Buccaneers: NFC South trade news that should worry Tampa Bay

The NFC South is trying to catch up to the Buccaneers.

All it took was one move for the Buccaneers to become the best team in the NFL. The addition of a competent quarterback took a team from finishing outside of the playoffs to world champs in one season, and the rest of the league is starting to ask if they can do the same thing.

Tampa Bay didn’t even bring in the most talented quarterback. Tom Brady is undoubtedly the best ever at the position, but he wasn’t in the top-five coming into the 2020 season. Consistency was all the Bucs needed to move up to the highest level.

Now, teams across the league are starting to ask themselves if they are getting consistent quarterback play. Teams like the Panthers know that Teddy Bridgewater isn’t the future, and they should try to make a change if they want to make a Bucs-esque turnaround in their franchise.

Unfortunately for the Buccaneers, the options in the quarterback market are numerous right now.

As it stands, at least two top-five quarterbacks could leave their teams for greener pastures this offseason. Russell Wilson and Deshaun Watson have been wasted by their franchises, and it makes perfect sense that they would want to leave teams that aren’t actively trying to win.

Watson has made it clear that he wants a trade while Wilson is only hinting that it could be possible. Generally, players don’t talk about a trade unless they would actually consider it, so the odds are decent that the Seattle-Wilson situation could devolve more in the coming months. The situation looks even more dire for the Buccaneers when it becomes clear that two division rivals require new quarterbacks.

The Saints, who are millions of dollars over the salary cap, shouldn’t be a real concern, but they are definitely in the quarterback market. Even if Brees returns, no one on that roster is a legitimate option, and they would love to add a player like Russell Wilson. Wilson seems to like that idea too.

According to Adam Schefter on Twitter, the Saints are one of the four teams that Wilson would accept a trade too. Very few contingencies could be worse for the Buccaneers than one of the best players in the league joining a division rival like the Saints.

Fortunately, the cap situation in New Orleans has finally caught up to them, and they shouldn’t have any real money to pay for a player like Wilson, but the fact that a connection exists is concerning. If someone could find a way to pull this off, it’s Sean Payton.