Would The Bucs Still Consider Drafting A QB Early?
With the understanding that it’s the most important position in football, everybody at the NFL Scouting Combine wants to know what the plan is for the Bucs at quarterback. For the moment Kyle Trask is the only quarterback on the roster, which means it’s the only passer that general manager Jason Licht and head coach Todd Bowles can talk about in depth.
It’s well known that the Bucs are going to sign a veteran quarterback. Going all in on the unproven Trask is a wild risk, and having competition this summer is what’s best for business. While Bucs fans would dream of the team trading for Aaron Rodgers or signing Derek Carr, the reality is that the Bucs can’t afford either with the team being $56 million over the salary cap. This forces the Bucs to have to play it smart and go for a cheaper option this offseason – most likely a Jacoby Brissett, Baker Mayfield or Teddy Bridgewater type of journeyman.
“I think in free agency this year we’ve got some challenges ahead of us that we have to plan for to get under the cap,” Licht said. “But we’re going to be looking for value. And that goes for all positions for the most part.”
Bucs Don’t Rule Out Taking A QB In Rounds 1 Or 2
But what if Tampa Bay went another route this year? What if they decided to mix Trask with not just a veteran, but another rookie as well? This still gives Trask the opportunity to prove himself this season and if he’s not the guy, then the Bucs have another young prospect in line to take over for Tom Brady.
“Yes, it’s always a possibility,” Licht said. “The evaluations aren’t done yet. The tape is done, the season’s done for these guys, but now you got the Combine, you got the visits, you got the workouts, all these things. There’s several quarterbacks that we like in this draft, just like most drafts. It’s definitely a possibility.”
The main attractions at quarterback for this year are Alabama’s Bryce Young, Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson and Kentucky quarterback Will Levis. While Young and Stroud may likely be off the board, the Bucs may have an outside shot at Richardson and Levis. A trade might be in order to get it done, but if they feel they’ve got their guy, Tampa Bay hasn’t hesitated to pull one off before.
Even in our latest mock draft roundup analysts have predicted the Bucs moving up to take Levis. Trask was drafted just two years ago, but Tampa Bay still wants to win now and will do what’s best.
“It doesn’t preclude you from anything,” Bowles said. “It’s going to be a competition at every spot – that’s going to be every year. As long as [I’ve] been a coach, there’s going to be competition. We’ll look at everybody. We’ll try to take the best players available. We’ll see who can help us, who can try to help us, but Kyle will compete. He’s the only one on the roster right now – he works hard, he works at it in the offseason and we’ll see what he can do. I think everybody is coming into it with a clean slate, with a new coordinator, so everyone will be learning at the same time.”
Everybody’s Learning The Offense
There will be a level playing field regardless of who’s in the quarterback room working with Canales and new quarterbacks coach Thad Lewis in Tampa. That’s because no one on the roster has played in offensive coordinator Dave Canales’ system before. It would be as equal of a competition that one could find with each quarterback at the same starting point in this race.
“I’ve been here once before, it all depends on who we sign,” Bowles said. “We’ll see and we will kind of go from there. Again, it’s a new system. Everybody is going to have a chance to compete whether we label them one, two or three – that may not be the way they start the season.
“It’s a different time for us. We understand we lost the greatest of all time, but whoever we bring in here will have a chance to compete, Kyle [Trask] will have a chance to compete, and we will see where that goes.”
