Buccaneers: Jason Licht has flipped 97% of his roster in just 4 years
Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht has put in some serious work since his arrival in Tampa.
When thinking about Tampa Bay Buccaneers lore, what does the number 83 mean to you?
Pewter and Red Buc fans might equate it to Vincent Jackson, who is third all-time in Buccaneer receiving yards. Another possibility is Mark Carrier, a wide receiver from the Bucco Bruce years that is first in all-time receiving yards and second in all-time team receptions. Some may look to the 1983 season where the Bucs won five of their last six games, all comebacks wins with under a minute to play, to make the playoffs. This is where long time radio play by play voice Gene Deckerhoff dubbed the team “The Cardiac Kids”.
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Now, all these 83’s have significant meaning in annuls of Bucs history, but there is another 83 that Buccaneer fans should know about going into this season.
83 is the number of new players from the 2017 Bucs 90 man roster that were not on 2013 version. That is a 97% turnover, including 17 new projected week one starters.
Buccaneers GM Jason Licht took over personnel decisions in 2014 and has found long-term solutions, stop gaps, and solid contributors almost under every rock he has kicked over. Now with three full NFL seasons under his belt and four drafts. He has the Buc fan base, local media and national pundits predicting a playoff run in 2017, something that hasn’t happened in the bay area for nine years.
In the following pages is a year-by-year breakdown of how Licht and his staff have put together a feared offense and an underrated defense that has the entire NFL talking and fans breaking out their battle ready red flags once again.