Jason Licht Now A Desired Man
August 25th, 2021
Bucs GM Jason Licht.
Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht finds himself in an envious position.
Sure, he’s the shot-caller of the defending Super Bowl champion. But in a few days, every decent NFL veteran who may find himself on the street largely due to a bloated contract will be calling him.
Basically, Licht is the hot chick who walks into a thumping hotspot on South Howard Ave. in Tampa on a Friday night. She gets to lure her desired fish into the net.
Yesterday on SiriusXM NFL Radio, former Bucs scout and Jets player personnel director Pat Kirwan, co-host of “Movin the Chains,” said that every veteran that finds himself out of work after teams whittle their rosters down to 53 will be heavy panting that Licht texts their agent.
Why? Because players like to play for winners and cool coaches.
In a discussion of the Bucs secondary, Kirwan brought up a very smart point that can be applied to the entire team. Every player that passes through waivers, Licht basically gets the pick of the litter.
“You think any veteran who is released — not talking about waiver wire guys — veterans who are released get a call from Tampa Bay, you think they are going to run over there and try to sign with them right away?” Kirwan asked. “I would think so. … I don’t think a recruiting problem is going to be there at all for them. They will have their choice of whoever they want of who gets their released.”
Now Bucs coach Bucco Bruce Arians, and to a lesser degree defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, prefers guys they have a history with. They know the player and the player knows their systems.
And this should be a caution flag for rookies or second-year players who are bubble guys. Just because you cleared the 53-man hurdle on Aug. 31 doesn’t mean you will be on the roster when you wake up the next morning.
It makes all the sense in the world that guys will be begging their agents to pester Licht. The Bucs have Mr. Seven Rings at quarterback, which means damn near a guaranteed playoff berth, plus they are defending champs and have a pair of coaches players generally respect and enjoy playing for (Arians and Bowles).
Trust Joe that word gets around quickly in NFL circles how the Bucs and their coaches treat players. The Bucs are now the gold standard for NFL franchises. Weather, quality coaches and winning.
“It is really quite impressive what they are,” Kirwan said of the Bucs.
August 25th, 2021 at 12:51 pm
I think it would be wise to grab vets who can make a difference, particularly if they can make an impact on special teams.
The Bucs have a pretty solid starting roster, but it lacks depth. I think the depth problem was apparent during the first two preseason games when the depth players from other teams abused the Buc wannabe bench players.
August 25th, 2021 at 12:55 pm
I can agree with this take to a certain extent. Im not sure its going to have too big of an effect in the next few weeks as we are cash strapped. Next season, I anticipate seeing it on full display as we churn the roster, and likely reload. It should be a no brainer that you churn the roster to support a transcendent player like TB12. With this in mind, what are the odds Brady is still playing when Aaron Rodgers taps out?
August 25th, 2021 at 1:02 pm
Even money.
August 25th, 2021 at 1:12 pm
The roster lacks depth? 6-deep at WR, 4-deep at RB, 3-deep at TE, Stinnie & Hainsey, JTS, Nacho, McClendon, Mike Edwards and Jamel Dean all disagree with that statement.
You watched the 3rd and 4th string get blown up – they’ll be among the hundreds unemployed in similar positions in a week.
August 25th, 2021 at 1:31 pm
Passing thru
100% agree. A guy that can add to special teams is a plus
Cause they have not been so special
Corner would be my guess based on biggest hole and special teams need
Delany and hamilton may be 5 and 6 right now
Qb they wont touch w gabbert although i am not biggest fan
O line solid
D line solid
Linebackers solid
Safeties solid
Receivers and tight ends and running backs – no chance
August 25th, 2021 at 1:39 pm
Even money Joe? Interesting speculation, but I just can’t see Rodgers ever quarterbacking the Bucs. I’m not even sure that I can see Brady quarterbacking the Bucs in 2023, and maybe not even in 2022.
I think Brady was being quite honest when he told the media that he wants to keep playing as long as he has the potential to get his team to the Super Bowl. Right now, at age 44, he’s QB for what probably could be viewed as a Dream Team … at least as far as the starting lineup & key rotational players goes.
But the real question is how long can we hold that together? JL played a big card this year; he kicked the salary CAP can down the street (like so many other teams have done recently), and some of these contracts will limit what we can do next year & thereafter, big-time. Question thus follows can the Bucs still field a highly competitive team next year & the year after? Fact of the matter IMO is that we simply don’t know (too many unknowns) at this point. Best just to enjoy the 2021 ride, wherever it leads us.
August 25th, 2021 at 1:42 pm
Depth isn’t universal, there are positions that could use depth. In terms of second stringers, most notably the CB position is very thin and the OLine is over-reliant on the versatility of a rookie who has been injured. In fact the OLine backups that have played during the preseason were very underwhelming and were a factor in Trask’s performance.
Special teams are heavily comprised of depth players. The special teams have been special in the wrong sense of the word, and they performed miserably against other players who also in exactly the same capacity.
August 25th, 2021 at 1:50 pm
Don’t think corner depth is shallow at all, unless you don’t believe Ross Cockrell is any good.
Tackle depth on offense could be an issue. Guard they are fine. Center, Stinnie could play center.
August 25th, 2021 at 1:59 pm
Cockrell is versatile but he’s more of a safety man than CB, and I think the Bucs are in more need of CB depth. OLine depth can disappear quickly, that’s a common theme in the NFL and one lesson that KC has been forced to take to heart.
I made no secret of wanting a developmental swing tackle during the draft. Well it’s the NFL Joe… we live in the salary cap era. You cannot have everything. On that note, we’re last in line for the waiver wire which is actually a good thing. Once a vet clears, we can offer the minimum. If someone is older and wants a ring, that’s a pretty powerful sales proposition.
August 25th, 2021 at 2:05 pm
@ Joe…I am sorry, but i agrre with PassingThru on thios one, I think we are still thin on CB position, and Cockrell is an enigma to me…..I probably woulg agree that the plays he made keeps me on the positive path.
Even more, my biggest concern on this team is CB (i think we saw great performances and very bad also) and Bradys backup, I am very very happy with the rest of the team…….
August 25th, 2021 at 2:19 pm
The gold standard for franchises? I agree, but it’s just weird reading it. Our best corner (Davis) I could maybe make an argument for top 10 at his position, but I’d be stretching it. Dean is very inconsistent and Sean was killing it at the end of the year, but he’s been inconsistent as well. If a mid tier to good corner becomes available for peanuts, I’d be interested.
August 25th, 2021 at 2:27 pm
I agree 100% with you Buczilla!
August 25th, 2021 at 2:34 pm
Thnx zzbuc.
August 25th, 2021 at 2:35 pm
Perhaps we’ll see some vets running under kicks.
August 25th, 2021 at 3:41 pm
REMEMBER LAST YEAR
We picked up 4Net after being cut. We road him to the SB.
Who’s this year’s 4Net?
August 25th, 2021 at 5:47 pm
“LOL
Without Brady’s demand of Gronk, AB and Fournette
Tampa bay would not have been throwing the trophy around
Father time is undefeated
odds of Back 2 back Superbowls?
Brady and his knees wont last this season
back to the den of depression?
February 2022
The Return of TheBucRealist”
Kobe Faker
August 25th, 2021 at 6:04 pm
Remember when casuals wanted to run Licht out of town?
August 25th, 2021 at 7:13 pm
Remember when Kobe Faker was a nuisance.
Now I just laugh at the ignorance.
I wonder what team you root for?
Unless you spend your life whittling nonsense.
Which sounds closer than a fan of anything except yourself.
August 25th, 2021 at 7:34 pm
Fold on a minute Joe !!! Let’s clarify that, coaches except for Keith Armstrong !