Jason Licht – Page 8 – Syndication Server

Buccaneers in ‘Top 3’ landing spots for Melvin Gordon

On Monday, Michael Fabiano reported that the market for former Los Angeles Chargers running back Melvin Gordon has been narrowed down to just three teams: the Miami Dolphins, Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The way the chips have fallen …

The way the chips have fallen since free agency has started, it would appear that the Falcons and Buccaneers would be the front runners, as the Dolphins signed Jordan Howard and the Falcons released their starting running back Devonta Freeman.

According to SpotTrac, Gordon’s market value is $8.3 million per year, which is feasible for the Buccaneers even with the reported contract for Brady at $30 million per year.

In 2019, Gordon held out of the first four games in his efforts to secure a long-term contract, which didn’t happen, ultimately spelling the end of his time in the Chargers backfield. In just 12 games, Gordon netted 612 rushing yards and 296 receiving yards. How does that stack up to the Buccaneers backfield in 2019? Ronald Jones played in all 16 games and tallied 724 yards on the ground and totaled 309 receiving yards.

Brady has always had the benefit of running backs that can catch the ball out of the backfield, and with 224 receptions in 67 career games, Gordon is a receiving threat.

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Report: Buccaneers one of the top landing spots for Derrick Henry

Could the NFL’s rushing leader from 2019, Derrick Henry, find a home in Tampa Bay with the Buccaneers?

The NFL’s 2019 rushing champion, Derrick Henry, is set to become a free agent on March 18th, and while the Tennessee Titans are presumed as the favorites to retain their starting running back, Jordan Dajani at CBS Sports is reporting that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would be the most popular landing spot outside of the Titans.

Notably, the Buccaneers struggled running the ball with Ronald Jones and Peyton Barber sharing the workload out of the backfield last season, only notching one game with a back exceeding the 100-yard mark, and that was Jones in the final game of the season. Collectively, Jones and Barber combined for 1,521 yards on the ground for the entire season. Henry, meanwhile, finished the 2019 season with 1,540 yards. So, it’s safe to say that if the Buccaneers are truly looking to upgrade at running back, Henry is on their radar.

Henry’s projected market value from Sportrac is around 4-years at $55.3 million with an average yearly salary of $13.8 million. While an upgrade at running back could be nice, and Jones has shown flashes of being a very solid running back in the league, the Buccaneers have a lot to focus on when it comes to free agency. Coach Bruce Arians has said that he wants to keep the entire defense together, and that the possibility of doing so is ‘“very realisitic.” Jameis Winston will also be a free agent, although Arians has said that he, and the team, already know what they are doing at the QB position.

Since the franchise tagging period has opened, as expected, the Buccaneers have not placed the franchise tag on Winston, and if the organization cannot work out a long-term deal with Shaquil Barrett, he will most likely be the recipient of that franchise tag. The tagging period started on February 27th and will close on March 12th.

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GMFB has differing opinions on Jameis Winston’s future with Bucs

See what the crew over at “Good Morning Football” had to say about Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Jameis Winston and his future with the team.

This morning on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback, Jameis Winston was the topic of conversation on the shows Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda segment, posing the question:

“Would you be surprised if Jameis Winston remains Buccaneers starting QB?”

Former wide receiver Nate Burleson, said that he would not be surprised if Winston remains at the helm citing comments from coach Bruce Arians, “We can win with Jameis.” Burleson continued by saying that Arians “wants a quarterback that can sling it, and throw it down field.” As Burleson elaborated, he talked about calling the Buccaneers and Houston Texans game at the end of the season, and spoke to Arians asking him about the offense, and what he wants out of his quarterback. “If he doesn’t make the throw, if he hesitates, if he checks it down, even if there are two guys on one of our star receivers, I am going to yell at my quarterback,” Arians told Burleson.

Burleson continued on his understanding of what Arians wants, saying “Jameis has that, he’s not going to hold back, he’s going to let it fly. I heard he went out and got LASIK, got his thumb on his throwing hand fixed. All things that point to Jameis coming back and having a better season. He won’t be 30-for-30 like the ESPN documentaries.”

Co-host, Kyle Brandt meanwhile, had a polar opposite opinion on Winston’s future saying, “[Bruce] Arians doesn’t want someone to sling it. Winston doesn’t need Arians to tell him to sling it. Carson Palmer, Ben Roethlisberger, Peyton Manning, those guys were not throwing 30 interceptions a year. Those are Bruce Arians guys.” Brandt made reference to Winston being the teams starting quarterback for five years by very simply stating, “If you’re not sure after five years. Then you are sure.”

During their press conferences, both general manager Jason Licht and Arians have been delivering the same undertones that the team could win with Winston as their quarterback, but they are doing their due diligence and weighing all of their options. Arians went as far as saying that he and the team already know what they are going to do at quarterback, they just haven’t made it public yet. It’s now being discussed among many of my peers that the Buccaneers are a potential landing spot for Tom Brady.

Another take that isn’t being widely discussed, could the Buccaneers trade up into one of the top spots and draft a quarterback? Keeping the defense together has been the top priority for the team, and this would allow them to allocate the majority of money to doing just that.

The April 23rd draft is not very far away, and only time will tell what the Buccaneers will do in preparation for the 2020 season.

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Buccaneers could be a legitimate Tom Brady sweepstakes winner

See why the Tampa Bay Buccaneers could easily emerge as a potential suitor for free agent QB Tom Brady.

When it comes to free agent quarterback Tom Brady, if it’s not the New England Patriots tied to him, the next team names in line are interchangeable between the Las Vegas Raiders and the Los Angeles Chargers. A few reports swirled up rumors that linked Brady with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

During yesterday’s press conference, general manager Jason Licht planted all the seeds to blossom these rumors, without even naming Brady. “We’re not saying we don’t want Jameis,” Licht said. “We’re just saying we want to check what’s behind door number 2, 3, 4.” Of course the Buccaneers have plenty of other things to focus on outside of the quarterback position. Both Licht and coach Bruce Arians haven’t given much, if any detail on where the team is headed in terms of quarterback. “I know what I am doing at the quarterback position. Jameis Winston doesn’t know, but the team does.”

This could all be an effort to drive the price of Winston down so the team can allocate more money into keeping their defense together. After all, Winston, although technically not yet a free agent, hasn’t really been linked to any other teams in the free agency.

The Buccaneers offensive weapons are exactly what Brady and the Patriots have been missing. Wide receivers Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and soon-to-be free agent Breshad Perriman, as well as tight end O.J. Howard – we all know how much Brady likes throwing to tight ends.

“I had Andrew Luck as a rookie, I had Carson Palmer later in his career. I just like winners,” Arians said at Tuesday’s press conference. There isn’t any quarterback in the history of the NFL that would fit the winner category anymore than Brady. Licht was also a scout on the Patriots in 2000 when the team drafted him in the sixth round.

Also, during the radio row trip on Sirius XM’s NFL Radio, Arians spoke more about Winston’s 2019 season performance. “There’s a lot to love, just the mistakes sometimes you scratch your head. I think there were about 10 [interceptions] that weren’t his fault, but I would’ve liked to see a better December.”

Brady will officially become a free agent on March 17th at 4:00 p.m. EST.

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Bucs GM Jason Licht says defense has a chance to be great

Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht spoke at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine about the team’s defense and its future.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager took to the podium at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis today, and while on the topic of free agent quarterback Jameis Winston, he spoke about the Buccaneers’ defense.

“There are some quality guys, and quality throughout the draft at all levels,” Licht said about the defensive players in the upcoming NFL draft. “I thought we did a fantastic job with Jamel Dean and Sean Murphy-Bunting coming from a small school and really playing lights out the second half of the season.”

“Carlton [Davis] made huge advancements along with Sean [Murphy-Bunting] and Jamel [Dean], just three great guys. They bought into the program, they want to go out and compete every week. I just couldn’t be more happier with those guys.”

To hear Licht talk more about the Buccaneers’ defensive expectations, watch the video below.

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Cutting Vernon Hargreaves further proves 2016 NFL Draft was one of the franchise’s worst

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers cut former first-round pick Vernon Hargreaves, further proving the 2016 NFL Draft was one of the franchise’s worst.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made the decision today to cut former first-round pick Vernon Hargreaves, just days after Bruce Arians benched the veteran cornerback for lack of hustle during Sunday’s win over the Arizona Cardinals.

Hargreaves was the team’s first round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft (11th overall), and came into the draft ranked as one of the top two cornerbacks in his class. But, after playing all 16 games his rookie year, Hargreaves struggled to stay healthy over the last two seasons, playing a total of just 10 games entering 2019. This year, he’d started all nine of the team’s games, but cutting him was a smart business move by the Bucs given the defender’s history of getting hurt.

Still, biding farewell to Hargreaves further proves that the 2016 draft was a nightmare for both general manager Jason Licht and the Buccaneers franchise. In fact, only one player drafted by the team in 2016 is still on the roster.

Take a look at this tweet, courtesy of Jenna Laine of ESPN.

“Vernon Hargreaves’ departure means that just ONE of Jason Licht’s 2016 draft picks remain on the current roster: Ryan Smith, who has played just five defensive snaps this year. Noah Spence, Roberto Aguayo, Caleb Benenoch, Devante Bond and Danny Vitale were all cut.”

I think Bucs fans will always remember that draft as the Aguayo Draft.

It seemed for a while that Hargreaves may finally develop into the player the Bucs were hoping for, but his lack of effort in Week 10 was apparently the final straw.

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