Let the rumors begin regarding the 2010 NFL Draft. By owning the third overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, you can bet the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be mentioned in plenty of trade rumors and scenarios as April approaches.

Such was the case Friday when a report surfaced suggesting the Bucs and St. Louis Rams, who own the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, were discussing the possibility of swapping first-round picks, and the Bucs sending quarterback Josh Johnson and their third-round selection to St. Louis for the top pick in the draft, which would be used by Tampa Bay to take Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.

In addition to finding a franchise quarterback, the Rams are interested in trading out of the top spot in this year’s draft, moving down a few spots and acquiring additional draft picks and players. I’ve been told that the Rams and Buccaneers have had exploratory discussions on a deal, which would involve the team’s first round selections (No. 1 and 3), possibly one of the Buccaneers second round picks (they have two picks in the second round: No. 35 and 42) or their third round pick (No. 67). Again, these discussions have been exploratory, as the Rams continue to investigate all of their options, but the deal involving the Rams and Bucs first round picks and Tampa Bay’s third round pick, not one of their second-round picks, is where it gets interesting.

A source close to the situation in St. Louis told me that if a deal with the Eagles can’t be consummated prior to the draft, they may take the Bucs third round pick over one of their second round picks, because they’re “very high” on third-year quarterback Josh Johnson, who they would insist being in a potential trade with Tampa Bay. Rams officials compare Johnson favorably to Vick athletically, but they feel that he has a greater upside as a passer.

Source: Scout.com - Chris Steuber

PewterReport.com's Take: Not to say there's no validity to this report, but what's being suggested in this article goes against everything PewterReport.com has heard through its league and team sources over the past several weeks. We've been told there is no way the Buccaneers will trade up with the Rams in the first round because the cash-strapped Bucs are looking to reduce expenses, not add them, and due to the fact that Tampa Bay is coming off a 3-13 season and needs all of its draft picks in order to improve its roster and upgrade a few starting positions. One thing is for sure -- the Bucs definitely love Ndamukong Suh. If Bucs general manager Mark Dominik and Rams vice president of football operations Kevin Demoff, who worked together in Tampa Bay, can swing a deal that's favorable for the Bucs then we suppose it's possible, but everything we've heard from our sources suggests Bucs fans shouldn't get their hopes up.