It's Time For The Tampa Bay Buccaneers To Blow It Up.
The Buccaneers were very mid for a long time with Jameis Winston at the helm. Winston was leading the team by winning between five and nine games every season; the Buccaneers knew they had a decent roster but missing that true difference maker: an accurate quarterback.
Luckily for Tampa Bay, Tom Brady's tenure with the Patriots ended after twenty years, and he wanted somewhere lovely and warm, like Florida.
So with the opportunity to sign the greatest player ever to play the sport Tampa Bay jumped at it. Brady was brought in, and they became consistently good for a few years, including winning super bowl 55.
This signing also prompted the Buccaneers to go "all in." Re-signing everyone possible to ensure keeping the team in the top tier, bringing Rob Gronkowski out of retirement to appease Tom Brady, and sacrificing the future cap situation for the win-now mentality that has become popularized.
While it did pay off, sacrificing the future cap situation is now. The Bucs rank second to last in cap space with less than two million dollars to spend, with multiple key players still needing to be paid eventually. All these reasons and more are why the Tampa Bay Buccaneers need to blow it up.
Tampa Bay Is Still Solid. Why Would They Do That?
They are still a decent team. The Buccaneers have a very good supporting cast with a good offensive line, elite wide receivers to help any quarterback and a defense with a few elite playmakers.
However, what they need to have outmatches it all: an accurate quarterback. The Buccaneers seemingly had all of this with Jameis Winston before Tom Brady arrived in Tampa Bay.
Mike Evans, a solid offensive line, and a solid supporting cast gave Jameis the tools he would have needed to succeed. While Jameis' tenure with the Buccaneers ended with one of the most jaw-dropping and insane seasons by a quarterback, one in which he threw 30 touchdowns and 30 interceptions, it proved one thing: you need a true quarterback to win.
Tampa Bay learned this lesson, Jameis went elsewhere, and Tom Brady was brought in t level up the Buccaneers. While that worked, you find yourself in a far worse situation where you need a serviceable Jameis Winston.
The Buccaneers currently have Baker Mayfield and University of Florida legend Kyle Trask competing for the quarterback one spot. That is an atrocious battle, considered by most (including myself) to be the worst football situation.
The Buccaneers know they need a true quarterback to win, and with no Tom Brady on the market, what do you do?
You Get Value!
The Buccaneers have incredible loads of talent across the field. However, that talent is getting older. Mike Evans has been the model of consistency in the NFL. Seemingly good for 1000 yards and ten touchdowns every year since he touched the NFL, he has been a staple in Tampa.
However, he is now 29 years old and takes up nearly ten percent of your cap space. Many wide receiver-needy teams would be all over trading for Evans, very realistically being able to get at least a second-round draft pick and much more out of a trade.
There is also Shaquil Barrett, who is 30 and making a large sum of money. A lot of teams needing an edge would be happy to pay up.
This list continues with Chris Godwin, Ryan Jensen, Lavonte David, and more, all being older players still locked in for the foreseeable future.
While Godwin is a stretch, many players can be moved off your books and traded for a large amount of draft capital to build for the future. A few players should be kept, however. Young stars like Jamel Dean, Vita Vea, Tristan Wirfs, and Antoine Winfield Jr. don't need to be moved. While they'll need to be paid, you can still be consistent with a few good players to sell jerseys.
The Bottom Line.
We know that without a high-end quarterback, you can't compete. Along with the NFC South being an up-and-coming division with multiple solid teams rising, it may be time to cut your losses, suck for a few years, and build through the draft.
Tampa Bay isn't winning anything without an elite quarterback, and seeing as there are none on the market, you play to the situation. Blow up what you have currently, know if you have a miracle in Kyle Trask, and build for the future. Play it smart, Tampa.
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