Buccaneers: 4 moves to make to stay at the top of the NFL
By Rob Leeds
The Buccaneers need space at the quarterback position
Tampa Bay does not need Tom Brady and then two over the hump backup quarterbacks in the wings. Blaine Gabbert and Ryan Griffin are not future franchise quarterbacks, and keeping both on the team right now does little to use the cap effectively and prepare for the future.
The main goal for this team is staying atop the league, which is only possible for a few more years on the current pace. Once Brady leaves or retires, the franchise could be dead in the water with Griffin or Gabbert at the lead.
Instead of making this dramatic mistake, the Bucs need to free up some space during training camp. They have recently re-signed Griffin to a normal backup contract, but that shouldn’t mean that he will stay on the roster through the season.
In the end, re-signing Griffin should be an insurance policy against not finding a better #3 in the draft. It already looks like Gabbert will get an extension soon, so it boils down to who makes more sense as the true backup and who doesn’t need to stay any longer.
The best move for the Bucs down the road is finding a Kellen Mond type in the draft who could eventually become a starter with the right coaching. Nothing is guaranteed with this player, but their ceiling is still higher than Griffin’s on the roster.
The Bucs would still keep one of the two backups to stay behind Brady, but the season is already over anyway if he goes down. The backup primarily serves as the guy to hold the playbook for Brady, but a rookie could grow into this role quickly.