Buccaneers’ Remaining Needs After First Free Agency Push

Quarterback

Well, before anyone goes and alerts Jason Whitlock, the only need at the Bucs’ quarterback position is in the backup role. Jameis Winston is the quarterback of the future in Tampa Bay, though in this league, every team needs a valuable backup. With Mike Glennon leaving to join the Bears last week, the Bucs now have a big hole at that No. 2 spot behind Winston.

The argument made by Whitlock (video linked above) is that the attempt by general manager Jason Licht to make Glennon the league’s highest-paid backup was an indictment against Winston. That’s clearly not the case. The rebuttals made by the other three at the desk were on target. Tampa Bay needs a solid backup in the event of something disastrous happening under center. Jason McIntyre brought up the Oakland Raiders, which is a great example. Derek Carr lit the world on fire all of last season, only to go down right before the playoffs. Oakland didn’t have a formidable backup, bringing their season to a disappointing end.

Now that Glennon signed elsewhere, Tampa Bay has to find another option. Reports were made that the team was linked to Nick Foles, but he ended up signing with Philadelphia. Ryan Griffin would currently be the next guy up behind Winston and as much as the Bucs reportedly like him, he isn’t as reliable as a guy like Glennon. Whether it’s through free agency or the later rounds of the draft (more likely free agency), there is still a need to be filled at the backup quarterback position.