Dwayne Haskins and the Buccaneers: Great fit or mistake?
By Rob Leeds
Who else?
Even if Dwayne Haskins isn’t the best fit, the Bucs are in a difficult situation in that their options are limited. Brady has one more year, and the other options currently on the roster are not franchise quarterbacks.
The Buccaneers then have several choices: they can look in the draft, they can make a trade, or they can search in free agency. Even with numerous avenues, Tampa Bay is limited in its opportunities.
The draft is the most popular option, but this is also the most dangerous. It is incredibly likely that four quarterbacks come off the board in the first ten picks. Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, Zach Wilson, and Trey Lance are practically locks to be long-gone before the Buccaneers have a chance to draft, so the Buccaneers find themselves limited.
The Bucs could then possibly have their pick of two Heisman finalists; Mac Jones and Kyle Trask, but these feel like trap options. Jones and Trask posted insane stat lines throughout the season that came from some of the most talented offensive players in the country. Trask was an awesome story to follow throughout the season, but unfortunately, the Cotton Bowl likely poked some serious holes in his abilities without supreme talent at his side.
Tampa Bay should let other teams fall for the stats and take a chance on these two options, which leaves the less-proven quarterbacks in the later rounds. Yes, one of these players could pan out down the road, but none of them have proven that they have the same ceiling as Haskins.
Why take a risk on a mid or late-round quarterback who could eventually have the same ceiling as Dwayne Haskins when the Buccaneers could just sign him to a cheap contract now?
As far as free agency and trades are concerned, the Buccaneers would just be wasting money and picks right now if they try to secure a future piece for their roster. Trading and using valuable cap space now defeats the purpose of going all-in for the next 13 months, so Haskins could actually be one of the safest options in the long run.