Jared Goff And The Bucs
December 4th, 2022
“Jason, tell me about this Caleb Williams.”
UPDATED 9:50 a.m. – We are less than three months from the combine — and no, Joe’s not talking about a $750,000 farming implement used to harvest corn, beans and wheat.
In less than three months, the first week of March to be exact, the NFL world will flock to wintry Indianapolis and despite all their tampering rules, that’s when the foundations of just about every move made between the combine and the draft will be ironed out.
And in the eyes of Terry O’Neil of Outkick, that is when the NFL quarterback carousel begins turning.
O’Neil types that he simply cannot see Tom Brady returning to what O’Neil described as a “disorganized mess” that Bucs coach Todd Bowles has created. Those are O’Neil’s words, not Joe’s. O’Neil thinks the Bucs’ only shot of retaining Brady is massive changes to the coaching staff, specifically on offense.
Joe has been a proponent of one such move for weeks and is still a little baffled why it hasn’t happened. This non-move has convinced Joe there is no accountability among the coaching staff.
So Brady bolts. What then?
Well, O’Neil believes the Bucs, barring an immediate and unexpected epiphany by coaches, will finish with a losing record (but still may win the putrid NFC South) and therefore the Bucs will draft somewhere in the teens, between Nos. 10-20. **Per NFL rules, the four teams eliminated in the wild card round of the playoffs pick in slots Nos. 21, 22, 23, 24, with the team with the worst regular season record getting the earliest pick.**
In the Pick Nos. 10 through No. 20 range, O’Neil said the Bucs have to decide between, say, AR-15, quarterback Anthony Richardson with the Gators, or Hendon Hooker with Tennessee.
Or what O’Neil thinks is more likely, the Bucs fight with other teams for the services of either Jimmy GQ or Jared Goff. O’Neil believes the Lions will cut Goff, and Goff does have an out in his contract after this season.
Just think, in part because of what has been wrought upon this once great offense, the Bucs chase off the greatest quarterback who ever lived for a Lions reject. Talk about sinking to a new low! What, the Throwin’ Samoan Jack Thompson is not available?
Joe noticed Friday night on Twitter there was tons of chatter that the Bucs should tank next season for USC quarterback Caleb Williams (“Collapse for Caleb”). In a perfect world, Joe would have zero problems with this and likely would support such a move.
However, the Bucs have too many good players. For the Bucs to tank badly enough to get Williams, it would immediately raise suspicions with the NFL and in particular NFL warden Roger Goodell. This likely would result in grave consequences for the Bucs.
But as a follower of Joe pointed out, the Bucs are on the cusp of having a losing season with a good defense and Tom Brady. So the Bucs wallowing with the dregs of the NFL as they wrestle for the No. 1 overall pick in 2024 with Kyle Trask at quarterback isn’t so preposterous.
Duly noted.
December 4th, 2022 at 12:08 am
Watched the in depth speculation piece by Simmons and Shrager and man they sure do have some convincing arguments that TB12 returns to the Pats. If Bowels and Leftwurst are jettisoned I hope he stays with the Bucs, otherwise NE is as good as anywhere except the 49ers for Brady. Maybe Licht can ring up Sean Peyton and get this resolved ASAP.
December 4th, 2022 at 12:09 am
It really is amazing how fast the ship is sinking
December 4th, 2022 at 12:14 am
Sean Payton problem solved , get rid of Bowles, Leftwich and Arians who is their guardian. Case closed. Go Bucs
December 4th, 2022 at 12:29 am
Mike White!!
December 4th, 2022 at 1:07 am
Shane Waldron – IF he can scheme and game plan to win with Geno Smith, he would not NEED a top talent at qb!
December 4th, 2022 at 1:15 am
Kyle Trask they drafted him in the second round you got to see what he is . Until you see him with the starters you don’t know what you got.
December 4th, 2022 at 1:19 am
Puke
December 4th, 2022 at 2:01 am
The suggestion of tanking in 2023 for a QB is flerking idiotic. Yeah, like if you have no team to begin with and didn’t have much of a chance to win anyway, sure. With the talent they have, with a decent coach, even with an average QB, they ought to be at least 9-8. Tanking would not sit well with some of your highest paid guys and with young guys (like Wirfs) that you wanna keep around for the long haul.
December 4th, 2022 at 2:26 am
Reading this was really depressing. Jared Goff?!? Wake me from this nightmare please. đ
December 4th, 2022 at 2:33 am
This regime has been insistent on fielding their existing investments, even if they suck. A lot of what we’re witnessing now is out of this mindset. Kyle Trask will not be denied at least an opportunity, like it or not.
December 4th, 2022 at 2:39 am
So about 500 words maybe more and not a mention of Sheduer Sanders (SS396)! I coined this nick-name for him, maybe I should but a patent on that, that conversation should surely include Sheduer Sanders because you wouldnât have to tank to Draft him! Sheduer âŚDonât follow Dad, declare or donât declare, eligible or not⌠DRAFT SS396!
December 4th, 2022 at 6:38 am
yuck!! cant wait to see trask…Licht better get his shiz together.. brady is gone, and it might be time to think about the future? this team stinks, we need to cut payroll and rebuild. Im all for drafting a qb in round 1.
December 4th, 2022 at 6:56 am
If Licht is still here after this year, and that is a BIG if, Trask will get his shot and rightfully so.
December 4th, 2022 at 7:08 am
The concensus at Lt. Dan World HQ is that if the Bucs loose to the Saints Monday night – Tuesday by mid-day Lefty is sent packing. You heard it here first.
December 4th, 2022 at 7:42 am
Oneiltobradyyall, they have seen Trask, there must be something they don’t like. I am really starting to wonder if Bowles original initiative is to tank for a high draft pick and never wanted TB12 as his QB. What better way to do it than to neuter the offense? In all of these close losses there have been some very questionable play calls killing scoring drives, putting your #1 wr in a scheme that doesn’t play to his strengths, not starting Jones against GB when Evan’s was out and not to mention last weeks coaching 101 basic time management miss calls. Bowels doesn’t want BA’s old team and he’s tanking on purpose.
December 4th, 2022 at 7:43 am
Listen to Leftwich at the mic. His smug attitude and lack of intelligence is vomit inducing.
Listen to Bowles at the mic. He couldnât motivate someone starving to eat at a buffet.
Losers. And we lose because of it.
December 4th, 2022 at 7:51 am
Nobody is going to come to play for Clueless Todd and Bumbling Byron.
December 4th, 2022 at 7:59 am
Finally a article to take our minds off this dismal season
Thanks for the relief article Joe!
December 4th, 2022 at 7:59 am
Intentionally tank? No way! Playing backups in the last game of the season to advance your draft status is one thing, but throwing away the whole season is deplorable. Not very sportsmanlike. A year’s worth of football is too precious. I don’t want to watch my team knowing the organization is scheming not to win. I don’t think the players would like that very much e9ther.
December 4th, 2022 at 8:04 am
Rather roll with Gabbert than Goff, At least Gabbert can run, something the Bucs could use. A QB who can pick up yards on the ground.
December 4th, 2022 at 8:08 am
The Bucs and their staff cannot develop a quarterback there is no sense drafting one.
December 4th, 2022 at 8:31 am
I almost feel like Joe posted this just to make everybody as mad as he is.
December 4th, 2022 at 8:32 am
Sean Payton!!!!!!!!!!
December 4th, 2022 at 8:47 am
If Brady’s not in the picture next year, it’s a steady diet of Trask and Gabbert thru mini camp and training camp, will be evident after a while which (if either) is capable. All the guys they talked about last year–Ryan, Mayfield, Wilson, all of them have been no better than Trask or Gabbert would have been, at a fraction of the cost.
Only decent QB who would be available is Jimmy Gq, and he is no fit for ‘no risk it no biscuit’, but that approach seems gone now anyway
December 4th, 2022 at 8:52 am
Jimmy G would get killed in this offense. He wouldn’t make past 3 games.
December 4th, 2022 at 8:57 am
Jared Goff might be a cheap one year option so the Bucs can get their salary cap mess fixed.
If he will play for cheap we can finally clear Tom Brady’s $35M dead cap hit off the books and pay Goff @ $10M.
I would rather keep TB12 for one more season and make another run with a better OC. Re-sign J. Jones, A. Hicks and LVD and push all their dead cap space into 2024…
Restructure D. Smith, R. Gage, Evans, Godwin, Succop, Jenson, Brate and maybe S. Barrett in order to give us some room to maneuver and re-sign J. Dean.
It can be done but not without Tom Brady coming back. If he leaves we are probably in rebuild mode…
December 4th, 2022 at 9:18 am
After reading this thread, I might need to start drinking.
Goff is so terrible, even my wife knows his name and that’s not a good thing. Trask is just not ready may not ever be ready but he’s shown me he’s better than Gabbert.
There’s no way Sean Payton would come here unless we already had a QB ready to go. He’s not desperate for a job and he would be hotly pursued by teams that are in better situations than the Bucs.
December 4th, 2022 at 9:18 am
AR-15? No thanks, one useless Florida quarterback on the roster is enough.
December 4th, 2022 at 9:20 am
Rather than intentionally tanking, the Bucs could follow the Dolphins model and trade away their valuable assets for draft picks. They could still play hard and try to win but fall short due to a lack of talent. Personally, I did not agree with that approach (the Dolphins are my AFC team), but it seems to be working out pretty well now.
December 4th, 2022 at 9:22 am
Grover ain’t playing that game again.
December 4th, 2022 at 9:40 am
Wets pway Twasky. Yea.
December 4th, 2022 at 9:55 am
One point: if the Bucs win the NFC South, they cannot draft higher than 19, since every playoff team drafts after every non-playoff team.
December 4th, 2022 at 10:00 am
ba’s red pen^^ thats funny as hell!!
December 4th, 2022 at 10:04 am
Richardson?
He makes Jaboo look qualified to be an NFL QB, and Iâm a Gator.
December 4th, 2022 at 10:06 am
Utah handled Caleb pretty well..
December 4th, 2022 at 10:08 am
Orlando
That would require competent coaching, not this bloated feckless staff.
December 4th, 2022 at 10:30 am
AR15 has no business being in this draft and I’m a gators fan. And noway he’s picked in the first round with the way he played this year
December 4th, 2022 at 10:32 am
Blow it up bucs are in cap hell with an aging roster
December 4th, 2022 at 10:35 am
Orlando, sounds good but don’t forget Hill makes $30+MM a season and eventually Tua & Waddle are going to want a piece of that check book.
Sorry Bucs fans, there is probably one QB in the league that could remotely help this O and it’s Allen because he is just as dangerous a rusher as he is a passer. As long as Bowles stays, you got nothin.
December 4th, 2022 at 10:39 am
Caleb Williams is an immature joke. And anyone advocating tanking to get a better draft pick is a loser. Relying on a single college player to salvage the team as a savior is possibly the stupidest thing Iâve ever heard. Rember Jameis Winston?
December 4th, 2022 at 10:53 am
This has been one of the worst coaching performances the NFL has seen in a very long time.
December 4th, 2022 at 11:30 am
I like to think out of the box. Here is something outrageous to ponder.
Persuade Tom Brady to come back next year. Have him announce his intentions closely after our last game played for this season. Fire Todd Bowles as head coach, Byron Leftwich as offensive coordinator and Keith Armstrong as special teams coordinator.
Promote Harold Goodwin to head coach. Let him oversee whatever turnover is required in the coaching staff as he sees fit.
Keep Jason Licht and see what kind of off-season magic he can perform regarding personnel.
Tom Brady would then be in a similar situation to that of 2020 in that he would be learning under a new head coach and a new offensive coordinator. This time he would have a good knowledge of many key players to start with so that would ease the pressure on the “old man”.
The Bucs can salvage a bad situation and position themselves to go “all in” one more time in 2023.
December 4th, 2022 at 12:17 pm
This season is not over..all it takes is the bucs to catch fire and we will have a Lombardi trophy.
December 4th, 2022 at 12:31 pm
No one âtanksâ in the NFL, so much as they just hire Lovie Smith. đ
December 4th, 2022 at 1:00 pm
Soggy. Not really. Bad coaching is a death sentence to any team.
December 4th, 2022 at 1:48 pm
Norm Snead and the Bucs.
Brian Flores or Eric Bienemy.
December 4th, 2022 at 5:10 pm
Lamar Jackson is in the final year of his contract, and early reports today are showing he is now out for the season. Might be more available now, but don’t see where our cap space next year would come from, in order to get him.
December 4th, 2022 at 8:10 pm
Too hard to out tank the other poor teams in the NFC South. Too hard to trade the veteran players we have under contract and expect any kind of value. Many bad teams position themselves for the next hot qb in the draft. This team needs to move mountains and get the best known quality signal caller they can get. Likely to need a new coaching staff as well.
December 5th, 2022 at 1:04 am
todd bowels is king of the world…titanic style
December 5th, 2022 at 2:40 am
I can’t believe anyone could possibly have played any sport and learned about true sportsmanship or been taught anything about honor or simply doing the right thing and have “zero problems with this” tanking BS.
December 5th, 2022 at 8:12 am
The only way the Bucs keep Brady is if they bring in Sean Payton. If not Brady leaves and I wouldnât be too unhappy if he ends up back at the Patriots. That way he could retire a Patriot and if they keep him healthy maybe they do some damage in the playoffs. As for us, we are on to less than mediocrity if they donât fire Bowles in the offseason. Itâs sad to possibly get to this point when just a couple of years ago we won the Super Bowl.