Buccaneers: Tampa Bay is too good to tank for QB Trevor Lawrence

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in need of a quarterback, but tanking an entire season away certainly isn’t the answer.

There have been several Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans who have expressed interest in signing a veteran free-agent at QB and then tanking for Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence in the 2021 NFL Draft.

While having a guy with the skillset of Lawrence at the helm sounds nice, the truth is that it’s just not in the cards.

Yes, Lawrence is probably the best pro prospect to head to the NFL in many years. Yes, he has elite-level arm strength and would excel greatly with development under Bruce Arians. But the Buccaneers aren’t in position to put success on hold for another season.

The Buccaneers are competing for a playoff spot in 2020, not the No. 1 draft pick. Tampa Bay is too good to be tanking at this point.

With the right moves this offseason, there’s no reason to believe that Tampa won’t be in prime contention to compete for the playoffs. The Buccaneers will likely be returning one of the top front-seven groups in the NFC South division, with a plethora of skill-position talent offensively.

The only thing missing is a more consistent defensive backfield, an upgraded offensive line and an answer at the quarterback position.

Give Jameis Winston, Philip Rivers or a number of other QBs a few more weapons and an upgraded offensive line, there’s no reason to believe the Buccaneers can’t compete with the Saints for the division and, at the very least, a wildcard spot.

We’re going to see several NFL franchises put the ‘tanking’ methods in place during 2020 with eyes on becoming winners in the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes, but Tampa won’t be- and shouldn’t be- one of them.

So, let’s just go ahead and stop the ridiculousness now.