With a need for a third quarterback on the roster, April’s NFL Draft came and went without the Bucs selecting a signal caller after being linked to several of them, including Kentucky’s Will Levis, Houston’s Clayton Tune and BYU’s Jaren Hall. The Bucs passed on Levis at No. 19 and he slid all the way to the second round before he was drafted by the Titans. Though the team was likely just doing it’s due diligence on the player by having him in for a Top 30 visit, he was never in any real consideration with their first-round selection with other needs on the roster.

The team also brought in Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker, who garnered some first-round buzz, but was ultimately selected in the third round by the Lions. Tune and Hall also had Top 30 visits with the team, and were drafted in the the fifth round by the Cardinals and Vikings, respectively.

Bucs general manager Jason Licht was recently on with Jay & Z on WDAE and spoke of his decision not to take a quarterback in the draft.

“There were a couple quarterbacks that if they fell the right way we would take in different areas in the draft, [though] not necessarily high,” Licht said.

Kentucky QB Will Levis – Photo by: USA Today

With that said, it seems like Hooker and Levis were never really in play unless they had a monumental fall. With Tune and Hall, the draft just didn’t pan out in a way where they were rated higher than the prospects they took at their selections.

That doesn’t mean the Bucs will roll into training camp with only two quarterbacks on the roster. Licht is happy with the way the competition between Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask is setting up in the early days of voluntary team workout, but Tampa Bay will still need a third quarterback.

“Right now we like the competition that’s going on with Baker and Kyle,” Licht said. “[We] couldn’t be happier with the way it’s going right now. Just both of them getting ready to go into training camp. No decision is going to be made anytime soon obviously, but we do have a plan.”

That plan is to bring in a veteran to serve as the team’s third quarterback. Not necessarily one to challenge the two as they vie for the starting role, but more as a mentor in the room as someone who has experience in the league.

“[We’d] like to bring in a vet,” Licht said. “Just somebody that has been there done that and can be in that room with them. Not necessarily really somebody that we think is going to take over that competition, but somebody that can just add to that room. We have a few options that we’re keeping in mind but that decision doesn’t need to be made anytime in the near future. We have all through the spring here and we have training camp. We’ll try to get it done sooner than later, but we’re keeping our option open.”

Veteran Quarterbacks Still Available

Pewter Report has learned that the Bucs will not be re-signing veteran and former practice squadder Ryan Griffin again and will be looking outside the organization for a new veteran. As far as veteran quarterbacks that have in a sense “been there and done that,” the market isn’t a robust one.

The list became even shorter where backup quarterbacks Brandon Allen and Trevor Siemian signed with the 49ers and Bengals, respectively, this week. The available signals callers in free agency that fit the description are Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, Chase Daniel, Josh Johnson, and the oft-injured Teddy Bridgewater and Carson Wentz.

Here is look at what each available veteran QB could bring to the Bucs:

Former Panthers QB Teddy Bridgewater – Photo by: USA Today

Teddy Bridgewater

Teddy Bridgewater is the youngest of the bunch at 30, and has seen action with five different clubs since entering the league as a first-round pick of the Vikings. Bridgewater’s career was derailed in Minnesota when he suffered a gruesome ACL tear in training camp that knocked him out for two seasons.

Since then he has bounced around the league and has never regained the level of play he displayed early on in his career. Bridgewater spent last season backing up Tua Tagovailoa in Miami and started two games in his place until injuries sidelined him. He’s amassed over 15,000 yards passing while throwing for 75 touchdowns and 47 interceptions.

Carson Wentz

Carson Wentz is still just 31, and has had stints with three teams in his seven years in the league after being selected second overall by the Eagles. It’s unknown if he would accept a backup role, but after three failed attempts to secure a spot as a starting franchise quarterback, the former MVP finalist may not find another opportunity to start anytime soon.

Wentz has started 92 games over his career, throwing for over 22,000 yards and 151 touchdowns to 66 interceptions. And he’s taken a whopping 237 sacks.

Josh Johnson

Since being drafted in the fifth round by the Bucs in 2008, Josh Johnson has played for a staggering 14 teams, including stints in the USFL, AAF and XFL. He certainly fits the bill of a quarterback who’s been there and done that with experience in numerous offensive schemes and systems.

Yet he had never had any real level of success with any of the teams he’s played for bouncing around practice squads and training camp rosters. Over his 15 years on and off NFL rosters, Johnson, who turns 37 this year, has just nine starts while totaling just under 2,300 yards passing with  13 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.

Chase Daniel

Another journeyman quarterback, Chase Daniel has spent time with seven different teams during his 12 year career. After going undrafted, he started his career with Washington but was released during training camp cut downs. He then signed to the Saints practice squad and was on and off of it throughout the season the year they won the Super Bowl in 2010.

After backing up Drew Brees through 2012, Daniel has played for five other franchises, most recently backing up Justin Herbert with the Chargers since 2021. The 37-year old has started five games in his career, throwing for just over 1,700 yards with nine touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Falcons QB Matt Ryan – Photo by: USA Today

Matt Ryan

Matt Ryan has garnered nearly every accolade you can, including a league MVP, since being drafted third overall by the Falcons in the 2008 draft. After a trade last year to the Colts, Ryan had a tumultuous season being demoted to backup and third string duties twice.

Almost 38 years old, he has made no announcement on continuing his playing career and it’s uncertain if he would accept a backup role in the league. Over 15 seasons he’s missed just three games due to injury, starting 234 games. He’s thrown for nearly 68,000 yards while throwing 381 touchdowns and 183 interceptions.

Joe Flacco

After coming into the league as a first-round selection by the Ravens in 2008, Joe Flacco has put together a more than respectful career with a Super Bowl championship in 2012 to his name. He spent 11 seasons in Baltimore as their starting quarterback before being traded to the Broncos in 2019. A neck injury five games into the season in Denver sidelined him and he joined the Jets the following year to backup Sam Darnold.

After the 2020 season, Flacco inked a deal with the Eagles to backup Jalen Hurts, but was dealt midseason to New York when Jets quarterback  Zach Wilson went down with injury. He re-upped with the team last year and injuries forced him into starting four games for the team.

Flacco is 38 years old, but has made no intentions he will be hanging up his cleats. He is the epitome of what Licht might be looking for to add to the quarterback room. Flacco has accepted his role as a backup and mentor and has reached the highest level of success in the league. His early years saw him in a run first offense as a game manager leaning on his defense and that is precisely what this Bucs team could look like this year.

Flacco has thrown for over 44,000 passing yards with 232 touchdowns and 147 interceptions. He isn’t going to compete for a starting job but can be a valuable mentor for Mayfield and Trask. And if he needs to, is still capable of slinging the rock if injuries decimate the room.