Not “Anxious”
March 2nd, 2020
Bucs GM Jason Licht.
Circle the date, ladies and gentlemen, March 16. That when Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht and Bucs coach Bucco Bruce Arians get to go speed-dating.
At the combine in a sidebar session with the Tampa Bay pen and mic club after Licht looked as uncomfortable as a nun in Mons Venus spoke to the assembled NFL media, Licht was asked how “anxious” he was to shop for quarterbacks since Licht and Arians spoke about the notorious quarterback “Door No. 2” more than virtually any player on their roster.
“I wouldn’t say ‘anxious,'” Licht said. “You know what the process is. You know what the process is, that there are going to be dates when you find out — March 16.
“We will have a lot more clarity. Until then we cannot talk to anyone that is a free agent. We can’t talk to their reps. … You wait for the dominos to fall a little bit.”
Well, we do know that Licht can likely has, Joe guesses spoken with agents because they often represent more than one client, often several more.
Shoot, the Indiana Convention Center, not to mention the eateries and watering holes of downtown Indianapolis, was full of agents last week (yes, Joe even saw Shaq Barrett’s agent, oily Drew Rosenhaus, just hanging out in a hallway leather chair). Shoot, Joe’s hotel was loaded with agents; Joe ran into agents every day there.
Joe bets the Bucs know who they may play ball with. And agents being agents, they very well could be using the Bucs as leverage. That’s the danger of this shell game.
Meanwhile, just as Licht can officially speak with agents in two weeks about their free agent clients, so too can his current quarterback’s agent talk on the record to other NFL general managers.
March 2nd, 2020 at 12:13 pm
How many times has the Bucs reached the playoffs with Winsome? 0 So what do they have to lose by signing River’s, Dalton, Mariotta in the short term. Should definetely sign a QB in draft. Maybe as high as 2nd rd. Again, since Licht doesn’t have stellar record for the 2nd rd. that would be a could pick. Of course it all depends on how the draft goes.
March 2nd, 2020 at 12:16 pm
No danger here. We suck and will continue to do so unless we rectify the turnovers. The truth has come and with it Buc fans will be set free from terrible-error-prone, playoffless football.
March 2nd, 2020 at 12:20 pm
When does free agency start
March 2nd, 2020 at 12:25 pm
Apparently Jason Licht is not anxious about winning also.
March 2nd, 2020 at 12:27 pm
The “real” fans are circling the date for next January where licht weight will be “Not EMPLOYED”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
go bucs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
March 2nd, 2020 at 12:28 pm
Reality is on the way, Dalton / Mariota / Rivers etc all getting quoted as having interest from teams including Pats but nothing for JW, looks like no interest including Bucs, no-one else but himself to blame as he has been poor since starting, weapons for Winston made no difference to performance, could not have anyone challenge him as backup because his mental strength could not take it (Fitzpatrick removed), and now it looks like Licht has been over-ruled on his support of JW as BA has thrown in the towel, announcement of new QB coming soon !.
March 2nd, 2020 at 12:53 pm
Go set Bridgewater and lets get this over with.
March 2nd, 2020 at 1:16 pm
New report from Bleacher Report says the Bucs are hot for Bridgewater…. smoke maybe? Just not sure he has the arm strength for BA’s offense but hey I could be wrong.
March 2nd, 2020 at 1:21 pm
Apologize its from Mike Sando of the Athletic, read the article on BR.
March 2nd, 2020 at 1:23 pm
either we’re getting Tom Brady, or keeping Jameis. I dont mind either scenario
March 2nd, 2020 at 1:31 pm
i hope BA and BL are hot for bridgewater!!!!!!!
imo, if you make it to the NFL as a 1st round pick, you have the arm strength….
dont have to have a cannon arm if you’re getting the ball out ON TIME ACCURATELY….you can make up arm strength with GOOD DECISION MAKING & ANTICIPATION….
GO BUCS!!!!!
March 2nd, 2020 at 1:36 pm
Did you happen to see Licht meeting with any agents, Joe?
March 2nd, 2020 at 1:36 pm
No Bridgewater is one sack away from retiring lol we are keeping Jameis he is going to be extended
March 2nd, 2020 at 1:42 pm
@813
I agree you don’t need a cannon for an arm which is why I believe Bridgewater benefited off of a Sean Payton type offense (get the ball out quick) plus being surrounded by a good team. He’s not gonna have that here.. BA’s offense is built around deep shots and long developing routes. I wouldn’t be opposed to him but I think if we do sign him RT becomes a priority in FA or the draft (plus a running back).
March 2nd, 2020 at 1:44 pm
Teddy B will get much more money on the open market than Winston. Winston would get andy dalton money and be forced to compete to start if he leaves tampa this year
March 2nd, 2020 at 1:48 pm
On Bridgewater, he can sling it. The difference is he protects the football and he processes through his reads quickly. I watched a few of his college games, and was hoping then that the Bucs would get him. Another plus is he throws the sideline outs in a spot where only his receiver can catch it, unlike our current QB. Also could run the ball when necessary, he just isn’t Lamar Jackson. But then again who is? Proven leader, no character issues. Teddy would be a great pick and won’t be a big financial impact.
March 2nd, 2020 at 1:51 pm
Right now nobody knows anything other then taking a wild guess. The Bucs say they have a plan and are telling nobody. Sources can be full of BS too. You have no idea who they are looking at or the plan.
I tend to think BA is not happy with the (I Think) Part of fixing Winston. Or there is something else that went on we do not know about. Did Jameis do what Jameis wants at times?
March 2nd, 2020 at 1:52 pm
Spotrac has Teddy’s market value at 20M, curious to see how much he ends up signing for.
March 2nd, 2020 at 2:10 pm
CPN:
No but do know he met with “people” to talk business.
March 2nd, 2020 at 2:11 pm
It feels like we dont have a plan at qb. They are just waiting for someone to come and sign here and they will give the bs ” that’s the plan all along”
March 2nd, 2020 at 2:25 pm
Rivers or Dalton and draft Love or Eason
March 2nd, 2020 at 2:29 pm
I’m still waiting to hear if any team interested in Jameis…
March 2nd, 2020 at 2:37 pm
I’m starting to wonder just how confident is Arians in Blaine Gabbert as his QB..
It kinda sounds like their message is:
Anxious? NO!.. not at all… We have Blaine Gabbert so if our other plan falls apart, Gabbert is better than what we’ve had the past several years!
March 2nd, 2020 at 2:52 pm
You guys wanting Bridgewater bahahahahahahahahhahahaha
March 2nd, 2020 at 2:53 pm
@Tye very good over looked point.
March 2nd, 2020 at 2:54 pm
A complete moron wrote this one.
March 2nd, 2020 at 2:57 pm
@jcscycles um, that’s just it, HE CAN’T sling it. Very inconsistent deep ball and in this offense that won’t cut it.
March 2nd, 2020 at 3:00 pm
Let the “Tanking-4-Trevor” (Lawrence) begin….
March 2nd, 2020 at 3:26 pm
there is only one best scenario, and the chances for that to happen are very very slim:
Glazers bring here Brady, give him a two year contract deal, and after that a % of ownership, and the chair of President of football operation.
I don’t see any good QB option but that, if does not happen, then go cheap on any QB, and build defense, and the rest of the team….
BA = LovieS 2.0
March 2nd, 2020 at 3:33 pm
Unless we are trading for a quarterback that is “good as of today” AND has the potential to get better (good luck with that), Brady would be my first choice (not happening) followed by maybe Carr, but I’m not sold on him being better than Jameis. Keep Jameis 1 more year at least, draft a rookie, and get a vet with a pulse.
As for the last paragraph, considering how Arians and Licht have disrespected (my opinion) Jameis lately, I really doubt that they give a damn. Desperate teams do dumb things (Mike Glennon) and I have little doubt that some team would be dumb enough to give Winston a big contract based on his potential rather than what he has accomplished. I just hope it’s not us.
If I understood the chatter on NFL.com today, each team having two tags will soon be meaningless. Supposedly, the tags are not “grandfathered” in once the new deal is signed and if a team has used both of them, one will need to be rescinded. Sign Shaq now and tag Jameis so that we are not left at the Altar…
March 2nd, 2020 at 3:37 pm
No to tanking for Trevor, he’s not that good.
March 2nd, 2020 at 3:37 pm
There’s a guy who won a super bowl here. And currently coaches the Las Vegas raiders. I have a feeling he will come out and sign Winston ( upgrade from Carr) then trade Carr for picks. Draft WR.
Pound the rock with Jacobs and then bomb away with Winston and ruggs lll.
While the bucs will be with teddys short arm and no running game.
March 2nd, 2020 at 4:15 pm
He has been preparing for this for five years. Watching jameis play makes you anxious. He just got a hall pass by bruce to take another swing and an opportunity for redemption if he gets it right
March 2nd, 2020 at 4:49 pm
TOM Says
“How many times has the Bucs reached the playoffs with Winsome? 0 So what do they have to lose…”
Well, that depends. Winston is now at the age where some quarterbacks turn things around. At 26 (finally), he is maturing and learning a lot.
If he is about to turn that corner, then we would lose an elite QB. People here will swear he’ll never be elite…but they said the same thing about Mike Evans when he had a down second year, about White half of last season, and about big man Vita Vea before he even took the field.
Here’s what we know about Winston:
• Winston had real issues in college. Accused of rape but never proven, and shoplifting.
• When he came out of college he behaved, except for just after his first year, when he was accused of touching an Uber driver. Again, nothing was ever proven. He was suspended so the NFL could save face, and they told Winston that if he fought it, they would find a reason to suspend him indefinitely.
• Regardless, since then, he has gotten into no trouble. That’s 4 years of playing it straight, even though it took the NFL a while to suspend him for the Uber thing.
• Before 2019, Jameis averaged 22 touchdowns (passing) per season. In 2019, he had 33 touchdowns, and was among the best in the league.
• During his first 4 years in Tampa, Jameis averaged only 14.5 interceptions per season.
• During his first 4 years in Tampa, Jameis averaged 4.5 lost fumbles per season out of an average of 9.5 fumbles.
• During his first 4 years in Tampa, Jameis was sacked an average of 30.5 times per season.
• In 2017, Jameis had 15 fumbles accredited to him. That was the year he played with an injured throwing shoulder for most of the season. He lost 7 of them. If you recall, that was the year he had to scramble all over the place because the offensive line played so poorly.
• In 2019, Jameis was sacked…47 times, an increase of 20 more sacks than the year before.
• Before 2019, a knock on him was he could not throw accurately deep. that changed in 2019, when he was among the best.
• Before 2019, a knock on Jameis is that he could not score in the red zone. In 2019, he was among the best.
• In 2019, Jameis became one of only a few QBs to have more than 5,000 yards.
• In 2019, Jameis had no running game to take the pressure off him.
• In 2019, Jameis was playing his first year in an offense in which quarterbacks always tend to have higher picks than normal during their first year.
• In 2019, Jameis had a defense that did not come on strong until the end of the season.
• In 2019, Jameis had a rookie kicker who was/is acclimating to the NFL, and who had a sporadic year.
• In 2019, Jameis was far from blameless. Several of his picks were completely on him…not all, but some…probably the majority. Just as we knew a kicker would miss the year before, we knew Jameis would thorw picks in every game. It was stressful, yes it was.
• At 26, Jameis is two years younger than Dereck Carr. A year younger than Bridgewater. Six years younger than Andy Dalton. Four years younger than Cam Newton. Five years younger than Ryan Tannehill. Three years younger than Taysom Hill. Two years younger than Jimmy Garoppolo. Mahomes is younger. The point is, Jameis is still young. He only just turned 26 just over a month ago.
• Fans are divided on Winston. People who want him gone mostly want it because of his off field issues 4 or more years ago. 2019 just gave them ammo to support their desires. However…everyone knew his picks would he high in 2019. Analysts predicted it as soon as Arians was hired, because that what QBs do in their first year with him.
These are just the facts.
March 2nd, 2020 at 4:55 pm
Buczilla Says
“Supposedly, the tags are not “grandfathered” in once the new deal is signed and if a team has used both of them, one will need to be rescinded.”
I agree with everything you said. The above statement concerns me though.
Let’s say the cba isn’t agreed to until after free agency starts…would that mean teams won’t be given time to work out deals with those players who are rescinded? That would be a nightmare across the NFL…so I suspect they’ll have no choice but to grandfather them in after free agency starts.
If before, then I can see it.
I suspect the NFL is going to delay free agency at least a few days.
March 2nd, 2020 at 5:05 pm
First year in a new offense winston exceeded expectations,made perriman this years Humphries.If all the losses go on winston then put tgem on everyone.Its a team game and I’d give him another year and a running game.
March 2nd, 2020 at 5:23 pm
All you idiot’s wanting to give America’s turnover machine one more year ? Why he has always done it and always will ! NEXT……..
March 2nd, 2020 at 5:34 pm
heard it here first:
Jameis Winston allowed to test FA and gets resigned for cheapest and shortest contract possible.
Jacob Eason or Jalen Hurts gets drafted in late second or third round
Winston gets another year with restrictions–too many int’s and they play the rook. I can live with this.
March 2nd, 2020 at 6:07 pm
The real “wagging the dog” game has begun. Get ready for HELL.
March 2nd, 2020 at 6:21 pm
@Buccaneer Bonzai
The talking heads having the debate seemed to be a bit fuzzy about the details themselves and a quick check on the internet yielded no definitive results as to how/when one of the tags would be rescinded. I hope that you are right and that they do grandfather them in for a certain amount of time, but it’s the NFL and I don’t trust those dudes to ever make good decisions.
March 2nd, 2020 at 8:05 pm
@Firethecannons
Your speculation makes excellent sense to me.
I’d love to be able to get Jalen Hurts in the 3rd. He could be this year’s version of Russell Wilson…very good but not exceptional in any single area…just a winner!
March 2nd, 2020 at 8:17 pm
It’s super interesting with Winston. If you’ve seen me, you know I’m not a fan. I agree that I don’t think he’s going to get anything on the market. Realistically he’s a 26 yo with all the talent in the world, but not playing the mental game needed. It’s not that he doesn’t work hard enough.
I think Jameis is Roy Mcavoy from tin cup. All he sees is that he can do it, it doesn’t matter the percentages of him being able to do it and then he’ll go out and do the same thing again. People talk about being a game manager like there is something bad to that vs being a gunslinger like Favre or Winston. Imagine how many championships Favre would have won if he was a game manager. That’s what tiger woods was multiple times when he kept the driver in the bag throughout the British. I think with a game manager we will be deep in the playoffs regularly.
On the other hand with Jameis, this has to be a very tough and humbling experience. I would think he’s looking at himself realizing he’s not worth 30 million, he’s not an elite QB in the NFL. If it humbles him enough, it could turn him into one. Super tough call. Who’s he going to be in 5 years.
March 2nd, 2020 at 8:21 pm
It’s beyond the pale for anyone to suggest and/or think the Bucs are mistreating Jameis in any way. If this young millionaire can’t handle business sniping that also calls out facts about why he’s not worth $30M, or any tag, then he should go work at Burger King where he is qualied. This azz clown has been given the keys to the team, and they built the whole thing around him, and he’s done nothing but screw everyone from the owners to the most casual fan. Most fans remember the winning ugly days. I’d rather see 9-0 and 6-3 wins with 10 win and better season like the old days, than an entitled chump coming in throwing away the first half of the season, and then slinging the ball around for 5000 garbage yards to another losing campaign…and then stand up there say he be balling. Not.
March 2nd, 2020 at 8:25 pm
thisisouryear…that is the problem with Winston. He knows what to say, and at the end of the day, he seems to think it’s someone else. He does what he wants. He uses God as a crutch, and has other people manipulate to get what he wants. His coaches have fallen for it all the way back to FSU, probably before that. He’s not humbled….he’s just busted. In the real world, you won’t get by on this BS. He should consider him lucky he’s gotten this far. The charade is up.
March 2nd, 2020 at 8:52 pm
If you want to take the gunslinger out of JW3, you might as well go sign Bridgewater & play it “safe” w/ taking Fromm in the draft to be Plan B.
But if you go “game manager” & you better fix the run game….Or Bucs will still be a 6-10 / 7-9 team. Game Mangers are only successful if they have a run game to work off of.
March 2nd, 2020 at 9:10 pm
Hetrhrew- I 100% agree. In 5 years I’ve very little humility. I’m like many other fans, bothered by his off the field issues. I didn’t want him when he was drafted. I have to remind myself it’s okay to cheer for the Bucs. Jamies is just part of the team.
Cat card- I think in general gunslingers end up dead. I like Fromm and Bridgewater. Definitely need a running game. My thought is Fromm could be great. He beat out Eason who many people want.
March 2nd, 2020 at 9:53 pm
Loud running backs faced eight man boxes more often than not, challenging the QB not to hand out picks like their Halloween candy.
March 2nd, 2020 at 9:54 pm
@adr…OUCH!!! Jameis haters NIGHTMARE. Lol!!!
March 3rd, 2020 at 12:20 pm
Not a big fan of Bridgewater & he will not come cheap. Will cost more than JW. If the Bucs want to sign JW for a 1 yr. prove it. Offer him 20-21 mil. take it or leave it.
March 3rd, 2020 at 2:28 pm
One year prove it deal? Winston has had 5 years to Prove it. Show me? Show his ass the door! Sign Teddy Draft a QB and let the QB whisperer do his thing. Winston in Vegas? Now THATS Funny! Talk about Gasoline and Fire!