The Pewter Plank
FanSided

3 offseason QB scenarios that set Buccaneers up for future success

By Josh Hill

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - NOVEMBER 12: Hendon Hooker #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers scores a touchdown against the Missouri Tigers at Neyland Stadium on November 12, 2022 in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Tennessee Volunteers won the game 66-24. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - NOVEMBER 12: Hendon Hooker #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers scores a touchdown against the Missouri Tigers at Neyland Stadium on November 12, 2022 in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Tennessee Volunteers won the game 66-24. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /
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GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – NOVEMBER 12: Anthony Richardson #15 of the Florida Gators throws a pass during the first half of a game against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on November 12, 2022 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – NOVEMBER 12: Anthony Richardson #15 of the Florida Gators throws a pass during the first half of a game against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on November 12, 2022 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images) /

Scenario 2: Sign a veteran, draft a quarterback on Day 2

Possible Veteran Options: Jimmy Garoppolo, Jacoby Brissett

Possible Rookie QB options: Hendon Hooker, Anthony Richardson

This is perhaps the most ideal option, as well as the most intriguing, and the most realistic.

Tanking for Caleb Williams next year is both risky and a bit stupid. While there’s little doubt about his talent at the moment, there’s nothing to say he’ll 100 percent pan out to be a generationally talented NFL quarterback. There’s also no guarantee that the Bucs will for sure be able to draft him, which makes putting all of the eggs into one basket foolish. History is also against the Bucs investing high draft capital in a franchise quarterback, as taking Jamies Winston No. 1 overall didn’t work and Josh Freeman was largely a disaster.

A much more realistic option is to draft a developmental quarterback on Day 2 or Day 3 and sign a high-quality veteran to serve as a bridge quarterback. This allows the Bucs to have their cake and eat it too; a veteran allows them to compete and appear serious while having a rookie who learns behind that vet and develops into a starter in his third or fourth year.

It’s what the Bucs should have done with Jalen Hurts had they been able to draft him but they have another chance to try again this year.

Tennesee’s Hendon Hooker and Florida’s Anthony Richardson are two prime candidates to be guys the Bucs can draft and stash for a few years while seriously developing them behind the scenes. Neither are Day 1 starters — or Day 1 picks, despite the growing hype about Richardson — which takes the pressure off either needing to step into anything right away. While neither are blow-you-away prospects, they each showed they have the tools to potentially develop into quality starters if given the time and care to do so.

In the meantime, the Bucs could sign Jimmy Garoppolo or Jacoby Brissett to help compete in the now and help teach Hooker or Richardson for the future. Brissett sticks out as the favorite in this scenario, as Jimmy G hasn’t really shown that sort of leadership with Trey Lance in San Francisco these last few years.

Brissett is cut from the Tom Brady cloth and feels like a Todd Bowles guy. Not only could he come in and teach a rookie the ropes and set the Bucs up for future success, but he can help the franchise get back to what it was moving toward with Brady in terms of setting up a culture in Tampa Bay that changes things for the better. He’d bring a workmanlike attitude and won’t make a lot of mistakes — two things that could combine to help a rookie learn for the future and help the team compete right now.

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