Buccaneers: Standing pat at quarterback despite the Griffin injury
Despite injury, the Buccaneers are not going to add an arm to the quarterback room.
The Buccaneers are pretty well set at the quarterback position. They have this guy named Jameis Winston as the starter. You may have heard of him somewhere before. At backup, Ryan Fitzpatrick wasn’t great against the Bengals, though he did run for the Bucs only touchdown. Barring a major happening, he has locked down the backup position.
For third string, it’s a different story. Ryan Griffin has been around the team for a while. They have also brought in a young man named Sefo Liufau. He actually posted the best completion percentage of the game against the Bengals, going 4-5 in limited action. Yes, it was against the bottom of the depth chart, but efficiency is efficiency.
More from The Pewter Plank
- Devin White posts cryptic message to Lavonte David on Twitter
- ESPN predicts surprising outcome to Devin White trade saga
- Updated Buccaneers depth chart after signing two players from rookie minicamp
- Todd Bowles sends clear message about Baker Mayfield’s role with Bucs
- The Athletic is wrong about Bucs one ‘must-watch’ game in 2023
Unfortunately for the Bucs, one of those quarterbacks is going to be out. Ryan Griffin was injured, and he is going to miss some time. Here is an update from coach Koetter (per team website):
"“I can give you a little bit of an update in that it’s not great news He’s got an injury to his throwing shoulder. [He] had an MRI today. He’s going to be out for a while. I don’t know the exact medical term, [but] it’s not going to require surgery. It’s something that can heal, but it’s just going to take some time.”"
That’s obviously not good for Mr. Griffin. According to Koetter, he will be out for weeks. That leaves three quarterbacks in the room. Now that’s not a bad number, but often times, teams add at least one more if for no other reason, to be a camp arm. Are the Bucs going to add one?
"“I don’t think we are going to need to do that. Sefo [Liufau] came in last night and did a nice job. As is always the case, you want competition and maybe too often some of these jobs are settled due to injuries. It’s not like there’s just a great selection of guys out there that you’re going to go out and get at this point that are going to come in and save the day. It is what it is. We don’t need to get in a panic mode. We’ve got two good quarterbacks and a young guy in Sefo that continues to train.”"
That shows a lot of confidence in Sefo. If you aren’t bringing in an extra arm to throw to guys, you believe. Now of course he has confidence in Winston and Fitzpatrick but Sefo is new. Personally, I think the focus is good. Let the three quarterbacks get their work in and worry about other positions as the coach.
Next: Preseason week 1 winners and losers
What do you guys think? Should the Bucs add a camp arm?