Winning With Jason Licht (Part V): Trade Patience
March 5th, 2025
The Bucs sit in rare territory as a team that’s won four consecutive division titles after winning a Super Bowl.
The architect of this sustained success is Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht, so Joe has talked to many people not named “Licht” about how the boss has executed during this historic stretch.
(Parts 1-4 of this series below and yeah, many more parts are on the way):
Joe sat down last year with Buccaneers assistant general manager Mike Greenberg for insight into moves under Licht.
One nugget that struck Joe was the trade for Rob Gronkowski after the Bucs signed Tom Brady. That sure seemed simple on the surface. Brady wants Gronk; Gronk was unretiring and it was easy to assume he wanted to play with Brady only. And the Patriots had little incentive to keep Gronk if he wanted to move on.
Well, not so simple, Greenberg explained.
Greenberg lauded Licht for his patience on that trade.
The Bucs dealt a 2020 fourth-round pick for Gronk right before the 2020 NFL Draft, but a potential trade was in motion weeks prior, Greenberg said, and Licht would not pull the trigger.
Licht didn’t like the price tag and wanted to play it cool.
The requested compensation for Gronk was much greater than a fourth-rounder, per Greenberg, and the Bucs would have valued Gronk up to a second-round pick. He was still 30 years old and his talent level could have justified premium draft capital.
Still, weeks went by and Licht didn’t flinch.
“The price for Gronk was a lot higher,” Greenberg said. “Jason waited it out and was patient, the draft was really the deadline and we got it done like the day before the draft. … Jason let it play out and develop and I’ll give Jason a lot of credit on the patience.”
Imagine if Licht was too hungry to land Gronk and satisfy Tom Brady?
Say the Bucs dealt their 2020 second-round pick for Gronk and got back two fourth-round picks from New England along with the Hall of Fame tight end. Not a terrible deal on paper. But that second-rounder (No. 45 overall) became All-Pro Bucs safety Antoine Winfield Jr., a huge rookie contributor to the 2020 Super Bowl team.
Do the Bucs win the Super Bowl without Winfield’s critical forced fumble in the playoffs against the Saints, trailing by a touchdown in the third quarter?
In a future edition, Joe’s got an example of Licht being impatient on draft day and it paying off.
Winning With Jason Licht (Part IV): Underrated Move
Winning With Jason Licht (Part III) “A Victory Lap”
Winning With Jason Licht (Part II) — The Change Of Scenery List
Winning With Jason Licht (Part I) — The Turning Point Signing
Special Guest Jason Licht Joins The Ira Kaufman Podcast — Live From The NFL Combine in Indianapolis.
March 5th, 2025 at 6:07 pm
Yep, we fans are about to get a bit of an education about when to be patient in the NFL. Thanks for the interesting article, @Joe.
March 5th, 2025 at 6:10 pm
I wonder if Dillon Gabriel is on the Bucs radar as a UDFA or 6-7 round prospect?
He definitely gives off Brock Purdy vibes: Smart, accurate, lots of experience.
March 5th, 2025 at 6:31 pm
Barstool talked with Liam Coen and he had a great comment about Bucky being a dawg and showing up everyday at 5am and hanging out with 87 year old Tom Moore all the time.
March 5th, 2025 at 7:11 pm
Sly –
I don’t think that I have every seen a spider chart like Dillon Gabriel’s – 49% at the top for 40 speed, 33% at the bottom for hand size, then a 2%, another 2%, a 5% and a 7%. If that was a my shooting range target, I would be pretty happy with it.
So, his measurables are frightening. But, he has certainly been productive. I think that the Bucs are too needy to spend any draft pick on him this year. But, I would invite him to camp if he doesn’t get drafted.
March 5th, 2025 at 7:11 pm
.500 or bust
March 5th, 2025 at 8:11 pm
Great series, Joe.
March 5th, 2025 at 8:40 pm
Another home run Joe!
Thanks!
March 5th, 2025 at 10:26 pm
In a future edition, Joe’s got an example of Licht being impatient on draft day and it paying off.
***
I’m guessing this is the trade up to get Wirfs.
March 5th, 2025 at 10:37 pm
Awesome story.
Well there is Joey Bosa in the Market.
Quite a few Edge options thus year. Truly no reason or excuse to miss out on one. Come on JL, sign Godwin and David, acquire one of these beast OLBs, Draft Campbell, and handle the rest of business
March 6th, 2025 at 2:35 am
Im assuming you mean Jihaad Campbell?
He also brings production in sacks.
I like guys that add EXTRA value.
Emmanwori for instance can play ILB and be a 3rd safety.
Shemar Stewart could add weight and play DT.
The more OL picks early the better for Tampa this year.
FA is now LOADED with guys on the move, so we have to get late age production from one or two of these veterans.
Play the cards right and Tampa is looking exciting.
March 6th, 2025 at 4:50 am
Informative and interesting series. Thank you, Joe!
March 6th, 2025 at 6:53 am
BillyBucco, agree about Extra Value. Some of these hybrid type players like Campbell can make a huge difference. Winfield can even blitz from safety and get a few sacks. I don’t wanna see alot of safety and corner blitzes though. Let’s get more studs in the front seven and let them pin their ears back. Now if we get a safety with size and speed like Emmanwori? I’m cool with him blitzing some!