Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht speaks during the 2014 NFL Combine. Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a new regime in town led by head coach Lovie Smith and GM Jason Licht, and they are definitely in better hands with those two running the show. At least, that’s what it looks like on paper; we’ll have to wait some time to see just how much of an upgrade these two are. But the early indications are positive, as the Buccaneers seem willing to look through all possible options. They are also set to be aggressive in free agency this year, because they know that they are a few more playmakers and role players away from being a competitive team again. Of course, any team that went 4-12 the previous season has some upgrades to do, and the Bucs are fully aware of this.
Licht said that the Buccaneers will be active in free agency, via Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune, “We’re going to try to be proactive. We’re going to try to fill as many holes as we can in free agency, because I don’t want to go into the draft with our first pick, having to pick a position.
“If (the best player available at that time) fits a need, then we’ll do it. And sometimes that’s the way it goes. But it usually doesn’t, so we’re going to be proactive in free agency, and we’re going to do it wisely.’’
I really love the line of thinking presented by Licht, because the Buccaneers could really help themselves by building a deeper roster in free agency so that they can go BPA with the seventh overall pick. Aside from defensive end, the Bucs don’t really have a massive position of need; they just need more depth and one more top-end playmaker (and that would be at DE, in all likelihood). I an ideal world, most teams would like to be in a position to take the best player available in the draft, and it looks like the Bucs are working towards doing that.
Build depth in free agency, add the blue-chip player in the draft.