Misguided Jason Licht Bashing
April 16th, 2015
You want to rip the Bucs’ general manager for offseason decisions last year that set the team backwards. Fine. Enjoy yourself.
But the blasting of Jason Licht for yesterday’s George Johnson trade is way off base.
Joe reads the online anger. After Detroit matched Tampa Bay’s generous restricted-free-agent offer for the Lions defensive end — $2.75 million guaranteed for 2015 — the two teams agreed on a trade. The Bucs got Johnson and a seventh-round pick, and Tampa Bay coughed up the final pick of the fifth round. That’s the pick they got in the Jonathan Casillas trade.
For those who forgot, in October, the Bucs traded Casillas and their sixth-round pick this year for the Patriots’ 2015 fifth-rounder. New England won the Super Bowl, so it became the last pick of the fifth round.
The bottom line is the Bucs picked up a low-mileage, young pass rusher on the rise, a desperate need on this team, in exchange for losing a little bit of leverage in the draft.
It was a no-brainer move, yet some think Licht choked by not getting a better deal or by not offering Johnson more money initially, so the Lions would be scared to match it.
Joe finds all that silly.
If the Bucs want more draft picks, then they have expendable players to move. See Mike Glennon and Doug Martin. Joe doesn’t forsee either here for the Bucs’ next Super Bowl run.
April 16th, 2015 at 9:43 am
Not a big deal he coughed up a 5th rounder, but just more of the same by getting fleeced in a trade. The Lions were going to get nothing, instead they got a 5th rounder, all thanks to Licht. Let’s not forget the Hawk trade either.
Or the Zuttah trade.
Or the Wright trade.
April 16th, 2015 at 9:46 am
Option A: Sign player X to legal contract, keep pick 168
Option B: Sign player X to invalid contract, lose pick 168, get pick 231
If you’re somehow saying Option B is the same as Optiom A, I got ocean front property to sell in Oklahoma/Iowa/Tennessee/ etc… It’s incompetence, pure and simple. They structure the contract to try and avoid paying money up front (for a team with $30 million in cap space?), they got cute, they got torched. Why did they get cute? Couldn’t tell you, but acting like this is all good is slurping and Kool Aid drinking.
The Bucs need OLineman and DLineman, and now there will be a good 15-20 better ones selected between 168 and 231. The Bucs have so many holes, giving up 63 spots in the draft for a rotational player is quite poor. They paid the pick to avoid the humiliation of having the arbitrator rule against them. If Carolina did the exact same thing, we’d be laughing at them. But because the Bucs did it, it’s fine, it’s all good, no issue. Right.
April 16th, 2015 at 9:47 am
My problem Joe is the Buccaneers were signing a restricted FA and it turned into a trade.
April 16th, 2015 at 9:49 am
If lovie truly has full control as joe and others have reported frequently than any criticism lobbed Licht’s way is unjustified because he is doing what he is told. Go back and review Licht’s resume / teams. He has had his hand in building some very successful teams over the years and has been apart of a lot more playoff winning teams than his boss has built.
April 16th, 2015 at 9:56 am
I don’t know why the Glazers wouldn’t fire GM and all the personnel people and just let the fans and media run the club.
April 16th, 2015 at 9:57 am
Once again I’ll bring the question up that nobody has answered.
-We have ONE QB right now = Glennon
-People want to trade Glennon in the draft = 0 QBs
-We draft a QB in the draft and trade Glennon = 1 QB
We can’t play a season with only 1 QB. Are we now going to draft another QB because we traded Glennon?
Are we going to just take some Undrafted cats and hope they figure out how to play. 99.9% are not going to be Romo. So then we are left hurting at the QB position once again.
April 16th, 2015 at 9:58 am
As mentioned, it hurts a little when you find ways to give up assets for people who are free to sign with you without compensation. That’s a bush league move from the team with the worst record in the league, not surprising.
April 16th, 2015 at 9:58 am
Obviously someone at Joes reads this stuff.
April 16th, 2015 at 9:58 am
the anger i think is that the Lions Tendered him for nothing, so it should have been either the Lions matched the salary or the bucs got him.
its like you go to publix and the steak is $10 but when you buy the steak you pay $10 and trade 4 good stamps and a 5 dollar gift card.
In other words, the bucs got fleeced!!!
April 16th, 2015 at 9:59 am
Poorly constructed contract that allowed the Lions to steal a draft pick. Put that one on Licht. Last year I put squarely on Lovie. He insisted that he had full control and Licht was hired after the head coach so I believe Lovie takes the heat for last year. If Johnson only has 3-4 sacks this year we will have again been a victim of Lovie’s reaching on talent.
April 16th, 2015 at 10:01 am
Johnson, 27, signed an offer sheet with the Bucs last week, but the Lions contested terms of the deal, which included de-escalators that could have lowered Johnson’s second- and third-year salaries with Tampa Bay.
According to Article 9, Section 3 of the CBA, teams match only the “principle terms” of a restricted free agent offer sheet, including base salary, roster and signing bonuses.
The Lions and the NFL believe that de-escalators do not fall under the “principle terms” guidelines, and the two sides were set to go before an arbitrator in the next week.
Johnson’s deal included just a base salary and roster bonus totaling $2.75 million this year, so there are no salary cap implications for the Lions in a trade.
A journeyman pass rusher who split his first four seasons between Tampa Bay and the Minnesota Vikings, Johnson had a career-high six sacks for the Lions last year — the first six sacks of his career — and averaged about 30 snaps per game.
He played as the team’s No. 3 defensive end. -Detroit Free Press
April 16th, 2015 at 10:02 am
Skyline Crew
Glennon can be replaced off the street at any time. It’s not like Glennon is a threat to start. The real concern is there is not a left tackle on the roster at all. that’s the real scary part… Moving Dotson is not the answer.
April 16th, 2015 at 10:03 am
If they had kept Clayborn all of this would be unnecessary.
Still, I confused by BUCRIGHTOFF’S’s logic.
First you say it was from an invalid contract and then you turn around and say it was from not giving more guaranteed money.
Which one is it Plank.
Fifth round picks have a 20 percent chance of making it in the NFL although there are a few notable exceptions, I haven’t seen any playing for the Bucs.
Apparently you are a gambler though Plank. You would rather gamble on an unproven commodity rather than a proven one.
Fine..
But if you are busting on Licht because he didn’t give enough guaranteed money. the team got in a lot of trouble last year and I have no problem with that.
Whatever the case, you are not only wrong. but very confusing with the facts as well.
Big surprise/
April 16th, 2015 at 10:05 am
Man I give a rats arse about a second fifth rounder. Yea I know Richard Sherman was found I the fifth round. I’m familiar with the Alfred Morris story,Brady and Terrel Davis. But show me a story like that from every draft over the last ten years then maybe I’ll cry about giving up a second pick of the fifth round.
April 16th, 2015 at 10:05 am
I happily bash a guy that selected those free agents on the o-line last year. he then got rid of them wasting millions of dollars. oh yeah I forgot the guy you called the ghost on the d-line. wasn’t this the same guy that wasted more millions on him….he deserves to be bashed. what an o-line the bucs currently have. the worst 0-line in the nfl thanks to this guy. he has done absolutely nothing to improve it. if your guy Winston( by some miracle) is drafted by the bucs he will sacked and pressured more than any QB in the history of the nfl.
April 16th, 2015 at 10:07 am
Damn,thank the Gods fan don’t have input.
April 16th, 2015 at 10:10 am
This O line griping and complaining everyday as if these people are not about to take the two most quality O linemen that will be available to them. They’ll draft them right before your eyes,and like click work you’ll find something else to complain about.
April 16th, 2015 at 10:10 am
You would have to find 2 guys off the street instead of 1 tmaxcon.
Also, what if our #1 pick gets hurt? Now you have guy off the street playing QB with no experience. Makes sense, right?
April 16th, 2015 at 10:14 am
How does a FA acquisition turn into a trade? Only the Buc’s. With this latest inept move I am scared to see how they draft. I don’t see this regime lasting past next year. I tried to be positive but the moves they make are questionable to say the least. I hope I’m wrong.
April 16th, 2015 at 10:14 am
The Bucs traded Jonathan Casillas and a 6th rounder for George Johnson and a 7th. I wouldn’t call this “fleecing”, it is re-arranging assets to fit your plans/needs. As was mentioned above, the Bucs will have plenty of ability to move around in the draft with the picks that they currently have, as well as possible compensation for moving players (Glennon, Martin, etc.)
April 16th, 2015 at 10:14 am
%The reading comprehension skills of the people who read these stores and post comments must be at the second grade level.
It clearly states in the story the Lions matched the Bucs offer. As an UFA, that is all the Lions had to do to retain the services of Johnson/
I mean really. This just shows how many people want to post negative comments without reading or understanding all the facts.
I would hope the people that did feel stupid now but of course they won’t.
April 16th, 2015 at 10:14 am
For the record, This is an all Lovie move, I am sure that he said “get this guy no matter what”! Licht has to get approval from lovie to trade.
April 16th, 2015 at 10:17 am
Skyline Crew
i get what you are saying and obviously we have differing view points on this but I feel the draft pick glennon would bring is more valuable than keeping him. I don’t share the same appreciation for the lad that you do. I believe they can grab a vet second round of cuts and a developmental guy along the way just in case. all the attention needs to be placed on Winston but having a plan in place for injury is a must.
April 16th, 2015 at 10:18 am
Seth Lobato is the bucs 2nd QB currently.
April 16th, 2015 at 10:19 am
Thank you drdneast.
April 16th, 2015 at 10:19 am
that lower 5th round pick could have been used to trade for an existing starting O.Lineman!!!
April 16th, 2015 at 10:21 am
Skyline Crew
I would agree with you more if the bucs were close to a playoff run but that is 3 or 4 years down the road with all the holes. Rookie QB, No Oline, Average D keeping a backup around that can fetch value seems like a no brainer you move him for a piece of the future.
April 16th, 2015 at 10:22 am
Per SportTrac.com:
Michael Vick
Kyle Orton
Jason Campbell
Tavaris jackson
Matt Flynn
Ryan Lindley
Jordan palmer
Case Keenum
Pat Devlin
Tyler Thigpen
That’s the list of current free agent QBs right now. Looking at that list, I can see 2-3 people that can be serviceable if the need arises. As much as you hate to hear it, Glennon is replaceable, especially if (read: when) we draft a QB #1 overall this year.
And 9 time out of 10, if you’re down to your third string QB starting, then you’re already in a bad spot.
April 16th, 2015 at 10:23 am
This comment section is quite funny. There will be people complaining, and then there are people complaining about the complaining, who pretend they are better than the former, yet in the end, everyone is complaining about something.
You know what shuts all this up?
WINNING.
April 16th, 2015 at 10:23 am
Last I read the team still has 8picks with the potential for more cause trust and believe Martin and Glennon days are numbered with this organization.
April 16th, 2015 at 10:23 am
And a majority of players that sign a reserve/future contract are cut in the summer. So until he actually makes the team we still only have 1 QB.
April 16th, 2015 at 10:24 am
If Licht doesn’t have final authority, it’s hard to properly judge him. Glazers gave Lovie final say.
My biggest hope is he lets Koetter work autonomously on offense.
April 16th, 2015 at 10:25 am
My concern with this transaction, is that the Bucs knew the Lions may match, regardless of how the deal was structured; it was the Lions’ right to match any offer. Why not let arbitrator do his thing, make a ruling, and if the Lions’ still wanted to match, let them, and if the Bucs still wanted the player (which seems like they would have) make the trade then?
Based on the compensation they received, moving up 50 spots at the bottom of the draft, it doesn’t seem like they really wanted Johnson at the salary the Bucs were offering.
The Lions had no leverage to request a trade, yet we still handed them a 5th rnd pick for their 7th rnd pick. Will the difference in the caliber of player be that great? Not likely, however if the Bucs wanted to move from their 2nd round position (34th overall) to somewhere near the bottom of round 1 (say 30-32), it would have been a little easier with that 5th round pick, than with the 7th.
Perhaps Johnson becomes a Michael Bennett type, and the criticism for this move will go away, that would be great, but perhaps not.
I give credit to the Lions on this one, as they turned a situation in which they should have got nothing, in to a slightly stronger draft position.
April 16th, 2015 at 10:25 am
and why not a 6th rounder? …lions were getting nothing to start with…it would seem a 6th would have satisfied them…how did they squeeze a 5th out of us?…the other 31 teams must be drooling to deal with the Bucs….fleeced everytime!
April 16th, 2015 at 10:26 am
@Celly
I would take Matt Moore over any of those guys.
April 16th, 2015 at 10:26 am
only a true bucs homer would not recognize this for what it is. the bucs/licht trying to be cute and save a few nickles while not checking their facts 1st.
April 16th, 2015 at 10:26 am
@Celly
Can we get them for less that $1 million like we do Glennon ($846,563)? Or would we need to pay $5 million like McCown?
April 16th, 2015 at 10:28 am
I believe most of the people understand that the Lion matched the offer. The criticism comes from Licht constructing a contract with escalator clauses and incentives when he knew or should know that it should have been guaranteed front end & cap heavy. And there are lots of commenters on JBF who can’t read.
April 16th, 2015 at 10:30 am
@tmaxcon
If we only got a 5-6 rounder out of Glennon I don’t see value in that. Now if we moved up in to the 3rd round with him to get a pick I could eat that. I’m looking at this from a monetary situation and not from a I’ll take any pick I can get for him situation.
April 16th, 2015 at 10:31 am
For those that can’t read:
Johnson, 27, signed an offer sheet with the Bucs last week, but the Lions contested terms of the deal, which included de-escalators that could have lowered Johnson’s second- and third-year salaries with Tampa Bay.
According to Article 9, Section 3 of the CBA, teams match only the “principle terms” of a restricted free agent offer sheet, including base salary, roster and signing bonuses.
The Lions and the NFL believe that de-escalators do not fall under the “principle terms” guidelines, and the two sides were set to go before an arbitrator in the next week. -Detroit Free Press
April 16th, 2015 at 10:32 am
Skyline Crew
why is the dollar amount relevant when the bucs carry over salary cap and never spend to the limit. so you save 200K a year in a billion dollar a week business instead of receiving a draft pick that could potential make your roster for years. yes, I realize we are only talking a 5 or 6th round pick but the salary is irrelevant. Hell Lovie gave away 29million last year with no return you think they are worried about saving a few hundred thousand on a backup.
April 16th, 2015 at 10:32 am
I’m just gonna repost this comment from PFT because it’s the truth and the Lovie/Licht sycophants are really going to hurt themselves reaching for excuses on this one. But this is incompetence, pure and simple.
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Wow. That sucks for TB. It is embarrassing to see the desperation on the part of the TB fans here…
It’s pretty pathetic when you have to start mixing in other moves to try to justify this one. It is very simple: TB gave up a 5th round pick for no reason.
Detroit could have received a 2nd round pick if they thought he was worth $2M per season and tagged him differently. They did not, because he is not worth that much money. There is no way in the world they are going to match TB’s offer, yet TB gave a 5th round pick anyway. That is pure stupidity.
You can try to obscure that fact by discussing other moves the team has made, but we can all see the truth: TB blinked and lost a 5th round draft pick that it did not have to give up.
April 16th, 2015 at 10:34 am
other teams arent as dumb as us… no one is giving up a more than a 4th for glennon and we might get a 5th or 6th for martin. We traded a good player and a 4th for mankins. We trade a good player in casilias to move up ONE spot in the draft, we trade a 5th for johnson, and we traded a boaderline pro bowler in the big Z for a fith rounder. Each move by itself isn’t that bad, but all together along with cutting penn, larsen, davin and revis and replacing with collins,and johnson is why jason is a JOKE
April 16th, 2015 at 10:35 am
They low balled a mid-tier guy they desperately needed when another team had the rights to match. They got predictably burned. I’m glad they got their guy, but giving up the draft position is just inexcusable.
I am losing confidence in Licht. I haven’t lost it, yet. Not every move has been bad. However, the bad moves are starting to stack up.
April 16th, 2015 at 10:38 am
miken
Jason is doing exactly what his boss Lovie telling him to. Lovie has final say. You can’t fault Licht for Lovie’s mistakes. Licht’s is just Lovie’s Lapdog fall guy for the public. Do you accept blame at your job for everyone of your bosses mistakes
April 16th, 2015 at 10:38 am
tmaxcon Says:
April 16th, 2015 at 10:32 am
Skyline Crew
why is the dollar amount relevant when the bucs carry over salary cap and never spend to the limit. so you save 200K a year in a billion dollar a week business instead of receiving a draft pick that could potential make your roster for years. yes, I realize we are only talking a 5 or 6th round pick but the salary is irrelevant. Hell Lovie gave away 29million last year with no return you think they are worried about saving a few hundred thousand on a backup.
___________________
We don’t know what they have planned come June 1 or who is going to be available. You want that money available. Also, no penalty for not spending money.
April 16th, 2015 at 10:40 am
This all comes down to how well Johnson performs…..if he does well…..all will be forgotten….if he doesn’t, then Licht made a bad deal.
We just don’t know at this point….time will tell.
I would say this…..why would we pay more money to avoid this situation…how would he know the Lions would contest or match?
I don’t cut Licht any slack thus far on the FA failures…..all the blame seems to go to Lovie….Licht is a nice guy and hard to dislike….but he’s the GM.
April 16th, 2015 at 10:43 am
I dont care if Johnson becomes a pro bowler…the issue as of today is: we were getting this part time player for no compensation and it turns into a 5th rounder trade…brutal!!
April 16th, 2015 at 10:43 am
So….
You would rather give up our ONLY 6th round pick instead of ONE OF our 5th round pics?
True, but he’s signed to the Dolphins, so that’s not an option
Well, we’d be paying for a guy with WAY more experience than Glennon.
But at the end of the day, we still have a large amount of cap space left. We have to spend the money, so why not spend it on a guy with some real experience in the leage.
I know you guys hate to hear this, but Glennon has only won 5 games in the leage. FIVE. At the end of the day, THAT’S what matters. You want to hang on to a guy that’s won 5 games, then so be it. What I’m saying is that the guy is young, has some trade value. Move him and get someone else that’s walking the street than can win you 5 games.
Hopefully, our second stringer won’t have to play ANYWAY.
April 16th, 2015 at 10:48 am
Licht and Lovie are just following the same script as last offseason.
Paying almost 3 mill for a player that is not a starter and was almost out of the NFL in 2013. Very similar to the other FA signings last offseason. Signing on potential than actual results.
OH I forgot it worse. We had to give up a 5th round selection for him and pay him 3 mill.
It obvious these 2 are treading water.
I would love to have Jameis or Marcus, but if I was either one of those guys Tampa is the last place I would want to go. No OL and no HC. If Jameis or Marcus do go to the Bucs I would get friendly to Dirk. He is the Bucs HC next season.
April 16th, 2015 at 10:48 am
@Celly
I meant a 6th for a 7th instead of a 5th for 7th…How does detroit squeeze that out of us
April 16th, 2015 at 10:52 am
Celly
Not that I’m trying to argue about this anymore, but two 5th round picks are better than a 5th and a 6th. Just saying.
April 16th, 2015 at 10:56 am
He was a 3rd string DE and we traded a 5th for him when we didn’t have to.
Also, no we don’t have to spend money.
April 16th, 2015 at 10:58 am
Joe,
Gotta disagree with you, with all the holes we need to fill its pretty stupid to drop back 63 spots in the draft for George Johnson. To my uninformed mind it sounds like we fckd up the offer sheet which is one of many incompetent things this team has done in the last year.
To me it feels like licht is more interested in fielding a team than building a winning team. #2-14.
April 16th, 2015 at 11:02 am
Considering the quality of edge rushers left in Fee agency and the fact that we gave up the last pick in the 5th rd for rotational or possible starter, I fully agree with Joe, it seems that many have turned against all things related to Bucs decision making and that is sad.
April 16th, 2015 at 11:02 am
maybe the league office should require Licht to blow a breathalyzer before any future moves…
April 16th, 2015 at 11:11 am
Martinii Says:
April 16th, 2015 at 11:02 am
Considering the quality of edge rushers left in Fee agency and the fact that we gave up the last pick in the 5th rd for rotational or possible starter, I fully agree with Joe, it seems that many have turned against all things related to Bucs decision making and that is sad.
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It’s amazing after having me and others say this like 50 times that people still aren’t getting this, but let’s try one more time…
The Bucs could have gotten George Johnson for $9 million and nothing more. Then no one is complaining, it’s a depth move and nothing more. They instead butchered the contract language to the point they were going to lose in a ruling by an independent arbitrator, so to get him they now had to give up 63 spots in the draft.
It’s like saying it’s fine to pay $40,000 for a new car when you could have gotten literally the exact same new car for $25,000. It’s moves like this that keep bad franchises down. The best franchises aren’t doing things like this for a reason.
April 16th, 2015 at 11:14 am
Celly said:
“I know you guys hate to hear this, but Glennon has only won 5 games in the leage. FIVE. At the end of the day, THAT’S what matters. You want to hang on to a guy that’s won 5 games, then so be it. What I’m saying is that the guy is young, has some trade value. Move him and get someone else that’s walking the street than can win you 5 games.”
So, IF Winston starts, and wins only FIVE games… ?
You might want to re-think your criteria for the QB position. I am NOT saying you have to revere, or even like, Glennon, but you must hold everyone (ESPECIALLY if they cost the very first pick of the draft) to the same standards.
I will not be ready to throw Winston(IF he is the pick) under a bus if the TEAM does not win more than five games.
Hopefully (but with fingers crossed when it comes to Lovie), Winston (IF he is the pick) will be playing for a better team than did Glennon (it is ALWAYS the hope that the team gets better every year), so we will see after a year’s worth of starts, just how the new QB does.
April 16th, 2015 at 11:31 am
@Hawk,
I’ve already said that I expect Winston to win more games in year 1 than Glennon has won his entire Bucs career. Anything more than that is a bonus, as far as i’m concerned.
I also, obviously, expect his win totals to go up after that.
Freeman won 10 games with a worse team than Glennon had.
When it’s all said an done, I know that you cant truly judge a QB until at least year 3. All i’m hoping for (and expecting) is to see some hope and promise at the position. Glennon hasn’t shown me any of that. All he’s shown is that he can barely be a serviceable backup. And i only say serviceable because you would expect your backup to win a couple games if he HAS to start.
Glennon had the chance to be the guy last year when McCown went down and all he did was win 1 game (albeit, in comeback fashion).
If i’d seen some more of that fire from him, i could get behind him, but since i haven’t, i say get whatever trade value you can for him (which i’m assume won’t be more than a 4th, 5th if we’re lucky) and grab someone else off the street that can handle the backup duty while having more experience and being a better mentor to [insert whichever QB you would like drafted #1 overall here].
April 16th, 2015 at 11:32 am
@Celly
I didn’t see he resigned last month. Thanks.
April 16th, 2015 at 11:34 am
“After Detroit matched Tampa Bay’s generous restricted-free-agent offer for the Lions defensive end — $2.75 million guaranteed for 2015 — the two teams agreed on a trade.”
So, the Lions were willing to sign Johnson to the same contract the Bucs offered, but then decided to work a trade instead? The Lions played this very well. It looks like they were willing to have Johnson back unless they could finagle a higher draft position from the Bucs. Giving up a few draft slots isn’t the end of the world, considering the Bucs got a potential up and coming DE out of the deal. Even if Johnson is a good rotational player it still works out. Licht could’ve called the Lions bluff and refused to give up the pick and the Lions might have declined to match the offer in the end.
April 16th, 2015 at 11:43 am
We addressed one of our greatest needs and got an up and coming DE. We had to give up the last pick of the 5th round and got back a 7th rounder. This guy played almost half of the defensive snaps for one of the elite defensive lines in the NFL. Congrats L&L for getting a player we truly needed. Now we can turn our attention to LT in the 2nd round of the draft. Well done sirs! Now draft Mariota and we should be good for 15 years or so.
April 16th, 2015 at 11:43 am
@ Celly
Fair enough. While not ‘completely’ agreeing/disagreeing, I can appreciate your position.
April 16th, 2015 at 11:48 am
Joe – I disagree. If Detroit match the offer then the Bucs should have walked away. But I will admit there’s more to it than that. Licht needs to build relationships around the league, and maybe being honest with Detroit that he wants Johnson enough to give up a pick for him will help down the road. Licht is building his trustworthiness around the league, for a small price.
April 16th, 2015 at 11:52 am
Celly you undisputed dawg.
April 16th, 2015 at 11:53 am
If this guy ends up as just a rotational depth type player and nothing more; it statistically is still incredibly likely that he is much more valuable to us than anyone we would have got in the 5th – especially late 5th.
If he ends up being a starting right DE and is truly blossiming into a solid NFL starter then we just trade raped the Lions and they were dumb for not giving him a higher tender.
The Lions FO has been criticized as one of the worst in the leagues for the last few years between drafting and how they approach retaining players.
April 16th, 2015 at 11:59 am
Really?…moderating my comments again Joe’s? I didn’t say anything about you or your good buddy radio host. Is critisism of the Bucs incompetent leadership now also off limits?
April 16th, 2015 at 12:06 pm
You guys that are belaboring this is just stupid and clearly have nothing else to think about.
Remind me what sources or insight you all have into Bucs front office workings?
Bucrightoff and Buc Realist – I’m talking directly to you all – fans but all of a sudden SMEs.
April 16th, 2015 at 12:07 pm
1) George (who?) Johnson is not worth 3mil/yr so once again the incompetence in leadership is over-paying for unproven talent. Sound familiar?
2) If the Lions simply matched the offer then what was the need for an arbitrator? Let’s assume Licht didn’t efffup something and they just matched it, is it really worth it to overpay and then throw a draft pick on top? Negotiating from such a position of desperation would be laughable if is didn’t sadden me so much.
3) The Lions are arguably much more in need of pass rushing talent than Tampa yet somehow they can’t afford to re-sign him?
April 16th, 2015 at 12:14 pm
Misguided Jason Licht shilling
April 16th, 2015 at 12:28 pm
@theodore How much did Dumbinik’s “deals” with the Patriots increase his trustworthiness? I’m sure Bill Bellichick was happy though and every time we deal with them what happens?
If there’s a good deal you make it, if not you pass. Whether you like the person you are dealing with or not, you do the best for the interests of your team. If you try to be cute with fellow GM’s the only thing that does is affect your future employability after you get fired. And quite frankly I couldn’t care less about where Licht works after he’s done with the Bucs.
April 16th, 2015 at 12:34 pm
So some people want to trade Glennon. do the Bucs? At Glennons salary, why would they sign some other quarterback to fill the same role but for way more money (likely). Because Jameis needs a mentor? Someone with eperience to lean on? I don’t buy it. Glennon is young but has proven he can take a hit. Other than Hassellbeck, Glennon is a better back up option than most available and at way lower salary. He just doesn’t have the experience for Jameis to lean on (:P).
Now if we get offered a third for Glennon then I’m all for trading him in a heartbeat. Even a fourth. But no team is going to do that.
BTW I don’t blame Lovie for asking Licht to pursue someone that would fit his defense, especially considering how paper thin we were at the position. But I don’t blame Lovie for us giving up a fifth. Licht is the one doing all of the dirty, technical work. If you blame Lovie for that then your anger is mis guided in this particular instance. Besides, we had nothing at RDE before, now we got a player with upside at that position. It’s something. Besides, at best all a fifth rounder usually is is at best a rotational player. We still have our first and we can still address the line after we pick our quarterback.
April 16th, 2015 at 1:04 pm
@Nole on Sat.-Bucc on Sun agree with you wholeheartedly. The Bucs had 8 picks before the trade and 8 picks after the trade. Gave up a 5th round #168 and own the #162nd pick int fifth round courtesy of the Ravens. The Bucs lost absolutely nothing in this trade.And oh by the way Bill Polian says Johnson is a player on the rise. I know Bill Polian doesn’t know as much as some of the general managers on this forum, he only put together a team in Buffalo that went to 4 straight super bowls and put together a team in Indy that won a super bowl. I trust judgement on a player than anyone on here. Go Bucs, Go Licht!
April 16th, 2015 at 1:05 pm
Joe, I thinks you’re 100% wrong on this one. It’s really not a big deal but you’d never see this happen to a team like Green Bay. #ItsABucsLife
April 16th, 2015 at 1:20 pm
Joe you’re wrong buddy. Just casting my vote here – not anything more that I can say that I didn’t say yesterday or hasn’t been said above.
Licht has yet to prove he can piece together a good team, take advantage of leverage, or out-deal another manager in a transaction. Just like this team, our GM is a back of the pack guy…
April 16th, 2015 at 1:51 pm
The only time I will blame Loie in this instance is if Johnson stinks it up. Then it falls on Lovie and his staff. But I can’t blame Lovie for wanting to go fter a player he feels can make an impact on his team. We got a lot of young talent in Gholston, Smith and now Johnson. If just ne of thoe players takes that next step and takes advantage of all of the double coverage on McCoy, we will be good. Between our young talent on the ends an our ality players at tackle, led by al pro Gerald McCoy, I see a lot of potential in this line and ultimately our defense.
April 16th, 2015 at 1:51 pm
seems the only people lovie keeps are the incompetent ones. i.e. licht, warhop
let’s hope koetter pans out and makes HC next year.
lovies pattern is clear. trudge along getting yes men and average players, no matter their talent, and eventually good things will happen.
April 16th, 2015 at 2:22 pm
Robert is Lovie smith the coach … The GMs boss??? I doubt that… I’m pretty sure the gm is above the coach
April 16th, 2015 at 2:22 pm
If acquiring George Johnson with a the last pick of the 5th round allows the bucs to put more focus on the oline in the draft then its a win. So thats not a big deal. However Licht in his tenure with the Bucs has had a history of not getting good value in the trades he as made. Luckily this is now his second year as a GM so hopefully he is getting better.
April 16th, 2015 at 2:24 pm
If former U.S. Vice President Spiro Agnew was alive, he might refer to most Bucs fans as “Nattering Nabobs of Negativism”. And he’d be correct!
April 16th, 2015 at 2:24 pm
That’s it trade McCoy we need that 5th rounder back
April 16th, 2015 at 2:30 pm
Well I hear Joe, but MHO there was no need to give up a draft pick at all and to be force to do so was a colossal mistake, brought on by someone not being able to craft language correctly, or just getting too cute. If the Lions only terndered him $1.54m, then the Bucs didn’t need to play around with the reduction language, the Lions would not have matched due to how many DE’s they have already. What a waste.
April 16th, 2015 at 2:37 pm
DallasBuc and Robert9 am I missing something? The team has failed miserably with EVERY single move they have made from coaches to players and the record resembles that so I wholeheartedly agree with the stuff you all have said and it sucks to appear to be one of the worst if not the worst franchise from top to bottom in the NFL…great point on johnson, Detroit needs DL and they let this stud walk out the door? OK Michael Ghost Johnson 2015
April 16th, 2015 at 2:49 pm
Somehow back-of-the-rotation guys that fall into a couple sacks playing next to Suh, Fairley and Ansah are going to come (back) to Tampa and suddenly be a real pass rusher. Damn this sounds so familiar, right down to the last name but I can’t put my finger on it. Hmmm….
April 16th, 2015 at 3:50 pm
If the lions were going to match our offer we lose. The lions resign their de. We lose another race for a pass rusher but instead we trade a practically 6th round pick for johnson n a 7th round pick. That’s one rotational guy plus a draft pick. The lions got one rotational guy MAYBE
April 16th, 2015 at 3:57 pm
From this latest Bucs blunder (a late 5th rounder pissed away for basically no reason) the only positive I can find is Jason Licht > Ray Farmer (Browns GM) for no other reason than he was smart enough to not draft Manziel. Tough to totally crucify him though since none of us know how much of this is on Lovie (reportedly) being given more authority than just HC.
April 16th, 2015 at 4:06 pm
I’m late coming back to this, but I had to say something about this:
This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever read on JBF. Anyone answering no to that should not be allowed to handle sharp objects.
April 16th, 2015 at 5:12 pm
“Joe Gruden Says:
April 16th, 2015 at 2:22 pm
Robert is Lovie smith the coach … The GMs boss??? I doubt that… I’m pretty sure the gm is above the coach”
Wrong.
In case the link is pulled, google “Lovie Smith control of roster”
“Lovie Smith’s contract contains a clause that gives him final say over all personnel matters on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 53-man roster, according to league sources.”
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/10246329/lovie-smith-final-say-tampa-bay-buccaneers-roster
April 16th, 2015 at 5:33 pm
I think you missed the point of what most of us are saying….we didn’t have to give up any picks had the deal been done correctly in the first place. You can try to Licht this anyway you want but at the end of the day draft picks is where the good teams become great and the low teams (like our Bucs) become good. All this over a measly 750K total over 3 years…
As we learned last year, you cant build a team through free agency.
April 16th, 2015 at 5:45 pm
The only thing misguided is the over the top advertising on this blog making it completely non-mobile friendly….did ya know Google will start docking your rankings next week (4-21) due to this?? You really need to speak with a real pro on how to minimize your ads on the mobile site. I think I was bounced 5 times to the app store trying to read one article at lunch. I get you need to make money but at the risk of losing your readers??? I have told u before balance young jedi.. I dont mind marketing unless it makes the site unreadable, which is what JBF suffers from at the moment.
This page for example has 11 trackers on it….you really need 11??? Google analytics is not enough?? stumble upon pinterist and linked in can get put to the curb.
April 16th, 2015 at 5:51 pm
Uh oh jameis is getting sued by his sexual assault accuser breaking news
April 16th, 2015 at 5:55 pm
Brace urselves internet prosecutors defense attorneys jury judge n executioners are coming
April 16th, 2015 at 6:11 pm
@yawn the site is not mobile friendly because the site is not responsive or have a mobile version… what you see on your phone is the full desktop version
April 17th, 2015 at 2:49 am
the hate for glennon is off the chart. One would never guess that a dog could demand such servitude.
April 17th, 2015 at 7:31 am
Hey Tmaxcon,
“Glennon can be replaced off the street at any time. It’s not like Glennon is a threat to start.”
I get it that you have a huge dislike for Mr. Glennon, but what qb off the streets do you think you know of that has 2 years nfl game experience, who has thrown more TD’s than INT’S during his games he has played in. Who? As for the threat of Mr. Glennon starting, with our Oline In its current situation of not enough competent starting talent. Any QB behind it is surely to feel hits on a continuous bases. That in turn can and usually does result in injury. So lets say we draft QB in this draft we start him he gets Injured who will come off the bench to play! Oh yeah the guy we signed off the street who will be next man up. Good luck with that.
April 17th, 2015 at 8:05 am
talk as if he is worse than Dominick or bruce allen….I cant wait for the football season to get here, some fans are hurting their brains thinking too much. he’s not worth 3 mil a year? because you know football contracts and negotiations right? josh mccown wasn’t worth 5 mil a year but guess it doesn’t matter, he’s a veteran in the league and people get paid close to that just to sit the bench yes backups get paid too. morons think a defensive end is supposed to get paid like a punter or kicker lol great real smart. I want a winning team I could care less about how much they spend to do it. leonard joshnson should be making kicker money. really all this talk over a 3 mil a year contract lol
April 18th, 2015 at 8:41 am
The non-mobile version of this site sucks about as hard as a Bucs front-office decision. Lovie and Licht have a lot of ugly marks on their records so far. It’s only fair for Bucs fans to feel apprehension before one our biggest drafts in history. Oh, and we should just sit back and relax because all that cap space will go to good use for things like OL and backup QB AFTER the draft?? Please tell me why LovieLicht warrants that kind of trust. Methinks our intrepid bloggers had one too many doughnuts our in Arizona and has put on yet another pair of blinders again (Rock Star General Manager? Biased much?)