The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a ton of options for their next quarterback. One could come as a shock to a Buccaneers fans should a certain domino fall.
The 2022 NFL offseason is set to be the craziest carousel of quarterbacks that we’ve maybe ever seen. There are so many potential moves and speculation, that fans are in a frenzy. With Tom Brady‘s retirement, the Buccaneers are one of these teams in search of a new signal caller. The league is seemingly waiting for that first domino to fall before the madness really begins, perhaps even this March, and we’re not talking about college hoops.
One domino that may potentially fall that could dictate the Buccaneers move involves Russell Wilson. Wilson has naturally been connected to a bunch of teams already given his talent and successful pedigree. This includes the Bucs, but it also includes the team they defeated in the wildcard round this past season, the Philadelphia Eagles.
The thing is, as far as what each team could and would potentially offer the Seattle Seahawks, Wilson is more likely to land in Philly. That said, it could open “door number two” for an unexpected arrival in Tampa Bay.
The Eagles trading for Wilson would mean that the Jalen Hurts-era in the City of Brotherly Love is just about over. It also would be an intriguing option for the Buccaneers to make a move on Hurts.
Now, before anyone gets all bent out of shape, let’s look at this rationally. The next quarterback of the Buccaneers will more likely than not be a “bridge “quarterback to warm the seat until the next long-term answer is found. It’s especially true when you consider that Bruce Arians is headed for retirement sooner rather than later, and his successor will want to choose his own guy. Of all the bridge quarterbacks that the Bucs have been linked to, Hurts would be far and away the youngest, and perhaps most importantly, should be the cheapest as well.
Now it’s no secret that Arians loves to sling the pill all over the yard. It’s also true that Hurts is not the most polished passer. However, he has improved leaps and bounds each year of his career so far, and would have a great nucleus to grow in Tampa Bay. It probably doesn’t help his cause in the eyes of Bucs fans that he had his worst game against them in the playoffs, but that doesn’t tell the entire story. He just has that “it” factor where he is a natural leader with seemingly minimal effort, as his Eagles teammates are visibly ready to go to war with him and bleed for him. It’s a big reason the Eagles even got as far as they did in 2021.
At the end of the day, there really is no perfect realistic option. The thing is though, given the youth, accomplishments, and potential price tag, Jalen Hurts is a juicy option to be the next quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, if at least temporarily. It is a quintessential low-risk/high-reward option that should be considered should the dominos fall that way with Russell Wilson. We’re just thinking outside of the Bucs box here. You never know with #ThisLeague after all.