Here in Florida, the Tampa Bay Bucs exude an unseen air of confidence over the past few years. For any other team less than two years removed from losing the best quarterback to ever play football, the sky would be falling; but for the Buccaneers? It’s business as usual.
General Manager Jason Licht, like a Grandmaster Chess Pro, makes subtle moves behind the scenes to not only acquire talent, but to mesh players together that are good fits, even when more raw athletically talented players may have been available.
Case in point: Baker Mayfield. Baker is a smaller for a Quarterback. He can be inconsistent, takes risks, and sometimes forces things. He does however, personify the kind of player Jason Licht loves to work with. Mayfield, brought in by the Rams as emergency support when he was shipped out of Cleveland, seemed destined to be a backup. A late season 4th quarter comeback in L.A. was enough to draw Jason Licht’s interest to Mayfield this past offseason.
Licht was confident that Tampa would be a great option for Baker. If nothing else, he would plug the hole left by Tom Brady after his retirement in 2022. Fast forward to January of 2024 and suddenly, Jason Licht’s gamble on Baker Mayfield paid off in spades. The Bucs won another division title and convincingly bested the defending NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles in the Wildcard round of the playoffs.
Any team having a better free agency than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) March 13, 2024
Jason Licht does not garner a ton of press coverage. He doesn’t need to. Entering the offseason this year, he did not need to reassure the Bucs fanbase of his dedication to improving the team or handling roster priorities, because his track record and has spoken for itself. A great deal of goodwill has been earned by Licht and his staff, which has certainly grown over the last few weeks.
Within a month of the dust settling on Super Bowl LVIII, the Bucs have retained not only Baker Mayfield, but also safety Antoine Winfield Jr, linebacker Lavonte David, and future hall of famer Mike Evans just to name a few. He also brought back Jordan Whitehead, a great addition to the safety room, something fans all over social media cheered almost instantly. The vibes were so good yesterday when Jordan Whitehead took the podium for his re-introductory press conference with the media that it seemed less like a press conference and more like a group of old pals catching up over a few drinks.
The 2024 NFL Draft hasn’t even taken place yet and there is near unanimous feeling across the League that Licht is on fire. A man on a mission to put another Super Bowl team together sooner rather than later, the man deserves his flowers. Bravo, Mr. Licht. Bravo.
THE CONVERSATION.