Buccaneers: Trade candidate with the most value that needs to stay

The Buccaneers have an extremely valuable trade asset in Mike Edwards, but he can’t go anywhere. 

As the rest of the league ponders their last-minute moves before the start of training camp, the Buccaneers are fortunate to have very little to do.

With all of their starters staying put and great new additions to boot, the Bucs could make no free agent moves or trades in the coming weeks and still be in the best spot in the NFC to make the Super Bowl.

Although the Bucs are content with their current roster as is, there are sure to be plenty of teams out there that would like a piece of what made the Buccaneers great in 2020, and they should be willing to trade tons of assets to make it happen.

While the starters in Tampa are obviously off-limits, the stellar depth players for the Bucs should get plenty of attention leading up to the start of the season.

Other teams may look towards the wide receiver room as one area to target on the Buccaneers to improve their own offensive capabilities, but Mike Edwards may have the most trade value of any player on the team.

With mountains of production on limited playtime, Edwards should have half of the GMs in the league calling the Bucs, but Tampa should hang up the phone immediately.

Antoine Winfield Jr. and Jordan Whitehead are both great starters, and while the offer of a day two pick or similar compensation may seem enticing, the Bucs shouldn’t even listen to offers on Edwards.

Having three starting-caliber safeties in a defense run by Todd Bowles is almost a necessity. Edwards may not play a ton of the reps, but he knows how to make the most of the opportunities he receives, and both parties should see how advantageous it is to use Edwards in this way.

On the other hand, Edwards is not far off from a big payday down the road if he keeps averaging his current stats on 30% of the total defensive snaps. This could be the only reason why the team should consider a trade, but certainly not until the end of this season, as Edwards is far too valuable in a run at another Lombardi Trophy.

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