Jason Licht Said Chris Braswell Will Have A “Coming Out Party”
April 10th, 2025
Party in 2025?
Back at the combine in February, Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht told the “Ira Kaufman Podcast” that 2024 second-round pick Chris Braswell will “shock” folks with his play this fall.
Speaking today Lbout the draft, Licht once again singled out Braswell as a player who will plant his flag into the turf of The Licht House in 2025.
Licht was discussing evaluating edge rushers today at One Buc Palace when he purposely invoked Braswell.
“We feel good about where we’re at,” Licht said of the Bucs’ front-five. “And like I’ve talked about before, with Braswell, I’m excited about what he can do this year.
“I think he’s going to [have] a little bit of a coming out party in his role.”
What Braswell’s role is, that’s unclear. YaYa Diaby is a starter. And it seems very difficult to believe the Bucs dropped $14 million of Team Glazer loot on Haason Reddick to be a backup.
Is Braswell changing positions to inside linebacker? To defensive tackle? Otherwise, Joe cannot see Braswell starting.
And what would “shock” be for Braswell, six sacks? That would more than triple the total (1.5) from his rookie season. Joe isn’t ragging on Braswell here. Rarely do rookie edge rushers do anything. So to kill Braswell here isn’t fair.
And it’s not like the Bucs have a rich history of pumping out and developing edge rushers (name a decent edge rusher the Bucs have developed since they drafted Lee Roy Selmon 49 years ago. Go ahead, Joe will wait).
Joe doesn’t know how Braswell will shock or have a party unless he’s on the field a lot. And at least in the middle of April, it doesn’t appear that Braswell will be a starter.
April 10th, 2025 at 2:47 pm
Pre draft smoke
April 10th, 2025 at 2:57 pm
So he’s a Carl Nassib disciple?
April 10th, 2025 at 3:09 pm
29th ranked Pass Defense is where this team needs to improve from to be a Super Bowl team. Goes without saying the Offense is Top 5. All the Baker haters seem to have gone underground now that it’s obvious he is a Top 10 QB that we have our First QB that we can really call a Franchise QB for a long period of time. He/We both had perfect timing. Go Bucs!!
April 10th, 2025 at 3:14 pm
Hes the 3rd rusher and will definitely get on the field a lot. He’s the reason we won’t be taking an edge in the first three rounds
April 10th, 2025 at 3:20 pm
“And it’s not like the Bucs have a rich history of pumping out and developing edge rushers (name a decent edge rusher the Bucs have developed since they drafted Lee Roy Selmon 49 years ago. Go ahead, Joe will wait).”
————-
Well, a franchise is inanimate and as such it does not do things like “pump out pass rushers”. Coaches do that or in this particular case do not. No hint needed as we know that story all too well.. Would be a nice surprise if he did flourish but as you rightly point out he was a rookie so it would be unfair to prejudge his development. Let’s just say fingers are crossed and in Licht we trust.
April 10th, 2025 at 3:20 pm
A little party. In his role. So much for shocking people lol
April 10th, 2025 at 3:21 pm
Diaby is only a starter if he’s healthy.
April 10th, 2025 at 3:29 pm
I sincerely hope Licht is not hinting we already have enough pass rushers. Because we do not. If one is there at 19 they like, they should grab him. You can never have enough pass rushers.
April 10th, 2025 at 3:31 pm
Brass will spell Reddick on the left side with Yaya and Nelly on the right. Maybe Licht thinks new OLB coach Foote can bring out the best in Brass? Maybe Reddick mentor Brass.
April 10th, 2025 at 3:59 pm
Braswell will be JTS clone. We need another OLB. Yaya and Hassan are our only proven pass rushers.
April 10th, 2025 at 4:25 pm
Bustwell did next to nothing last year. Given what he looked like when he was on the field, I’m not expecting anything more this year. He is a LONG way away from contributing.
April 10th, 2025 at 4:28 pm
Hopefully it’s more like the one that Shaq Barrett had and less like the one that Michael Sam had.
April 10th, 2025 at 4:29 pm
I’m thinking that Bowles will use Reddick situationally this year (yes, emphasis on passing situations). I think he’ll be closer to 50% def snaps than to his career 70% (roughly).
I agree with Jason that Braswell will really come on this 2nd year. He seems to play the run well, and that’ll endear him to Todd Bowles for sure.
April 10th, 2025 at 4:40 pm
ModHairKen Says:
April 10th, 2025 at 3:21 pm
NEWSFLASH >>> That applies to most starters in the NFL except for the elite few who can play well even while injured.
April 10th, 2025 at 4:41 pm
Mhystc Says:
April 10th, 2025 at 3:59 pm
Idiot take.
April 10th, 2025 at 4:56 pm
Hugh Green.
April 10th, 2025 at 4:58 pm
Braswell played about as good as Reddick did last year.
April 10th, 2025 at 4:58 pm
Brian in St Pete Says:
April 10th, 2025 at 4:28 pm
And here we have the mentality of a high school boy, insecure in his manhood.
April 10th, 2025 at 5:00 pm
Anyone who calls a guy a bust after only a single year is just phuuken retarded.
April 10th, 2025 at 5:01 pm
Anyone who calls a guy a bust after only a single year is just ph00ken reta rded.
April 10th, 2025 at 5:15 pm
Lee Roy Selmon was a true DE when he played for the Bucs and hardly an edge rusher. This Braswell comment is coming from the same brain that signed Randy Gregory as a FA last season and who also drafted a combine athlete in JTMS.
April 10th, 2025 at 5:20 pm
Most of the people on this forum thought we should have cut Goedeke in the middle of his rookie year
April 10th, 2025 at 5:25 pm
They said that about Logan Hall and Carlton Davis said that in 2022 season right when Bucs were about to take on Chiefs. They got roasted obviously, dominated by Chiefs offense. I will see it and then believe it. Braswell is a good kid, but he doesn’t have the bend around the edge. He is more a speed to power guy that wins with hustle and bull rush.
April 10th, 2025 at 5:32 pm
FilthyAnimal Says:
April 10th, 2025 at 5:01 pm
Anyone who calls a guy a bust after only a single year is just ph00ken reta rded.
Bold strategy to call my well crafted joke immature and then turning around and calling someone ret*rded. 😂😂😂
April 10th, 2025 at 5:36 pm
“Beeej Says:
April 10th, 2025 at 5:20 pm
Most of the people on this forum thought we should have cut Goedeke in the middle of his rookie year”
and
Carleton Davis
Alex Cappa
Donovan Smith….
——–
——-
all the way back to Ronde Barber
April 10th, 2025 at 5:40 pm
Brian in St Pete Says:
April 10th, 2025 at 5:32 pm
“well crafted” 😂😂😂
Maybe ret*rded is not the appropriate word. Perhaps stupid would be more appropriate. Let me correct myself — Anyone who calls a guy a bust after only a single year is just ph00ken stupid.
April 10th, 2025 at 5:45 pm
Jonny Says:
April 10th, 2025 at 5:25 pm
And there are successful pass-rushers around the league who are speed to power, hustlle and bull rush. So, maybe he’s not going to lead the league in sacks. Around here you’d think that makes him a bust. Even if he tops out as “only” an 8 sack per season kinda player, that’s a guy you want on your team. We’ll see how far he’s come along this year.
April 10th, 2025 at 5:58 pm
Bucs need to go to a base 4 man front and get real DEs, not little OLBs that get pushed around by bigger OTs. Braswell doesn’t strike me as a guy that can bull rush so I don’t expect much from him in the current defensive scheme. Hope he proves me wrong.
April 10th, 2025 at 6:13 pm
Braswell is already a HUGE upgrade over the thankfully departed JTS!
Braswell plays the run at least as well or better at this point and his pass rush is stronger & much more direct ( better contain)
Any real BUC fan can see that.
Don’t want to hear any negative bs about how anyone would be better than jts , as that would just prove the point about any real BUCs fan.
Braswell is already an upgrade and he is not even slated to start the season.
Now our rotational OLBs are better than what we put on the field as starters last year. Who knows what his ceiling is but his floor is already much higher than what we had last year with jts.
April 10th, 2025 at 6:53 pm
Pleeese stop defending a player that has shown nothing in his one year playing. He may turn into another Simion Rice, however, he sure isn’t there now. All this pre-season hype is similar to what they said about JTS. So far the current status of Braswell is a lot closer to JTS than Simion Rice.
Last year NOBODY predicted Bucky’s success other than a few of us on this board. So much for Buc corporate hype.
April 10th, 2025 at 6:56 pm
geno711 Says:
April 10th, 2025 at 5:36 pm
“Beeej Says:
April 10th, 2025 at 5:20 pm
Most of the people on this forum thought we should have cut Goedeke in the middle of his rookie year”
and
Carleton Davis
Alex Cappa
Donovan Smith….
——–
——-
all the way back to Ronde Barber
_________
JBF hasn’t been around that long man.
😀
April 10th, 2025 at 6:59 pm
Saw a glimmer of hope from Braswell last year. He needs to be assertive in training camp and nail down a starting role. Best to let rookies make mistakes and learn from them. The defense was so horrible last year not sure what TB was protecting by not getting Braswell more playing time?
April 10th, 2025 at 7:01 pm
Mhystc Says, “Braswell will be JTS clone. We need another OLB. Yaya and Hassan are our only proven pass rushers.”
No – JST and Braswell are not clones. JST did not have any power, only spend. He was also tight in the hips. Braswell has plenty of power, he just didn’t grasp the defense nor was he able to adjust to the speed of the NFL. Some players, especially edge rushers, take time to mature. I think this year will be much better for Braswell.
April 10th, 2025 at 8:05 pm
BucsfaninOregon Says:
April 10th, 2025 at 6:53 pm
Nope. I’ll defend guys who don’t do much in their rookie years because these are kids making a jump to pro football and it’s not always an instantaneous transition, and because calling guys a bust after one season is absolutely asinine.
April 10th, 2025 at 8:16 pm
Joe makes a good point, in fact we are set at edge, we just need backups with potential. Perhaps we should not consider edge in the first round. Who ever we draft 1st round needs to play. Jihad Campbell if available. Corner in round 2 and round 3.
April 10th, 2025 at 8:47 pm
I think braswell’s development was stunted by having JTS here last year. Yes we brought in Reddick and that will limit his snap share. But as a rotational player I could still see him getting about 50% of the snaps between spelling Diaby and Reddick.
I honestly think with her top four edge rushers that we do not necessarily have to pick somebody in the first round if we feel that there is better value with a player from the secondary.
There are a few very good corners and safeties that might be available in the first two rounds and I would think that would be the best investment of draft capital and then go for a player like Chris Paul at inside linebacker in the third and developmental edge rusher like that guy from UCLA in the fourth.
Or if you are really high on Demetrius night you take him in the second and go for another corner like Cobe Bryant in the third.
April 10th, 2025 at 9:48 pm
if campbell is not there at 19 THE BUCS NEED TO DRAFT ezarocku & draft xavier watts in the second…watts will be a all pro safety one day & and then rounds 3 & 4 we can draft corner, linebacker, tight end & more corners
April 10th, 2025 at 9:53 pm
A full season training with the big dawgs will help. Like Joe said we havnt developed a pass rusher in almost 50 years. Gotta change that. Please bring someone in who specializes in pass rushing.
April 10th, 2025 at 11:08 pm
The Bucs should and will ignore opinions from fans about who to draft. They should draft whoever they think makes the most impact on the team this year and in the future. Who I think they should take matters so little that I no longer even have an opinion. The rest of the armchair GMs could save themselves some headaches by recognizing the professionals know better. Your opinions are as worthless as a$$wipe.
April 10th, 2025 at 11:36 pm
I think Braswell has a chance to be an average edge rusher. I make my assessment based on my super technical analysis method of he wasn’t absolutely terrible as a rookie.i think average is his ceiling because he also wasn’t good as a rookie either. Average isn’t bad though we need a ton of average NFL players to fill out the roster.
April 11th, 2025 at 4:52 am
I think, with injuries and general rotation reddick, diaby, braswell, nelson, and any potential drafted edge rusher will all get reps. bowles is going to give the hot hand more reps. like he *eventually* did with bucky.
April 11th, 2025 at 7:08 am
Has Jason been having private workouts at One Buc?
He’s been saying this kind of stuff alot lately. Love his confidance but…
Go Bucs!
April 11th, 2025 at 8:24 am
trying to convince teams he’s worth trading for?
April 11th, 2025 at 11:36 am
I enjoy the humor in the above. Got a lot of chuckles. Thank you for the laughs.
As for Braswell, on the rare occasions he actually rushed the passer instead of dropping into “empty grass zone” he looked ok at it. Maybe with some coaching to be a better pass rusher, he might improve. Novel concept, I realize.
April 11th, 2025 at 11:43 am
I’m super excited to see what Braswell brings the guy is gonna blow up just watch
April 11th, 2025 at 12:05 pm
Feel this for me Joe. Ok I can see Braswell be cautiously optimistic and a little shy seeing the way he stayed in Bama like he did. They don’t all break records in their first year right. I hope he gets in Reddicks good grace and does what he’s here in the NFL for. To Have Fun doing what you love baby. Let’s Go Bucs!!!!
April 11th, 2025 at 2:29 pm
I must say: Braswell didn’t exactly give me much reason to have high hopes for him. I’m not ready to give up on him just yet, but I have doubts.