Bucs Going Back To “Door No. 2” Focus At Quarterback
February 9th, 2023
Lauded. But …
Just about three years ago at this time, Jameis Winston had recently completed his fifth season torturing Bucs fans and was a pending free agent.
Bucco Bruce Arians told everyone listening at the NFL Scouting Combine that he was looking behind Door No. 2 for a quarterback but didn’t rule out Jameis.
Arians said today the Bucs are returning to that philosophy for the 2023 offseason.
Visiting Outkick.com on Radio Row, Arians was asked point blank what’s next for the Bucs at quarterback — young or veteran? Currently a special advisor to Bucs general manager Jason Licht, Arians had no problem speaking for the team.
“I think we have to do our due diligence,” Arians said, referring to quarterback shopping. “We all love Kyle Trask. We think Kyle is going to be a hell of a player, but you always gotta look behind Door No. 2 and see what’s there.”
Well, that sounds like the Bucs aren’t ready to make a clean handoff to Trask after his two years as an apprentice learning under elite QB gurus.
Arians said the Bucs can compete now at a high level. It’s no rebuild because of the great young players in place. “Jason has drilled the draft three years in a row,” he said.
Of course, a seasoned Bucs observer might say if Licht really “drilled the draft” three years in a row, then the Bucs would be rolling with Trask as their starter and a lot of high-priced veterans would be expendable next month as free agency approaches.
Lots of intriguing moves ahead at One Buc Palace.
February 9th, 2023 at 4:44 pm
Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
February 9th, 2023 at 4:44 pm
Maybe will have another “10 years” of being lost in this Franchise again?
February 9th, 2023 at 4:49 pm
You drafted Trask in the 2nd rd. How long you gonna baby him? Throw him to the wolves. Lets see if he is our QB for the future. Don’t lullaby this kid to death. This is the NFl. Either you do or you don’t..You will or you won’t. He’s had enough time to watch videos and take it all in. its showtime baby!
February 9th, 2023 at 4:49 pm
I would Love to see Trask with all of the ‘ones’.
All these IDIOTS calling him “Trashk” astound me. Simply amazing how you can form an opinion without any factual basis. I haven’t looked hard enough but I imagine you will not be able to find a QB that had as much success as he had in his 20 starts.
…69 TDS to 15 INTs, 70% completion% with a passer rating of 168.5!
Yup sure sounds like Trash to me. SMH.
February 9th, 2023 at 4:50 pm
Sorry, but B.A. is full of B.S.. This team couldn’t compete at a high level with Brady at Q.B., where’s this scary young talent? JTS, Hall, Geodeke? Devin Bonehead White? Our second round R.B. didn’t do as well as K.C.’s seventh round pick. I’m not buying what Arains is selling. Like Leftwich is going to be a head coach some day. Maybe his kids peewee football team. And who could forget B.A. dumping Bowles on us? Bruce you can con the Glazers, but you can’t con the fans.
February 9th, 2023 at 4:51 pm
This is a big fat nothingburger. Of course they’re going to shop. What are they gonna do, have only 1 quarterback? LOL
February 9th, 2023 at 4:55 pm
I say go with Gabbert as the veteran. If he fails to impress, which is likely, call up Trask. That way we see what we can truly evaluate what our priorities are moving forward. If Gabbert gets hot and moves the new offense, great. If not and Trask also fails to impress, then we know for sure we need a new direction. Regardless of what the organization does at QB, this will be an evaluation year, so might as well roll with the relatively cheap options we already have.
February 9th, 2023 at 4:56 pm
Next few years will be forever known as the mess that BA left us
February 9th, 2023 at 5:02 pm
Just about draft season. I’d expect to hear more about our QB situation once we get to hear from Licht & Bowles at the combine. It is still technically the 2022 season and I wouldn’t expect anybody from within the Bucs organization to coronate Trask as starting QB in February.
An aside tho, I hope when Hainsey goes to train with AQ Shipley this offseason, he brings Leverett & Goedeke along with him. Post-NFL Shipley sounds like he should be “Coach” Shipley real soon and we’ve got the space/room on the offensive staff for his knowledge.
February 9th, 2023 at 5:04 pm
Nobody is babying Trask. He was, pretty much, a steal at the end of the 2nd round. He would have been a much higher pick last year because there were so few QBs.
He was drafted before Brady showed up and that changed, or delayed, things. If Licht drilled the draft, then Trask is anxiously awaiting his turn.
Let’s see what he has an grab a QB in the late rounds. If it makes for an enticement for Monken grab Bennett.
There are going to be too many holes in the roster to not fill legit holes first.
February 9th, 2023 at 5:19 pm
First, I think Arians said a lot in that interview that was total bull…and I’m a big fan of him, so I’m not hating on him.
Second? Nothing wrong with making Trask earn a starting role. against competition.
Fans mainly want the Bucs to win. Personally, I don’t care who is Quarterback or what the cap situation is. I do not care who is cut, traded or released, even though I make suggestions from time to time.
I just want to win. However they make that happen is up to the Bucs. I do not have to agree with their methods.
So…before we assume we are facing ’10 years of losing’, maybe we should wait and see what the actual plan is.
February 9th, 2023 at 5:21 pm
Trask came after the SB season…2021 draft.
If he has not risen to QB2 vs Gabbert, in 2yrs…Not sure he’s a viable option to lead the Bucs to the South!
February 9th, 2023 at 5:24 pm
i don’t know why everyone mentions gabbert. the offense will be changing w the new oc. gabbert is a free agent not under contract and will not have had experience in the new offense. he should be evaluated with all the free agent qbs available to make the most of whatever qb money would be available.
February 9th, 2023 at 5:29 pm
BA is now a ” company ” guy…the answer to your last question is painfully obvious Joe…..who really wants to come to a franchise with the head coach being retained? No one!!!! We have to depend on the draft to fill many positions and that isn’t done very often. “BUD” Lyght has to nail this draft like the jets did last year….and stop trying to prove how smart he is with unknown offensive linemen and kickers in the early rds.
Arians contends that Bowles is doing a Great Job…..all credibility is gone with that statement…
February 9th, 2023 at 5:35 pm
Drilled the draft three years in a row? Hmmm.
February 9th, 2023 at 5:57 pm
The headline made me think it was about Bucs resigning Jameis.
Which actually wouldn’t surprise me.
February 9th, 2023 at 6:11 pm
BA is one of the best BS artists there is. Trask will get a shot. My belief is their worst fears will be confirmed, BUST. A guy drafted 64th, who has dressed for a grand total of one game reeks of the afore mentioned. Hope I’m dead wrong and hope the kid succeeds, but they’ll be going back into the draft for a QB imo. This is a competition based league. Don’t give me the he didn’t get a shot bologna either. They have to at least try to justify the pick.
February 9th, 2023 at 6:20 pm
I still don’t get how you guys think Bowles was going to let a 2nd year player back up Tom Brady as a “break glass in case of emergency” QV over a 10yr former starting veteran who was in the system longer than Trask has been in the NFL. Yes it was a competition, but it wasn’t a live comp from a reliability standpoint and it shouldn’t be the only dot connected to Trasks’ developing his abilities. I’m not the biggest fan of declaring Trask the starting job, but I’m just as anxious to see how he’d he stack up in a REAL QB competiton. It’s a great opportunity for Trask as there’ll be a new playbook, so it’ll all be a level plane because we’ll have at least 3 QBs learning the same thing and performing with the same crop of guys and may the best QB win. Unlike his first two years behind two players with 30 plus year of exp on him, and basically being the odd man out. Think about injuries we’ve had in 2021 & 2022, lol no way you’re dressing a 3rd QB.
February 9th, 2023 at 6:26 pm
WHAT HAPPENED LAST TIME ….
They looked behind Door 2 three seasons ago and came up with TB12. We never would have guessed that when BA said it the first time.
We might be surprised who Licht can get the second time around.
February 9th, 2023 at 6:34 pm
Definitely have a strong core of players need a great OC to bring out that talent and it’s Licht time to shine bayyybeee he has been getting better and better with his drafting
February 9th, 2023 at 6:36 pm
If you ever make it to a TV show you know you have to peak behind door #2. That’s the script. Will it be Jimmy G or maybe even The Return of the Jaymiss? It’s going to be a funny offseason. It is interesting that the only person who has said anything is (not) coach B.A. Who wouldn’t take him as Coach any day of the week? I guess Bowles thinks nothing needs to be said. We already know.
February 9th, 2023 at 6:38 pm
Hodad is absolutely right. BA is just collecting a check now and he’s just blowing hot air. Fans also realize Licht only drafted well a couple of years and got a lot of help from Brady attracting free agents. I’ll always be grateful to Brady and BA for the trophy but it’s time to think beyond this coming season. Let’s see what we have in Trask when he plays with the first stringers and if the vets get pissed then trade them. This last season left a bad taste with the fans and it was evident the players and coaches underachieved and had no energy.
February 9th, 2023 at 6:43 pm
Tom picked us not the other way around.
Licht gets exposed this year…again.
How many winning seasons does Licht have?
THREE
OUT OF NINE SEASONS
Jason Licht only has 3 winning seasons in 9 years.
Think about that…who doesn’t see that he sucks?
February 9th, 2023 at 6:47 pm
This was his second press availability where he didn’t mention his favorite QB, Gabbert
February 9th, 2023 at 6:57 pm
Drilled the draft? Kinda like drilling for deuterium or tritium, LOL.
February 9th, 2023 at 7:09 pm
Yeah, great draft last year 😂…..the only pick that was good was the punter!!! Completely wiffed on the trade back from the first round and picking Hall in the early second round. I knew it was bad when it happened but it turned out to be even worse than I thought. The rest won’t make it to their second contracts.
February 9th, 2023 at 7:28 pm
The only reason you look behind door #2 is because you’re not happy with what you already have!
February 9th, 2023 at 7:30 pm
BUCman: It might be a little early to call the Bucs 2022 draft a complete bust. You know, after one year…Rachaad White and Cade Otton looked decent enough.
February 9th, 2023 at 7:35 pm
Redeemer, when did Trask compete with Gabbert playing with the ones? Never. If you disagree, give us a link to this competition nobody’s ever heard of.
February 9th, 2023 at 7:40 pm
Todd Bowels single handedly sabotaged our no risk it no biscuit offense, made Byron Leftwich the scapegoat and fired him. Todd Bowels is an extremely incompetent head coach who not only cannot fix an offense, but he also ruins a good offense as well!
February 9th, 2023 at 7:42 pm
LOL! 😃 Ignoring the three year rule I’ll say that I thought last year was a good one. However, the jury is still out on the past two years overall for me. The first two picks for 2020 have proven to have been GREAT. The third pick was solid.
February 9th, 2023 at 7:48 pm
Yes, go ahead and check out Door #2. It has been said that you can never have enough QBs. In general I’ll buy that. I’m pulling for us to get the guy from Tennessee (HH).
Go Bucs!
February 9th, 2023 at 7:56 pm
Stop all these non-sense talks. The young qb waited two years to play. Award him. He wasn’t coached up or play any meaning full snaps. None of 2022 free market agent qb’s paned out. We couldn’t even win a playoff game with Tom B. last season let a lone win qb’s like Derek C. The crowd will be chanting Kyle’s name with first pick by any free market they decide to hire.
February 9th, 2023 at 8:02 pm
This Bruce moment brought to you by copious amounts of Crown Royal.
February 9th, 2023 at 8:06 pm
By that standard Ryan Griffin should start. He’s been here longer.
February 9th, 2023 at 8:14 pm
I have to agree with JimbobBucsFan.
Claiming the last 2 drafts were bad is very premature. The amount of playing time they got this past season will undoubtedly aid them in the long run.
But the three year rule is the real measuring stick. Fans tend to give up on players too quickly. Case in point, after Mike Evans 2nd year, many around here wanted him cut. As you may recall, he struggled a little that year.
Imagine if those fans had gotten their way.
Another example…Vita Vea. Before he even played in a game, fans here assumed he was a bad pick because of his injury. Imagine If.
The point is, some people around here always have nothing but negative things to say. They have spent their entire time here trying to convince us there is no hope, that we need to tear it all down and start again, that we need to tank or are looking at 10 years of losing.
So how about this: Let’s just see how things play out. Then…react.
Don’t cut the grass before it’s grown.
February 9th, 2023 at 8:15 pm
Licht is considered a successful GM because his draft picks have been above average. Depending on whose stats you consider first round picks are considered busts 50-70% of the time and the success rate goes down from there. Licht is sitting right at a 50% success rate in the first round.
February 9th, 2023 at 8:54 pm
I don’t know how the numbers work out NFL-wide, but I’d guess that if we sign 2-3 guys per draft class to a 2nd contract we’d have done at least average, possibly better. And oftentimes guys don’t really mature as a key contributor until their 3rd or 4th year (Nelson’s a good example IMO).
JL’s had a couple of BAAAD draft classes (2016 & 2017 except for CG14 come to mind, and 2014 was no banner year either, except for ME13). But he’s also hit on a few good ones (2015 comes to mind, as well as 2018 & 2019). The more recent ones are still up for debate.
The bottom line to me ends with the question ‘Is the core of your team coming from the draft?’ I think we could probably answer ‘Yes’ to that for both our offense & our defense. That answer could change for the defense however depending on what happens in the upcoming FA period. If we lose most of the guys who we drafted & developed like LVD, Gholston, RNR, Dean, SMB, Edwards & Nelson we’ll be hurting on defense.
February 9th, 2023 at 9:03 pm
Yes, Bonzai, sprinkle in even a litlle optimism when evaluating what our brain trust is attempting to do under Jason Licht’s stewardship. In other words some fans need to cut Arians and Bowles some slack.
I also have mixed emtions about this past season, probably like any other normal fan at this point. I’m now trying to back off and am willing to let Todd have one more go at it.
February 9th, 2023 at 9:14 pm
Tom Brady retired because he knows offenses can’t flourish under Todd Bowels!!!! 😡
February 9th, 2023 at 9:15 pm
For me I think the only two really bad picks were the kicker and Winston. The only reason I really didn’t like the Winston pick is that the team wasn’t a QB away from being good so he should have traded that pick and hauled in at least 2 firsts and probably a few other picks too and used those to build the team.
February 9th, 2023 at 9:22 pm
Trask is the only QB the Bucs have under contract so they had better be looking behind a lot of doors
February 9th, 2023 at 9:28 pm
Just think jamiss the human ATM
Protected by this olé offensive line?
We are talking records here.
Vegas will post the over/under Int’s
At 40. Minimum.
February 9th, 2023 at 9:38 pm
I like the team that we have. If Brady were to come back the bucs would be looking at a 13-4 season. Without him and with all the talent the bucs are an 11-6 team. Still the team to beat in the nfc south with a chance of a sb. championship window is still wide open. you gotta beelive
February 9th, 2023 at 11:32 pm
I love BA but his bias is unbearable and understandable. He’s now the regimes hype man. Of course he wants his guys back to get money, love, and fame, all very natural for a natural leader.
February 9th, 2023 at 11:47 pm
If a QB or coach had 3 wiining season out of 9 would you keep them?
How about a coach?
Time to wake up folks.
Joe, has been ignoring Lichts stats as a GM.
February 9th, 2023 at 11:48 pm
Jason has not yet DRILLED the draft but his average is decent and the jury is out on this last years draft class. There are some studs such as Otton, White & Camarda. I do know that he has drafted some young great talent starting with Wirfs, Winfield Jr., Davis III, Godwin, White, Vea & Dean. Be that as it may; the next draft needs to be his best draft yet.
February 9th, 2023 at 11:50 pm
Except the most important one. Super Bowl ring. Dude has already demonstrated he can build a Super Bowl roster. Why would you run him? Don’t you want the Bucs to win another Super Bowl?
February 10th, 2023 at 12:06 am
Joe, special cicumstances…Brady…he picked us.
He is gone now.
If a GM has 3 winning season out of ten…
Seriosuly…you’d keep him over a fluke couple years?
Licht sucks out loud with out Brady
February 10th, 2023 at 12:08 am
Joe, is another Brady going to be left at our doorstep like an infant at the fire house?
You need to wake up. Licht is trash. SHow me what he’s done WITHOUT brady?
If he has a SEVENTH losing season out of ten…how can you defend that?
You guys related? If you are a true blue Buc fan…I’m not lying.
LICHT is TRASH
February 10th, 2023 at 12:36 am
Just get the O-line in good shape. That’ll take pressure off any QB.
February 10th, 2023 at 3:12 am
The Anomaly, Jason Licht doesn’t coach the team, nor does he play the games.
He assembles the team. And on that, he has done an excellent job.
He was a rookie GM when he came to us, and a powerless one for the most part. Winston was forced on him, for example. It took years before the Glazers let him do his own thing, and once they did…superbowl.
You might say he got lucky…but that is not true. He had to convince Arians to come (the first time the G!azers did not force a coach on him). He made sure he was the first one to call Brady (and Brady said that was what made the difference).
He drafted superstars, and he quickly moved on from superduds (when permitted).
He got Suh. JPP. Jensen. Etc.
Since the Glazers finally stepped back and started trusting him, he’s produced.
So your point doesn’t hold up.
February 10th, 2023 at 8:51 am
THREE WINNING SEASONS OUT OF NINE
He sucks.
Wait till this year…
What GM survives 7/10 LOSING SEASONS
AT what point do you say…he’s a loser?
February 10th, 2023 at 8:55 am
Bucs should do their due diligence. But reality is we have cap issues and there’s a good crop of QB’s coming out of 2024. Logic says you should try to get rid of as much cap money as you can, take your lumps this next season, then come back strong after taking your shot at a franchise QB. That means you probably don’t want to be investing in a QB in 2023, so either roll with Trask or your door #2 QB better be a cheap young QB from around the league.
February 10th, 2023 at 9:35 am
Hey The Anomaly, Tell us your draft choices for the Buccaneers this 2023 draft, and let’s all see how “good” you are at being the GM. Now do not ghost us after the 23 season. Because your Anomolis draft choices did not work out as well as you thought they would, and do not use the injury excuse if that is to happen. Then you can get up here and proclaim your expertise at being the JBF posters Buccaneers GM. You never know you may get hired by one of the 32 NFL teams if your picks are all perfect.
February 10th, 2023 at 10:34 am
@ rusty – what does have anything to do with 3 winning seasons out of nine?
Tell me if that is good or not…he is the one constant in all of this.
I don’t have to be Beethoven to know someone can’t play the piano.
I don’t have to be Tom Brady to know a pass was a bad throw.
I don’t have to be a GM to know that Licht sucks.
Try again.
February 10th, 2023 at 11:18 am
I think we have too many, aging, overpriced players on the team. It’s time for a rebuild around a young QB with high potential. We won’t get a Tom Brady again who takes us to the superbowl in the first year he is on the team. Look to the future and take small steps that lead us back to the promised land. Trask is not up to the task Bowles needs to go. He is totally incompetent.
February 11th, 2023 at 1:18 pm
Lots of arm chair GM and experts commenting, Send in your resume to the team, They may hire you to win the next super bowl, Should be easy for all these experts.