He was given a short leash, most likely, to not deal away major assets without signing off with the owners and their advisors. In the event that he gets fired for his abysmal approach to building a team, the owners for posterity’s sake do not want Licht to leave the cupboards bare and their cap room in a struggle by squandering away the things that make this franchise a job that new coaches would want to inherit. A new GM would want to inherit.
I think he is being forced to lowball guys because he has been given enough time to build his squad, and aside from some tweaks here and there, he won’t be doing much dancing in free agency.
Just a guess, but unless a deal is really BUCCANEER friendly and has some perceived real value (as the draft is really a gamble), Bucs will roll quietly out of the gate and into the season with a few new signees with the “value” tag and expendable deals, and draft picks to round out the roster.
