Buccaneers 2018 Off-Season Position Preview: Quarterback

The Buccaneers won the Super Bowl in 2003, following a very exciting and obviously successful 2002 NFL Season. How does the team need to address each position group to continue building towards a second run at the title?

5-11 for the Buccaneers is well below what most of us felt the team could do. General manager Jason Licht was absolutely crucified by the fan base and some media outlets for using the word “cringe” when describing his own reaction to expectations.

He later clarified the comments, but for some, it’ll never be enough. Either way, the only thing for Licht and his staff to do is build.

Every NFL team prefers to build through the draft, because you really can’t build a team through free-agency. However, every year there are old faces in new places which make a big difference in the bank.

Only a few it seems make as big an impact on the field.

Calais Campbell was one who dented both. His presence on Jacksonville’s defense can be pointed to as one of the catalysts which propelled them into the post-season and nearly to an upset win in the AFC Championship Game.

Chris Baker is a name all to familiar to Bucs fans, and he didn’t quite have the same impact. Of course, he wasn’t paid as much either.

Now, the overall feel of the franchise is it’s one more trip for Licht, Dirk Koetter, and Mike Smith to show they know what they’re doing and have the ship on course.

Rough waters don’t doom a journey, but sometimes they become an omen to rougher times ahead.

In an effort to help gauge a little bit of how the new league year may begin for the Bucs, I’m going to go through the position groups one-by-one.

I’ll be looking at personnel under contract for 2018, potential free-agent targets, potential cuts, and potential draft targets.

There’s a lot of potential in what I’m talking about, but that’s exactly what this time of year is all about. The potential to win, and the potential to put it all together.

Let’s start with the quarterbacks.