team. Hoped 2020 is this clowns last year
February 27th, 2020 at 8:27 am
What a STOOGE!
You would think that after six years of being a GM, he would have a “formula” for qualifying potential FA’s that would help answer his greatest fears.
He should be fired for just saying he hates FA because I can’t do my job adequately…
What a moron our GM is!
February 27th, 2020 at 8:28 am
He hates free agency because over the course of his six year reign of terror he has done very poorly for the most part.
February 27th, 2020 at 8:29 am
I just stood up and gave a solid moment of appreciation for Keenan McCardell. Man, the consummate professional and a heckuva Wide Receiver. I’ll never forget those back shoulder fades with he and Brad Johnson. Keenan will be a future stud Head Coach.
February 27th, 2020 at 8:32 am
Hates his track record in FA…especially in his early days ….gesshhh chasing DL’s
February 27th, 2020 at 8:34 am
As a franchise you must excel at all aspects of team building to contend consistently which the bucs have never done in thier 43 year history…. no ladies, 500 football with no chance in the postseason is not contending…. bucs dont draft well and have failed miserably in free agency consistently. You can count on 1 hand both high draft picks amd free agents who have lived up to thier draft status or contract over the last 43 year thus justifying the well earned title of worst franchise in NFL history. Until the leadership void is filled at one buc this team will continue to miss postseason after postseason and bucfan will still hold the title for excuses why our beloved team can’t figure it out. It takes a lot of effort from glazers to be this bad for this long. Only good decsion they have made is the firing of dungy the clown who should have never been hired in first place.
February 27th, 2020 at 8:34 am
How can you hate something that essentially makes your job important….Jason, just do what you are being paid very well to do.
February 27th, 2020 at 8:41 am
pay your own guys is usually the best route….get em all back on defense! including Nassib…
February 27th, 2020 at 8:45 am
Yeah, we did hit the home run last year in free agency but for most of the past 10-12 years we have been the destination under achievers come to get paid and lay down. There are too many to list, although I did like the Dashon Golston signing at the time to bring in an attitude, we woefully overpaid for all 3 of those signings.
Fast forward to today, we have an aggressive attacking offense and a defensive coordinator and nose tackle in VV that free agent pass rushers should be tripping over each other to come play for to make a name for themselves. For the last 2 decades players would take a discount to go play for the Patriots to get a ring. Well, the tide has shifted in our favor and players will now come here on short term deals to prove themselves and I think if we hit it big on a few of them while all our young talent develops (as they did the last half of the season) and we could have something special here.
High turnover alpha personality player short term deals are great for our team to get input from other systems and improve our own.
I think long gone are the days where we have to overpay players to come lay down here and underachieve. The weather is beautiful, there are no state taxes and we have a coaching staff and system where players can maximize their skillset and make a name for themselves.
Don’t forget that we played the most brutal schedule probably in the history of the league last year. That road streak was insanity and we were a couple plays from being 9-7 or 10-6. You are what your record says you are, but any Buc fan who watched the games can clearly honestly state that we are a power running game away from being a force. Jameis put up all those yards even when teams KNEW we were throwing the ball. If I’m a free agent the Buccaneers are on the top of my list!
Having said that, I just hope we do not overpay for a Jack Conklin. He’s a solid player, don’t get me wrong but this will take up a chunk of cash we could use on our own players. Minus Gerald McCoy, for the past 10 years our highest paid players were always free agents! I think that’s bad for team morale for the home grown talent.
February 27th, 2020 at 8:48 am
I hate losing.
I hate not signing trenches.
Calais Campbell was my guy.
We went Swaggy and DJax.
February 27th, 2020 at 8:49 am
I agree with you 100% Bruce Blahak…..Not sure in this case applies for the offense….But sure it does with defense
February 27th, 2020 at 9:06 am
Glazers trusting a desperate failed gm in licht and a coach who has 1 to 2 years maximum to make decsions that effect this franchise long term is more proof of the glazers incompetence and is additional proof they have zero intentions of fielding a winner ever
February 27th, 2020 at 9:13 am
He hates it because he has no clue what to do.
February 27th, 2020 at 9:18 am
Can’t fault him for his FA signings in 2019! Maybe practice does make perfect. We will see how that theory works in 2020.
February 27th, 2020 at 9:39 am
He’s proven he hates FA by his track record. He has no business being a GM. He’s also proven he hates drafting as well, especially in the 2nd round.
February 27th, 2020 at 9:47 am
As a profession I am a recruiter/head hunter… Although I am not in the NFL I completely understand what he is saying. I never know what a person/candidate is going to do and this is exactly why companies prefer to promote within. Our company no longer considers relo candidates for the same reasons Licht just said. You honestly never know if someone will like an area or how they will perform regardless of what the resume says. Relo’s almost always have a higher turnover than from someone in the area already.
February 27th, 2020 at 9:49 am
He’s not wrong his first free agency as gm was a nightmare. Shot out to Michael ghost Johnson and Anthony Collins
February 27th, 2020 at 10:33 am
Wow, what a FU’d franchise.
February 27th, 2020 at 10:41 am
Licht isn’t the only one I’m sure. The majority of free agents are overpaid for the performance and there is a very low percentage of free agents who end up signing a second contract with the same team. Free agency is fools gold if you are looking for impact players. We just got REALLY lucky last year with Suh and Shaq. Perriman ended up working out, but keep in mind he was a liability for half the season, running into is teammates and running the wrong routes.
February 27th, 2020 at 10:45 am
I felt OLD the other day watching gray haired Sheldon Keefe, as head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs……… against our Tampa Bay Lightning.
I remember when Sheldon Keefe was a snot-nosed 17 year old, being drafted in the 2nd round by our LIGHTNING.
Man…… yea.
Makes ya feel old, lol.
February 27th, 2020 at 10:49 am
Jason is just honest enough to say it. There are many NFL GM’s who feel the same way, lol.
Not quite as much fun for them as it is for the fans.
February 27th, 2020 at 11:16 am
With his record I would have an aversion to Free Agency too.
At least he knows that he can’t trust himself to find the right guys. I hope it doesn’t cause even ore problems in the long run.
February 27th, 2020 at 12:18 pm
Jason Licht, we HATE you!!
February 27th, 2020 at 12:32 pm
Why is this clown still the GM. The Glazers are smart rich people are they blind. You should love free agency that’s how you improve your team. Unless you are scared to spend the money because you don’t know your ass from 1st. Base.
February 27th, 2020 at 1:27 pm
@Formerly Tampa 2 … “Can’t fault him for his FA signings in 2019! Maybe practice does make perfect.” I was wondering if there were any Bucs fans anywhere who really believed that Jason Licht was the one behind the FA acquisitions & drafting for 2019. Now I know.
The 2019 roster changes had Bruce Arians & Todd Bowles fingerprints all over them. Suh told us that he’d kept in touch with TB over a couple of years and was excited to come here to play in TB’s defense. No question in my mind that Shaq Barrett wouldn’t have come here to play in our previous 4-3 defense. But he knew very well how aggressive TB’s defense was & that it’d let him showcase his skills. JPP & Carl Nassib were already here, but they obviously loved playing in this defense, and if they re-sign then TB should get the credit IMO. Several of our young defenders (Vea, Davis, Whitehead) were re-energized in this 3-4 hybrid defense. And all the rookies who we picked up (White, SMB, Dean, Edwards) developed beautifully under this coaching staff.
Jason Licht’s impact on the 2019 roster IMO was in getting the signatures on the contracts, but that’s as much credit as I’ll give him for 2019 based on his 2014-2018 track record. Well that AND setting BA up with one of the worst salary Cap situations in the NFL last year … with far too little to show for it.
February 27th, 2020 at 10:26 pm
He should say he hate drafting to cause he sucks at both
February 28th, 2020 at 11:44 am
GetOverIt Says:
February 27th, 2020 at 12:44 pm
So joe removed my comment because I defended Licht and said something unflattering about the orange faced cult leader. That’s fair.
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Get over it