With the offseason pretty much in full swing, teams are gathered in Indianapolis for the NFL Combine but are doing more than just scouting this year's draft class. Already moves are being made that will impact free agency, such as the Rams agreeing to a new contract with Matthew Stafford and Aaron Rodgers garnering interest that could have a ripple effect based on how things play out.
For the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the winds of the rumor mill started gusting a month ago, and various names were picked up and tossed around in the process. Notably the Bucs need pass rush help, which is why Myles Garrett requesting a trade out of Cleveland was something that caught the attention of fans in Tampa Bay.
Garrett is a world-class player and a game changer for any defense lucky enough to have him on the field. The idea of him wrecking backfields for the Buccaneers is pretty great to imagine, which is why they've made such perfect sense as a landing spot on most of the listicles we've seen about Garrett's future. A similar thing was being said about Maxx Crosby and Micah Parsons potentially getting traded and the Bucs being a destination that fits.
What makes sense in theory doesn't always make sense logically, though. That's a bucket of cold water that general manager Jason Licht tossed on all of the potential excitement this week.
Jason Licht seemingly throws cold water on Buccaneers trading for Myles Garrett or Micah Parsons
While at the NFL Combine this week, Licht spoke on a number of topics about what the future might hold for the Bucs. Part of that involves what the team won't be doing, which in his words is doing anything "stupid" that throws off the trajectory the team is on.
Unfortunately for those expecting some splashy moves this offseason, that includes making any big signings or trades.
“I kind of feel like we’re in a sweet spot here and manage things correctly and don’t do anything stupid with the cap or give up a whole bunch of picks for the future," Licht said, via JoeBucsFan. "I think we can continue to do this and be in a place where we’re knocking on the door and finally kick it down."
Anything can still happen, but that seems to take the Bucs out of the running to trade for Garret, Parsons, or any other big name target. It stinks to hear, because Garrett in Todd Bowles' defense would be a cheat code but this isn't Madden; all along it seemed unlikely that Tampa Bay would make a splashy move since it would be so aggressively out of character for this front office.
Licht loves his draft picks, and for good reason. The Bucs have one of the youngest rosters in the league but remain the team the NFC South runs through. Despite losing key talent over the year, including Tom Brady, Tampa Bay hasn't missed a beat specifically because of how well the team has mined the NFL Draft for gold.
Conversely, if there was ever a Big Swing to take then trading for Garrett seems like the right one. The Bucs haven't been a consistent playoff team by being reckless, though, and while it's not particularly exciting to hear they won't be making a splash it at least makes sense.
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