There has been growing speculation that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will look to trade O.J. Howard. Could the New England Patriots be a trade partner?
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are still looking to make moves this offseason to become legitimate playoff contenders during the 2020 season.
The Buccaneers brought in Tom Brady to lead the team at quarterback, brought back the entire front-seven and have their eyes on drafting an offensive tackle and building the roster through the 2020 NFL Draft later this month.
While the Bucs have their eyes on bringing in some young talent in the draft, a report from Michael Lombardi says that there is more than just draft preparation on Tampa Bay’s mind here in the spring.
Lombardi reported that the Buccaneers are marketing TE O.J. Howard and are hoping to get a second-round pick out of the trade.
And Lombardi reports teams think OJ Howard is on the trade block again in Tampa https://t.co/m4nI7cjS1r
— Greg A. Bedard (@GregABedard) April 15, 2020
Dov Kleiman later linked the Patriots to the Buccaneers as a potential trade partner.
The #Buccaneers are looking to trade former 1st round pick, TE O.J. Howard. They are looking for a second round pick according to @mlombardiNFL
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) April 16, 2020
The #Patriots were reportedly interested in trading for Howard last season.
The Patriots need some receiving options and Howard would make a lot of sense, if the Bucs are indeed looking to trade him. New England was interested in Howard back during the 2019 season and could be looking to add him to the roster now with, potentially, a young quarterback they take in the first-round.
There’s one problem with that thinking though: Tampa Bay is attempting to get a second-round pick out of the deal and New England doesn’t have a second-round pick currently.
For a deal to get done with the Patriots, we would have to see the Buccaneers take less than their asking price. They could potentially take the Pats’ third-round pick- which is No. 8- and then another late-round pick, but it’s unclear if either team would be willing to make that deal.
Overall, while the Bucs will be looking to trade Howard, I don’t think the Patriots will end up as a viable candidate, despite the fact that the organization has been interested in the tight end in the past.