Buccaneers GM spills the beans on a 25-year old boneheaded blunder in Philadelphia

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers don't want their business being leaked to the press before they are ready to do so themselves. All NFL teams are like that; few get away with making that policy successful.

In this era of football, it's too tempting not to be the culprit of a big news release, especially with all the national "insiders" offering an avenue to be "that guy." It's a lesson some teams learn quickly, and others learn the hard way. For Jason Licht, it was the hard way.

Jason Licht once did exactly what he hopes his own staff with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will never do

Long before Licht was the GM of the Buccaneers, he was on the staff in Philadelphia. Howie Roseman was an up-and-coming executive, Andy Reid was coaching, and Licht had just received the big-time promotion he had been waiting for.

Jeremiah Trotter was one of the best linebackers in the NFL. The calendar was turning from the 1900s to the 2000s. The Eagles, under Reid, were competitive, but the Super Bowl eluded them. The Eagles needed to make a move no one wanted; they were releasing Trotter.

Sitting in a room with several executives, Licht tells the story of how he was finally at the "grown-ups" table, and when those in the room vowed to keep the news internal until the following day, Licht made a rookie mistake that he kept to himself for 25 years.

Licht said he went home and told his wife, after she had promised not to say anything. The following day, "It's frantic, everyone is upset," said Licht as he was told it was being broadcast over the local AM sports talk radio show.

The Buccaneers GM went home and asked his wife if she said anything; of course, she said no, but "I did tell cousin Vincent." He called his cousin and asked him, "No, I would never tell anyone that. You can trust me, well, I did tell my friend Jesse."

Licht wrapped it up by saying he ran into "Jesse" a couple of weeks later and asked him about it. He said it was too good not to tell anyone, so he called the radio station.

Tampa's GM made it clear that he has held on to that, tucked away for a quarter of a century. He laughed and said somewhere Reid and Roseman will hear this and will finally learn the truth of the Eagles' big unsolved mystery.

Needless to say, Licht learned a valuable lesson.

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