FAB 4. Bucs Were Smart At NFL Trade Deadline

The PewterReport.com staff discussed how the Bucs were wise to stand pat at the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday in this week’s PR Roundtable. But I had a few more points I wanted to make, and one thing to reiterate – the Bucs are already the second-youngest team in the NFL.

They don’t need to get any younger by trading away proven veteran players just to stockpile draft picks for next year.

Yet that logic escaped Tampa Bay Times columnist John Romano, who essentially called Bucs general manager Jason Licht and the front office “delusional” for standing pat on Tuesday.

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

So, with the NFL trade deadline hours away, Licht needs to be the adult in the room. He needs to recognize that the 2019 Bucs are much, much closer to elimination than contention, and the smart play is to begin plotting a course for 2020.

That process begins with a willingness to trade pending free agents.

Ndamukong Suh? Trade him.

Jason Pierre-Paul? Trade him.

Shaquil Barrett? Trade him.

The salient point here is that striving for mediocrity is unproductive. We know that because the Bucs have been doing it for years.

They keep deluding themselves into thinking prosperity is just around the corner. And that mindset keeps them from making the kind of hard decisions that are necessary to take a giant step forward. That doesn’t mean they need to go into complete rebuild mode, but it’s just silly to pass up potential assets for the sake of going 7-9 or 6-10.

Baseball general managers have known this for a long time, and their NFL counterparts are just now starting to realize it.

There are more and more deals at the NFL’s trade deadline than ever before because it’s the logical thing to do. If you’re on the way to a losing record, and a player is on his way to free agency, what is the value in hanging on to him in November and December?

Bucs OLB Shaq Barrett – Photo by: May Holt/PR

(Actually John, there weren’t. Only cornerback Aqib Talib, who was on injured reserve, was dealt at the trade deadline – although a few players were traded in the week leading up to Tuesday.)

That brings us to Barrett, Pierre-Paul and Suh. They are three of the more valuable commodities on Tampa Bay’s defense, but all three are also due to be unrestricted free agents. Whether they finish the season in Tampa Bay or Green Bay, they will still be on the open market come next March.

And … the Bucs’ plan is to actually have those players back in Tampa Bay next year and off the free agent market. Maybe Romano didn’t realize that?

Suh, Barrett and Pierre-Paul all love playing in Tampa and love defensive coordinator Todd Bowles’ scheme. The trick will be getting all three under the salary cap next year, in addition to outside linebacker Carl Nassib, who will also be an unrestricted free agent.

Suh isn’t the pass rusher some expected him to be, but ask any coach or Bucs defender and they’ll say that he is a vital cog in Tampa Bay’s top-ranked rushing defense. Barrett is the NFL’s leader sacker with 10 QB captures, and Pierre-Paul, who is a fiery leader, is on a mission to get to double-digit sacks again in just 10 games after missing the first six as his fractured neck was healing.

How in the world are the Bucs going to get any better by trading away some of their better, more experienced players?

Bucs TE O.J Howard – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

As I reported in last week’s SR’s Fab 5, Licht wasn’t going to trade away tight end O.J. Howard, and for good reason. He’s got another year on his rookie contract, plus the Bucs can pick up his fifth-year option in 2021 because he’s a former first-round pick. Howard will be making less than $4 million per year this year and next, and then less than $10 million in 2021 on his fifth-year option.

Just because he’s been underutilized through the first six games doesn’t mean that Howard is talented or valuable in Tampa Bay.

Licht has done a better job of trading for talent than trading it away over the years. Licht’s first trade as general manager came on August 26, 2014 when he traded for Patriots six-time Pro Bowl guard Logan Mankins and gave up tight end Tim Wright and a fourth-round pick. Wright was released by New England less than a year later and the Bucs claimed him off waivers on June 12, 2015.

Less than three months later on August 31, 2015, Licht traded Eric Wright to Detroit for Lions kicker Kyle Brindza, who kicked in just four games for Tampa Bay. Brindza went 6-of-12 on field goals, in addition to going 6-of-8 on extra points before being released.

Before acquiring Wright and dealing him (again) to the Lions, Licht made another trade with Detroit. On April 15, 2015, he traded a fifth-round pick to Detroit for former Bucs defensive end George Johnson and a seventh-round pick. Johnson recorded 23 tackles and two forced fumbles, but didn’t provide the pass rush help the team was expecting.

Bucs OLB Jason Pierre-Paul and GM Jason Licht / Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

After his previous two trades fizzled, Licht finally got the pass rusher Tampa Bay needed when he traded for edge rusher Jason Pierre-Paul, who was acquired from the New York Giants for a third-round pick on March 22, 2018. That trade was more on par with the trade for Mankins as Pierre-Paul had 12.5 sacks last year to lead the Bucs.

I wouldn’t mind seeing Licht attempt to make another trade like that for a proven veteran in the 2020 offseason, but the timing just wasn’t right at the trading deadline. Instead of forcing the action and getting infatuated with unproven draft picks that will turn into inexperienced rookies, Licht was wise to stand pat and let the Bucs’ current roster age a bit. Experience is a good thing – and needed in Tampa Bay in 2020 and beyond.