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Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Asking price for Mike Glennon?

By Kevin Parvizi

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers decision to release veteran quarterback Josh McCown yesterday comes as no surprise, as McCown offerer no upside to the organization at the age of 35 after a poor 2014 season that came as no surprise. If McCown were affordable, then he could have stuck around as a stopgap for the team’s No. 1 overall pick, assuming they wisely take advantage of the top pick by nabbing a QB, but the fact of the matter is that he was well-worth the $5.25 million in savings.

Essentially, McCown’s release was an obvious move that was a long time coming, and the most notable aspect of the release is how it impacts soon-to-be third-year signal-caller Mike Glennon.

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There have been plenty of trade rumors involving Glennon this offseason, and I’m sure QB-needy teams will give both the Buccaneers and Philadelphia Eagles calls about Glennon and Nick Foles, respectively. Foles has clearly had more success in the pros, but Glennon is the kind of guy a team could trade for to see if they can work with his physical tools.

A third-round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, Glennon had a decent enough rookie season with an impressive 19:9 TD:INT ratio, but he had a mediocre sophomore season with a 57.6% completion percentage that was only slightly softened by his improved seven yards per attempt.

The fact that Glennon’s numbers in his first two seasons have been consistently mediocre tells you that he’s been able to adjust pretty well after there were concerns about his ability to handle the pass rush when he was at N.C. State. His tools are undeniable, and with so many QB-needy teams out there and so few options, the Buccaneers can afford to ask for a higher price than usual.

Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds recently wrote that the Buccaneers would like to receive at least a fourth-round pick for Glennon and are aiming for a second-round pick as a best-case scenario. The previous regime took him in the third round of the draft, so receiving a third-round pick seems to be the ideal and likely scenario for the Bucs to feel comfortable with trading him.

In all honesty, I think the Bucs should accept no less than a third-round pick for Glennon, because even though he hasn’t been impressive, he hasn’t played poorly either. More importantly, the McCown release makes Glennon even more important to the organization, because even though they will draft either Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota, they need to go into the season with at least two legitimate quarterbacks who are capable of starting.

Glennon has shown that he can move an offense with at least some degree of success, and he has plenty of room for improvement at the age of 25 under new offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter. If the Bucs trade him, then they’ll be like the team that acquired him- scrambling in the hopes of finding a legit QB to roster who can be a piece of the puzzle.

While Winston is pro-ready and Mariota should be able to start from Day 1, the fact of the matter is that there are no guarantees, especially since there’s always the threat of an injury. If the Bucs deal Glennon, who do they have left? Who can they sign in his place?

Basically, the Bucs aren’t in a position where they can sell low on Glennon, because even though he isn’t their quarterback of the future, he’s at least entrenched as their backup and would hold plenty of value to them in that spot. They should try to get a high pick out of him, and that’s why they can’t afford to take something lower than a third-round pick. Not only did the old regime draft him in the third round, but do you really think anyone will be able to find a better QB in third round or later in this year’s draft? It’s possible, but I doubt it.

Mike Glennon clearly outplayed McCown last season when he was the starter for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the decision to bench him clearly showed that the team was more interested in tanking for the No. 1 pick, which is perfectly fine in my view. They do have to be careful with one of their best trade assets, though, because the short supply of QBs could allow them to fetch a quality pick in exchange for Glennon.

He gives the Buccaneers more value when he’s on the roster than a fourth-round pick would, because it’s all about security at the quarterback position. Glennon isn’t the safest player in the world, but he’s a known commodity and, again, hasn’t embarrassed himself at any stage of his development thus far.

Next: Mock Draft: Bucs take Jameis

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