Among the key areas the Tampa Bay Bucaneers need to focus on improving this offseason, fixing the pass rush seems to be pretty high on the list. Even if injuries hadn’t ravaged the roster last year, the lack of pass rush would have still worked against the defense in all the ways it did anyway.
It was a frustrating development, especially since the Bucs do have some elite talent developing at the position. Calijah Kancey can only do so much, though, which is why pairing him with some help could go a long way. Where the Bucs look for help is the big question, and it’s one that has some thinking that Myles Garrett could be the answer.
Trading for Garrett would be an absolutely massive swing for a team that doesn’t typically take them. Only a handful of times in the recent past have the Bucs made that sort of move, and almost none of them have worked out.
With the exception of Jason Pierre-Paul and Rob Gronkowski, the Bucs haven’t made big trades that have panned out well. Acquiring Garrett would be without a doubt the biggest trade the team has ever made, on par with the deal that landed them Darrelle Revis — which was a move that didn’t work.
Trading for Pierre-Paul, Gronk, and even Jon Gruden stand out as massive successes, and Garrett is an elite future Hall of Famer. Landing him would give the Bucs everything they need in terms of pass rush help, but whether it happens is an entirely different story.
Buccaneers ‘unlikely’ to trade for Myles Garrett despite all of the hype
Count ESPN’s Bill Barnwell among those who aren’t holding their breath waiting for the Bucs to trade for Garrett.
Barnwell tiered off the teams that could theoretically trade for Myles Garrett this offseason, and it’s a splash of cold water for the Buccaneers. Anything can happen, but Barnwell has Tampa Bay in the ‘Unlikely’ tier, which honestly feels about right given all we know about the current regime.
For what it’s worth, he still made a pretty decent sales pitch despite not thinking the Bucs are high on the list of potential destinations. That being said, his logic for why it doesn’t make sense adds up.
“Would it make sense for the Buccaneers? They have to work on re-signing veterans Lavonte David, Chris Godwin and Ben Bredeson, and edge rusher isn't a real point of weakness. Todd Bowles' defense also generates so much of its pressure with blitzes, so Garrett might mean more for a team that rushes four and relies on the defensive line to get home,” Barnwell said. “The Bucs are a competitive team that could justify seeing Garrett as the guy who can take them to the next level, however, and playing in an income tax-free state could make Garrett millions of dollars over this next contract.”
Landing Garrett makes sense in just about every single way outside of the most important: What it would cost. It’s not that the Bucs aren’t capable of meeting the price, rather historically the team hasn’t been willing to part with the draft capital that would be required to pull this off.
That doesn’t mean it’s a good excuse, but logically it’s hard to ignore. So too is the money it would cost in the long run. Garrett is a Defensive Player of the Year winner who is still in the prime of his career, but giving him the massive contract he needs would likely mean taking some hits elsewhere on the roster.
Again, that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be worth it but this isn’t as simple as it’s seemed. Tampa Bay would be dealing more than just draft picks to land Garrett; if the difference is getting Garrett and losing guys like Godwin, David, and offensive line depth, is that a fair trade?
These are all fair questions that need to be asked, and there’s not a right answer at the moment. Garrett solves a lot of problems for the Buccaneers but if acquiring him creates more elsewhere on the roster it might not be as impactful as it seems on paper.
Above all, the biggest takeaway from Barnwell’s list should be the reminder that the Buccaneers will have steep competition for Garrett on the trade market. They aren’t the only team in need of pass rush help to take them into true Super Bowl contention territory, which ultimately could be the thing that prices them out of the running.
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