SR’s Fab 5 is a collection of reporting and analysis on the Bucs from yours truly, Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds. Here are four things that caught my attention this week, plus some random tidbits in my Buc Shots section at the end. Enjoy!

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FAB 1. Bucs May Target Jacoby Brissett, Baker Mayfield

Other than perhaps Kyle Trask, I can’t tell you who will be the Bucs quarterback in 2023. Trask is the only quarterback currently under contract and Tampa Bay will need to sign at least one more in free agency and possibly draft a young QB to fill out the depth chart.

But I can tell you who it won’t be.

With the Bucs currently over the 2023 NFL salary cap by $55 million, according to OverTheCap.com, it’s time for the team to pay down the Super Bowl credit card from the last three years. Tampa Bay aims to be competitive, yet conservative this year. That means the Bucs won’t be trading for 39-year old quarterback Aaron Rodgers or dealing with the Raiders for Derek Carr and $40 million worth of guaranteed money. Both veteran quarterbacks would hurt the team’s long-term salary cap situation and not help it.

Remember, the Bucs already have $35 million worth of Tom Brady’s dead cap charge they have to clear from their books first. And with massive contract extensions looming for linebacker Devin White, tackle Tristan Wirfs and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. – all of whom have been to the Pro Bowl – the Bucs can’t keep piling up future cap debt or risk not being able to afford their young, rising stars.

General manager Jason Licht loaded up for a three-year Super Bowl run and was ultimately successful, winning Super Bowl LV in 2020 and two division championships that followed. Most NFL teams would kill to have that level of success over a three-year window of time. Just ask the division rival Saints, or better yet – the Falcons and Panthers, both of whom have yet to win a Super Bowl.

QB Jacoby Brissett and QB Tom Brady – Photo by: USA Today

So, who will the Bucs sign to replace the legendary Brady? It’s an impossible task, but someone has to do it and a couple veteran names come to mind – one of them was a former backup to Brady in New England.

No, I don’t think it will be Jimmy Garoppolo, who looks like a good option on the surface with a 38-17 record in San Francisco with 82 touchdowns and just 42 interceptions. But Garoppolo is brittle, evidenced by the fact that he’s missed a whopping 43 games in six years with the 49ers.

That’s one thing that people overlook about Brady – one of his greatest abilities was availability. Brady didn’t miss a single game in Tampa Bay in three years.

And how much of Garoppolo’s success in San Francisco was due to his right arm as opposed to the 49ers dominant defense and running game? Brock Purdy, the last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, came in and won his first eight games until getting injured in the NFC Championship Game. The 32-year old Garoppolo made $7 million last year with the 49ers, so he’s affordable, but I don’t think he’s a culture fit in Tampa Bay.

The former Brady backup I’m talking about is Jacoby Brissett. At first glance, there is not much to get excited about. Brissett, who spent the 2022 season in Cleveland compiling a 4-7 record while the Browns were waiting for Deshaun Watson’s suspension to be lifted, would be on his fifth team in his eighth season. He’s the definition of veteran journeyman.

But doesn’t Brissett just seem like a Todd Bowles quarterback? Not flashy, workmanlike attitude, doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. He has 48 career touchdowns and just 23 interceptions. Brissett’s career 1.5% interception rate is better than Garoppolo’s (2.4%) and even Brady’s (1.8%). Plus, he would be a good mentor to Trask in the film room and on the practice field.

Perhaps just as importantly, Brissett would come cheap. He signed a one-year deal worth $4.65 million with the Browns last year. That’s the kind of QB contract the Bucs would love to have in 2023 with at least around $12 million of Brady’s $35 million of rollover cap hitting the books this year with a post-June 1 designation.

Bowles has faced Brissett three times as the Bucs’ defensive coordinator. The first was a 38-35 win over Indianapolis in 2019, followed by a 45-17 thrashing of Miami when Brissett was with the Dolphins in 2021. But Brissett got the better of Bowles last year in a 23-17 overtime win in Cleveland, throwing a touchdown pass on fourth down to tie the game and force overtime. Brissett has completed 62% of his passes for 736 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions against the Bucs in those three games.

Granted, Brissett will do little to excite the Bucs fan base. And pairing him with Trask might give some Bucs fans flashbacks to the Byron Leftwich-Josh Freeman dreadful duo in 2009.

QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today
Photo By: USA Today

So, another veteran journeyman the Bucs might consider is Baker Mayfield. The former first overall pick in 2018 will turn 28 in April and has a higher upside. There is certainly more risk-reward with Mayfield, who has thrown for 102 touchdown passes and 64 interceptions in his career. His 2.8% interception percentage rate is double that of Brissett. But so is Mayfield’s touchdown rate of 4.5%.

Mayfield fell out of favor in Cleveland after compiling a 29-30 record. Following a breakthrough 11-5 season in 2020 in which he threw 26 touchdowns and only eight interceptions, Mayfield posted a 6-8 record the following season. That prompted Cleveland to trade for Deshaun Watson and deal Mayfield to Carolina. Mayfield was 1-5 as a starter in Carolina and asked for his release midway through the season.

While he was hoping to make it to San Francisco, the Los Angeles Rams picked him up off waivers first. Mayfield arrived in L.A. midweek and wound up starting for the Rams on Thursday night, beating the Raiders in Las Vegas, 17-16, in dramatic, comeback fashion. The former Heisman Trophy winner also beat Denver, 51-14, but finished with a 2-3 record in L.A.

Mayfield made $15.358 million in his fifth year with the Browns, who picked up his fifth-year option, but traded him to Carolina after trading for Watson. Spotrac has his calculated value of $6.5 million. A contract less than $8 million per year with either Mayfield or Brissett would be ideal for the Bucs in 2023.

There are some other names to consider on the QB free agent list, but Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson, Seattle’s Pro Bowler Geno Smith and the New York Giants’ Daniel Jones all figure to re-sign with their teams or get the franchise tag. Sam Darnold is probably out of the mix, as well. Bowles drafted him in New York and Darnold’s underwhelming play led to Bowles’ firing following the 2018 season. Plus, Bowles and the Bucs are 3-0 against Darnold in his last two seasons with the Panthers.

Bucs fans may not like it, but the plan is to sign a cheaper veteran quarterback to serve as a bridge for Trask, who faces a big developmental year as he enters his third season in Tampa Bay. And maybe Jacoby Brissett or Baker Mayfield becomes the next Geno Smith, who just won NFL Comeback Player of the Year, in the process.

FAB 2. Kyle Trask Will Be In The Mix To Start

I know, I know. I said it wasn’t time for Kyle Trask to take over at quarterback for the Bucs the day Tom Brady retired from Tampa Bay and the NFL on Feb. 1.

But my name isn’t Todd Bowles, nor is it Jason Licht.

Bucs QB Kyle Trask – Photo by: USA Today

I don’t get to say who is in the mix to start at quarterback or ultimately who will be named the starter.

I just want Trask, who is entering his third season with the Bucs, to earn the job and not be anointed as the team’s starter or even as the No. 2 this year just based on the fact that he was a second-round pick in 2021. I voiced my concern about the fact that Trask is supposedly a “deliberate learner,” according to former Bucs quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen. That was the book on him in high school and at Florida, too.

Yet, for the first time since he became a Buccaneer, Trask will be in the mix to start this year now that Tom Brady has retired. Trask is currently the only quarterback on the roster, and he’ll be entering his third season in Tampa Bay and learning his second offense, as the Bucs will be hiring a new offensive coordinator to replace Byron Leftwich.

Bengals quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher, who helped develop Joe Burrow, is considered to be the front-runner. Although it’s curious that Tampa Bay hasn’t interviewed Eagles quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson, who was Trask’s position coach and offensive coordinator with the Gators.

Perhaps his new quarterbacks coach will think more highly of him than Christensen, who raised eyebrows and ruffled some feathers last offseason by declaring that veteran Blaine Gabbert won the backup job behind Brady during the OTAs.

“I think it’s more of a learning year,” Christensen said of Trask last May. “I don’t see him competing with Gabbert this year. Although you know, he can do it, it’s just all the odds are stacked against you. You can’t rep everybody. It’s hard enough to get Gabbert enough reps. We’ll prepare Gabbert as the number two. There’s always competition. There’s always someone looking for you job, but I don’t see that being an either/or. I see Gabbert as being the backup and Kyle being the developmental guy. And we’ll rep them that way.

“He needs another year. He’s always kind of been that slow, steady developer, right? In high school, in college and I think this follows in line with exactly that. … He’s not the guy that just comes in and just flashes immediately. He has a methodical development to him.”

Bucs QBs Kyle Trask, Tom Brady, Blaine Gabbert and Ryan Griffin – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

That didn’t sit well with new head coach Todd Bowles, who refuted Christensen’s remarks three days later.

“There’s competition everywhere, so there will be competition at that spot as well,” Bowles said. “ Blaine finished the season at number two – we like Blaine. Trask is going to get his chance to play and compete and if he’s better, he’ll be number two. If he’s not, he won’t be. But, he will have a chance to compete. He knows that and everybody knows that.”

Ultimately, Gabbert did beat Trask out in training camp and in the preseason. But the Bucs may move on from Gabbert and clear the path for Trask to become at least the No. 2 quarterback this year.

That’s what I’m afraid of. Trask should have to earn his position with good play on the field, and so far we haven’t seen enough it.

In his only regular season action, which came at Atlanta in Week 18, Trask completed just 3-of-9 passes for 23 yards in garbage time of Tampa Bay’s 30-17 loss. Combine that and his production from two preseasons with the Bucs where he completed 72-of-129 passes (59%) for 769 yards with two touchdowns, four interceptions and was sacked 12 times, and there isn’t a lot to get excited about.

Granted, we haven’t seen Trask throw to Mike Evans and Chris Godwin in a game, nor has he received protection from the first-string offensive line. So, perhaps he flourishes with a better supporting cast around him like he had at Florida. Trask had future NFL stars in Kyle Pitts, Kadarius Toney and Van Jefferson to throw to, and he led the SEC with 4,283 yards while completing 68.9% of his passes with 43 touchdowns and only eight interceptions.

Trask will also be on equal footing in terms of learning a new system with whichever veteran quarterback the Bucs sign this offseason. Gabbert already knew Bruce Arians’ offense inside and out before Trask stepped foot in Tampa Bay.

Perhaps Trask winds up being a bust and a wasted second-round pick. Maybe he winds up being a good-t0-great starter for the Bucs. Who knows what the future holds for Trask in Tampa Bay, but he’ll certainly be getting more of a fair shot to succeed this year with Brady, Gabbert and Christensen gone.

FAB 3. The Problem With Blowing Up The Bucs

Some fans want to see Kyle Trask start and succeed at quarterback for the Bucs this year. Others want the Bucs to start Trask and tank so bad that head coach Todd Bowles gets fired and Tampa Bay has a top 5 pick that can be used on a better quarterback in 2024.

#CrashForCaleb – as in USC’s Heisman Trophy-winning QB Caleb Williams.

Bucs GM Jason Licht and head coach Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Or perhaps another top-rated quarterback in 2024 like North Carolina’s Drake Maye, Washington’s Michael Penix Jr., LSU’s Jayden Daniels or Oregon’s Bo Nix instead.

Sorry, this isn’t Madden franchise mode where you can just blow up the franchise and automatically build a Super Bowl winner in a few short seasons. That’s not to say it hasn’t happened or can’t happen in the NFL. The right quarterback can quickly right a franchise, as Joe Burrow did in Cincinnati just three short years ago.

But for every Burrow, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Justin Herbert and Lamar Jackson, there are plenty of first-round QBs that fail.

The jury is still out on a few other first-round QBs like Trevor Lawrence, Kyler Murray, Mac Jones, Trey Lance and Daniel Jones.

But remember the likes of E.J. Manuel, Tim Tebow, Paxton Lynch, Christian Ponder, Brandon Weeden, Mitch Trubisky, Teddy Bridgewater, Johnny Manziel, Jake Locker, Jordan Love, Baker Mayfield, Blake Bortles, Carson Wentz, Josh Rosen, Zach Wilson, Sam Darnold, Ryan Tannehill, Blaine Gabbert, Robert Griffin III, Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston?

Not much success with that group. Some are journeymen or have become career backups while others were busts and are out of the league.

Blowing up the Bucs and going all-out to draft a first-round quarterback is the wrong approach for the wrong franchise at the wrong time.

The Glazers don’t want to hit the rebuild button and blow up the Bucs, and I don’t blame them. They’ve done that on two occasions and neither time really worked.

The first was in 2009 when the Bucs went cheap with Raheem Morris at head coach, Mark Dominik at general manager and first-round pick Josh Freeman at quarterback. Freeman went 24-35 in 59 games as a starter in Tampa Bay, and ultimately cost Morris, Dominik and Greg Schiano, Morris’ successor, their jobs.

Former Bucs head coach Jon Gruden and QB Brad Johnson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

After a dismal 2014 season in Lovie Smith and Jason Licht’s first year in Tampa Bay, the team went 2-14 and tanked for Jameis Winston, the No. 1 overall pick in 2015. That didn’t work, either. Winston went 28-42 in five seasons and was ultimately jettisoned from Tampa Bay in favor of Tom Brady.

In fact, the Bucs have never had a true franchise quarterback – a draft pick that turns out to turn the team into a perennial playoff contender. Neither Doug Williams nor Vinny Testaverde did it in yesteryear. And the more recent high-round picks spent on the likes of Trent Dilfer, Shaun King, Chris Simms, Freeman, Mike Glennon, and Winston have not panned out. To be honest, Trask hasn’t either so far.

The only success the Bucs have had in the 2000s in terms of winning division titles or Super Bowls have come with free agents like Brad Johnson (2002), Brian Griese (2005), Jeff Garcia (2007) and Brady (2020-22). That’s not to say that the Bucs won’t finally draft a quarterback who turns into a franchise player, but head coach Todd Bowles and general manager Jason Licht can’t bank on Trask becoming that player.

There was a 13-year stretch of futility for the Glazers between the 2007 playoff year under Jon Gruden and the Super Bowl season under Bruce Arians. Apathy set in amongst fans. The stadium had 20,000 empty seats in certain years. Sellouts were rare because the Bucs weren’t relevant. Few prime-time games. A whole generation of potential Bucs fans were lost due to a dark decade in red and pewter.

Do you think the Glazers want to go back to that? Do you think they want to hit the reset button on the franchise not knowing when they’ll return to the playoffs with another young quarterback and a team full of rookies and unproven players after turning over the roster?

Do you think Bowles wants to risk his status as Bucs head coach to go through a rebuild with another rookie quarterback? Darnold got him fired in New York. Bowles isn’t on the hot seat after winning the NFC South last year, but it’s a warm seat after going 8-9 and losing the home playoff game to Dallas.

Bucs GM Jason Licht, co-owners Darcie Glazer Kassewitz and Joel Glazer, head coach Todd Bowles and senior football consultant Bruce Arians – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

He knows he has to improve on last year’s record and likely win the division again this season to stay in Tampa Bay. The Glazers have fired the likes of Schiano and Smith after just two seasons, and canned Koetter and Morris after just three years. Time is ticking.

How many head coaches do general managers typically get to hire before they are fired? Licht was actually hired by Smith in 2014, but then fired him and replaced him with Koetter in 2016. Then, Licht fired Koetter and replaced him with Arians in 2019. Licht then signed off on Bowles’ elevation to replace Arians – so that’s three head coaches he’s had a hand in hiring.

Will Licht get to hire a fourth head coach in Tampa Bay? Maybe or maybe not, so he’s got to make the Bowles era a successful one.

Between the Glazers, Bowles and Licht – none of them want to use the terms “rebuild,” “tank” or “blow it up.” Especially when the NFC South is downtrodden right now and the division is there for the taking. Just make the right offensive coordinator hire, find the right quarterback and have a good draft and there is no reason why the Bucs can’t make the playoffs again in 2023.

That’s what they’re thinking at the AdventHealth Training Center right now.

FAB 4. Tanking Rarely Works

In 2019 the Dolphins “tanked for Tua” Tagovailoa, the former Alabama star quarterback. The problem is that Miami didn’t tank hard enough. The Dolphins finished the 2019 season with the fifth overall pick instead of the first. So, instead of having a shot at Burrow, the Dolphins had to settle for Tagovailoa.

Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa – Photo Credit USA Today Syndication BILL INGRAM/ Palm Beach Post

He may have been their original target, but Burrow has clearly been the better and more successful quarterback in the NFL with a pair of trips to the AFC Championship Game and one trip to the Super Bowl.

Since drafting Tagovailoa in the first round in 2020, the Dolphins went from 5-11 to 10-6 that season but failed to make the playoffs. Tagovailoa has proven to be somewhat fragile in the NFL, missing six games due to injury as a rookie and even finishing second on the team in passing behind Ryan Fitzpatrick that year.

Tagovailoa took over as the full-time starter in 2021 and went 7-5 before missing four games due to injury. Miami finished 9-8 and missed the playoffs once again.

Two concussions caused Tagovailoa to miss four more games last year. He went 8-5 as a starter and Miami again finished 9-8, but this time made the playoffs as a Wild Card team. Yet, Tagovailoa was out of action in the postseason and Skylar Thompson, a seventh-round rookie, started in his place.

After tanking for Tua, the Dolphins are on their second coaching staff and have three winning seasons, but zero playoff wins and one playoff loss to show for it. And there are some real questions about whether Tagovailoa can withstand any more concussions moving forward.

If Tagovailoa succumbs to injury once again in 2023, the Dolphins will be looking for yet another quarterback of the future unless Thompson makes strides and turns into another Brock Purdy. But Miami can’t count on that happening.

Bucs GM Jason Licht and the Glazers – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

As previously mentioned in Fab 3, the Bucs did their own tanking in 2014, preferring to have the No. 1 overall pick where they could chose Jameis Winston over Marcus Mariota, who was selected by the Titans with the second overall pick. Tampa Bay had a 20-7 halftime lead over New Orleans in the season finale before yanking most of its starters in the second half to lose – some would say “on purpose” – 23-20.

Winston produced just one winning season and zero playoff appearances in five years in Tampa Bay.

Mariota didn’t fare much better in Tennessee and is looking for his fourth team in 2023. He had a 29-32 record with the Titans, and after being a backup with the Raiders last year, he went 5-8 as the Falcons starter in 2022. But Atlanta is looking to move on from Mariota and move forward with 2022 third-round pick Desmond Ridder.

Who knows which quarterbacks will rise to become first-rounders next year? And who knows where the Bucs will be picking? And ultimately, who knows if they would even pick the right rookie QB in the end?

FAB 5. SR’s Buc Shots

• BARBER IS A HALL OF FAMER! It took longer than it should have, but Bucs legend Ronde Barber finally made the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Barber joins former Bucs greats Lee Roy Selmon, Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, Tony Dungy and John Lynch as being recognized as one of the game’s greatest figures. Congratulations, Ronde!

Barber was selected by the Bucs in the third round (No. 66 overall) of the 1997 NFL Draft. He spent all 16 seasons of his NFL career with Tampa Bay, finishing as the franchise’s all-time leader in both games played (241) and games started (232). His 232 starts are tied for the third-most all-time among defensive backs since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, per TruMedia records. Barber also recorded a streak of 215 consecutive starts – tied for the seventh-longest in NFL history.

Legendary Bucs CB Ronde Barber: Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Barber totaled 1,428 tackles – which is the second-most in franchise history behind Brooks – 28 sacks, 47 interceptions, eight interception return touchdowns, 243 passes defensed, 15 forced fumbles, 11 fumble recoveries and six touchdowns on fumble returns and blocked/deflected punts. A member of Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl XXXVII championship team, Barber also played in 10 playoff games with nine starts, recording 50 tackles, 11 passes defensed, two interceptions (one returned for a touchdown), one sack and one fumble recovery.

Barber is the only player in NFL history to record 25-or-more sacks and 40-or-more interceptions and one of just four players with 20-plus sacks and 35-plus interceptions, joining fellow Hall of Famers LeRoy Butler, Brian Dawkins and Charles Woodson. His 28 sacks are the second-most all-time among defensive backs, trailing only Rodney Harrison (30.5). Further proving his play-making ability and versatility, Barber’s 14 non-offensive touchdowns are the fourth-most in NFL regular season history, while his nine interception return touchdowns between the regular season and postseason combined rank seventh in league annals.

Barber had five Pro Bowl selections, five AP All-Pro honors and nine Defensive Player of the Week awards. Known for his leadership, Barber was selected as a team captain in nine consecutive seasons for the Buccaneers (2004-12), while also being named the team’s Man of the Year in 2006 and the team’s Ed Block Courage Award winner in 2011.

• BUCS SALTUTE BARBER’S ACCOMPLISHMENT: The Bucs put out several cool videos celebrating Ronde Barber making the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Take a look!

THIS WEEK’S PEWTER REPORT PODCASTS

• BUCS SEARCHING FOR AN OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR AND A QB ON THE PEWTER REPORT PODCAST: The Pewter Report Podcast is energized by CELSIUS and broadcasts four live episodes each week. We’re in the offseason now, so PR Podcasts will be featured on Mondays and Tuesdays at 4:00 p.m. ET and Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:00 p.m. ET. Subscribe to PewterReportTV on YouTube and click on notifications and you’ll be informed about when the next podcast will be broadcast.

Matt Matera and Scott Reynolds discuss the latest happenings on the search for a new offensive coordinator in Tampa Bay on Monday.

Matera and Reynolds discuss which veteran QBs could be options for the Bucs on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Matera and Bailey Adams discuss the reasons why the Bucs won’t tank in 2023.

On Thursday, Josh Queipo and Adam Slivon talk about the options the Bucs have and what they can do with their first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Watch the Pewter Report Podcasts live on our PewterReportTV channel on YouTube.com and please subscribe (it’s free) and add your comments. We archive all Pewter Report Podcasts. So, you can watch the recorded episodes if you missed them live.

There is no better time to listen to or watch a new Pewter Report Podcast – energized by CELSIUS – than Friday afternoon on the way home from work. Or early Saturday morning during your workout or while running errands.

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