FAB 4. INTERPRETING KOETTER AND LICHT AT THE COMBINE
PewterReport.com’s Trevor Sikkema is covering the NFL Scouting Combine for us live in Indianapolis, and although I’m not there I am fluent in coach-speak and GM-speak and am able to decipher some of what Tampa head coach Dirk Koetter and general manager Jason Licht said in media interviews this week.

Let’s start with the future of 34-year old wide receiver Vincent Jackson, whose contract expires on March 9:

Bucs WR Vincent Jackson – Photo by: Getty Images

“We did have conversations with Vincent and I have the utmost respect for him and everybody in the organization does,” Licht said. “In my mind, in Dirk’s mind, in the owners’ minds, he’ll be a Buc for life. Whatever happens will happen, but we’ll always want Vincent to be around the organization.”

In other words, Licht isn’t going to tell Jackson to retire. That’s the receiver’s call to make, but the Bucs would like to have Jackson in community relations role as a good will and charitable ambassador for the team – not as a 34-year old weapon on offense after suffering two knee injuries in each of the last two years.

On kicker Roberto Aguayo, whom Licht invested a second-round pick in last year only to see the rookie struggle and finish as the last-place kicker with a 71 percent field goal percentage:

“He’s a rookie,” Licht said. “He’s 21 years old. He had to learn that he’s not doing this for fun anymore. He has a lot of people depending on him. We’ll continue get competition and look for competition for him, or he might be the competition for somebody else. We’ll see how that goes. He was young. He’s working very hard. He wants to get better. He’s just like any other player.”

Licht and the Bucs have moved on quickly from mistakes from releasing second-round pick Austin Seferian-Jenkins just a few games into his third season after the tight end’s DUI prior to Week 3 last year, and releasing high-priced free agents Josh McCown, Anthony Collins and Michael Johnson after just one year following a 2-14 finish in 2014. The Bucs will sign a kicker, perhaps a veteran, to compete with Aguayo in training camp and may the best man win.

Bucs GM Jason Licht – Photo by: Trevor Sikkema/PR

Licht knows it’s one thing to make a mistake with personnel, but the real sin is holding on to that mistake after recognizing it. Licht and the Bucs hope Aguayo comes around this summer and becomes a reliable, accurate kicker. If not, the team is moving on.

Speaking of moving on, let’s see what the future holds for running back Doug Martin as there has been speculation from PewterReport.com and others that the team may be moving on from him later this offseason after free agency and the draft:

“Any player that has been hurt is a concern,” Koetter said. “Injuries is the worst part of all this. Some players just seem to have a knack for staying healthy, others not so much. In the two years Doug has been healthy, he’s been one of the best running backs in the league. Injuries are not a player’s fault. Sometimes I think people have a tendency to get down on a player because he’s injured. No player is going out there trying to get hurt. This is all a crapshoot from that standpoint. Guys get hurt doing nothing. You look at the play Doug got hurt on in that Arizona game. It was a toss play to the right, and he wasn’t even going full speed. You look at Jacquies Smith covering a punt in the first Atlanta game. He changes direction, non-contact and blows out his knee. It’s an unfortunate part of the game.”

I think Koetter, who characterized his meeting with Martin as “excellent,” has a soft spot for Martin for two reasons. First, he produced when he stayed healthy in 2015, which was Koetter’s first year in Tampa Bay, finishing as the second-leading rusher in the league. Martin had a Pro Bowl season and helped propel the Bucs offense to fifth in the league that year – the highest offensive ranking in team history. Koetter may not be the head coach of the Bucs if not for Martin’s play in 2015 because topping 6,000 yards and developing first-round pick Jameis Winston into a franchise quarterback helped get him the job as Tampa Bay’s head coach.

And second, Martin went to Boise State. Koetter, an Idaho native, has a soft spot for Boise State guys because he once coached there and delivered the school its first ever bowl win in its first bowl appearance in 1999.

The Bucs will draft a running back and re-sign Jacquizz Rodgers, but I think the team takes the 28-year old Martin, who appears to be heading in the right direction psychologically and highly motivated, to training camp to compete for a roster spot. I don’t think cutting Martin is the foregone conclusion that perhaps it appeared to be back in late December after his four-game suspension (three games to start the 2017 season) was announced.

I’m not saying Martin won’t be released after the draft, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the Bucs brought him to training camp as an insurance policy at the position at the very least, given his past production when healthy and his knowledge of Koetter’s offense.

Bucs head coach Dirk Koetter – Photo by: Trevor Sikkema/PR

And finally, when it comes to Tampa Bay’s offensive line, which has been much maligned by some fans and some in the media, Koetter and Licht both stated how happy they were with the current personnel the team has on the roster – outside of veteran reserve tackle Gosder Cherlius, who is set to be a free agent and likely won’t return. Of all the quotes about the O-line, Koetter said it best:

“I know there are plenty of people out there that beat up our O-Line, but I’m not in that boat,” Koetter said. “I’m going to stand behind those guys.”

I’ve been saying it and PewterReport.com has been reporting it for months, folks. Don’t expect any new additions along the offensive line. Just because you may not like Demar Dotson or have faith in Donovan Smith doesn’t mean the team doesn’t.

There will not be any high draft picks or any high-priced, starting-caliber free agent signings this year at tackle, guard or center outside of possibly re-signing Joe Hawley. If Hawley doesn’t re-sign the Bucs have plenty of options in-house, including Ali Marpet, Kevin Pamphile, Evan Smith and Ben Gottschalk.

Licht has spent four draft picks on offensive linemen over the last three drafts in Pamphile (2014), Smith and Marpet (2015), and Caleb Benenoch (2016), and the team gets a boost with the return to health of last year’s free agent signing J.R. Sweezy.