FAB 2. GRADING LICHT’S PERSONNEL DECISIONS
The Buccaneers are midway through the 2016 season, which is Jason Licht’s third year as the team’s general manager. During his brief tenure, Licht has re-signed three Pro Bowl players in defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, linebacker Lavonte David and running back Doug Martin, traded for a Pro Bowl guard in Logan Mankins, who retired the past offseason, and drafted a Pro Bowl quarterback in Jameis Winston.

The Bucs may also have some future Pro Bowlers that Licht has drafted at other positions, including wide receiver Mike Evans, middle linebacker Kwon Alexander and right guard Ali Marpet. Time will tell if that is indeed the case.

Those were all good, positive moves made by Licht, director of football operations Mike Greenberg and the team’s front office and head coaches Lovie Smith and Dirk Koetter. But some of the personnel moves that Licht and Koetter have made this season, especially in free agency, have not helped as much as anticipated, and some have even backfired.

Here is a breakdown of Licht’s deals and corresponding grades:

Running Back
The Bucs re-signed Martin after a season in which he made the Pro Bowl and was the league’s second-leading rusher. Tampa Bay’s first-round pick in 2012 was signed to a five-year deal worth $35.75 million, including $15 million in guaranteed money. Licht had to re-sign the popular Martin for continuity purposes or face the wrath of the fan base, but the fact that he has just 85 yards in a game and a half and has missed the last six games due to severe hamstring injury is worrisome.

Martin hasn’t had a 100-yard game since his 235-yard outburst at Philadelphia on November 22, 2015, although he came close in losses to Indianapolis (97 yards) and St. Louis (91 yards) and a win against Atlanta (95 yards) down the stretch last year. When healthy, Martin is a force to be reckoned with, but he has only played in 35 of the last 56 games, missing 21 games over the last four years – an average of over five games.

RB Jacquizz Rodgers – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Licht gets credit for signing a super sub Jacquizz Rodgers to replace Martin and Charles Sims, who went on injured reserve with a leg injury. Rodgers had back-to-back 100-yard games in the Bucs’ wins over the Panthers and 49ers and has 393 yards and a touchdown while averaging 4.5 yards per carry, but it adds fuel to the argument that running backs are for the most part a dime a dozen in the NFL and that the Bucs overspent on Martin.

Neither Licht nor Martin can be faulted for injuries because they happen in football, but this signing has some question marks around it, especially given the fact that Martin missed a combined 15 games between 2013-14 due to injuries, too. Luckily Rodgers was such a find that he bailed the Bucs out in wins at Carolina and San Francisco. No G.M. has a roster four or five deep at running back.
Grade: C

Left Guard
Mankins retired during the offseason and the Bucs made the bold move of signing run-blocking guard J.R. Sweezy as his replacement with a five-year deal worth $32.5 million, including a $14.5 million in guaranteed money. The team thought highly of Kevin Pamphile, who had a great performance in his lone start at left guard last year against Jacksonville, but his lack of starting experience was concerning.

As it turns out, the Sweezy signing has been a disaster as he has missed the entire offseason, training camp and the first eight games due to a back injury. Having Pamphile, a sixth-round pick in 2014, on hand has proved to be a saving grace for Licht and the Bucs as Pamphile has been the team’s best and most consistent lineman during the first half of the season. If the 27-year old Sweezy comes back strong next year, he could challenge for a starting guard spot and move either Pamphile or right guard Ali Marpet to center, which wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

The fact that the Bucs haven’t seen a single practice – let alone a game – from Sweezy makes him an awful investment and worthy of an “F” grade. Again, Licht can’t be faulted for the fact that Sweezy is hurt, but the best kind of ability is availability. The fact that Pamphile, the first offensive lineman Licht drafted in 2014, has played well and deserves a “B” grade brings this average to a “D” grade.
Grade: D

Right Tackle
The Bucs re-signed right tackle Demar Dotson to a three-year, $16.5-million contract extension through 2019 as the 31-year old offensive lineman had one year left on his current deal. Dotson has been steady, but not spectacular thus far.

Bucs RT Demar Dotson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Yet given the available options for the team and his familiarity with Koetter’s offense, re-signing him to a reasonable contract – one that averages $3.5 million per year – made sense for Licht and Greenberg. Dotson is tied with Donovan Smith for the team lead in penalties with six, and he surrendered two sacks last week to Pro Bowl defensive end Khalil Mack in a loss to Oakland.

Dotson is a good player, but not a great player. And this has proven to be a good signing, but a great signing considering that Dotson hasn’t really elevated his level of play this year as a result.
Grade: B-

Defensive End
Licht signed Robert Ayers in free agency and drafted Noah Spence in the second round to bolster the defensive end position. Ayers had a monster preseason, but aggravated a high ankle sprain against Arizona that caused him to miss five games. When healthy, Ayers has proven to be a force and has one sack on the year.

Spence also suffered an injury of his own, spraining his shoulder against Denver. He’s been hit-and-miss as a pass rusher, which is expected from a rookie, but has flashed potential with three sacks and a forced fumble through the first half of the season.

Licht can’t control injuries, and a healthy Ayers could have affected the outcome of some of Tampa Bay’s close losses this year. Jacquies Smith and Howard Jones winding up on IR with ACL injuries have unexpectedly rocked the team’s depth. Still, these have been good acquisitions as long as they continue to stay on the field and remain productive in getting after the passer.
Grade: C

Cornerback
Four-time Pro Bowler Brent Grimes was signed to start opposite Vernon Hargreaves III, who was the team’s first-round draft pick. Despite making $7 million this season after signing a two-year deal worth $13.5 million, Grimes has yet to prove he’s worth the money. The 31-year old veteran has been repeatedly targeted by the opposition due to his 5-foot-10 size, and has 11 pass breakups on the year, which is quite good, but only one takeaway. That interception came at a critical time in a big road win at Carolina on Monday Night Football, but Grimes has also had his share of pass interference penalties, too.

Hargreaves has played well as a rookie up until the second half of the Raiders game when Amari Cooper got the best of him as he did when Cooper played at Alabama and Hargreaves played at Florida. Hargreaves has 35 tackles and four pass breakups on the year, but is awaiting his first NFL interception. He’s been a solid addition to the secondary, beating out Alterraun Verner for a starting job a few weeks into the season, and will improve in time.
Grade: B-

Safety
Outside of drafting a developmental safety in Ryan Smith in the fourth round, Licht opted to stand pat at the safety position and re-signed restricted free agent Bradley McDougald and unrestricted free agent Chris Conte – but only to one-year deals. Licht also re-signed reserve safety Keith Tandy to a modest multiple-year deal due to his value on special teams, but McDougald and Conte haven’t made enough plays in the secondary thus far to justify their keep.

Bucs S Bradley McDougald – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Conte is the Bucs’ third-leading tackler with 40 tackles, but has just one pass breakup and one fumble recovery. McDougald is the second-leading tackler with 41 stops, but has only five pass breakups and one interception. Conte has been beaten deep for touchdowns in man coverage against Arizona and Oakland, and both he and McDougald have been flagged for pass interference penalties.

Licht was hoping that the two starters would play better outside of Lovie Smith’s scheme, but that hasn’t proven to be the case and neither should be re-signed next year unless a significant improvement occurs over the second half of the season. Considering the Bucs don’t have anyone waiting in the wings to challenge for the right to start next year (Smith is likely two years away) means this position gets a failing grade.
Grade: F

Kicker
The Bucs jettisoned Connor Barth and the oft-injured Pat Murray this offseason after trading up to draft Roberto Aguayo in the second round. Aguayo missed an extra point and a field goal in a costly five-point loss against the Rams, was just 3-of-5 in a three-point win at Carolina after nailing the game-winner, and then missed an extra point against the Raiders after missing one of his three field goal attempts against the 49ers the week before.

Add it all up and Aguayo is 7-of-12 (58.3 percent) on the year on field goals and has missed two of his 15 extra points (86.3 percent), which isn’t good enough – even for a rookie. The Bucs will stick with Aguayo for the rest of the year due to the high draft pick the team has invested in him, but Licht’s bold move has backfired thus far.

The Bucs hope he can rebound and become a great kicker in time, but as of right now every field goal attempt inside of 50 yards and every extra point attempt is an adventure when it really shouldn’t be. Aguayo is connecting on 58 percent of his field goals, so this grade is an F for right now.
Grade: F

Punter
The Bucs got lackluster results from Jacob Schum last year, so they brought in veteran Bryan Anger for competition and the newcomer prevailed. Anger has punted well, averaging 46.6 yards per punt, which matches his career average, and he has produced a career-high 42.6 net average in 2016.

Anger has only three touchbacks and has downed 16 punts inside the 20-yard line, which puts him on pace for a new career high in that category. Due to his stellar performance thus far, Anger might be Licht’s best offseason free agent signing.
Grade: A-

The signing of strongside linebacker Daryl Smith can’t be overlooked, but given the fact that the Bucs have been in nickel defense over 60 percent of the time, Smith has seen less action than nickel cornerback Jude Adjei-Barimah has this season. When he has played, Smith has done well, and had a big interception at Carolina. His one-year signing could be viewed as a positive.

Former Bucs TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

On the negative side of Licht’s ledger, tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins, a second-round pick in 2014, was released after a DUI arrest, thus ending his injury-plagued career in Tampa Bay. Cameron Brate, an undrafted free agent Licht acquired in 2014, has filled in well as a starter with three touchdowns on the year, but the tight end position lacks some speed and athleticism with ASJ’s departure.

Licht also didn’t address the wide receiver position in the offseason, hoping that 2015 fifth-round pick Kenny Bell would make an impact and that the team could squeeze another year’s worth of production out of 31-year old Vincent Jackson. Neither happened as Bell couldn’t catch the ball in the preseason and was released, while Jackson proved to be a shell of his former self playing in the first six games of the year before a partial tear of his ACL during the Carolina game placed him on injured reserve.

Tampa Bay was hoping it could get by at the position for a year while addressing other needs. The Bucs also counted on Louis Murphy’s return at the beginning of the season from last year’s ACL injury, but that didn’t happen.

Licht could get a mulligan for standing pat at the receiver position and for early season acquisition Cecil Shorts not panning out with the recent pick up of former Eagles receiver Josh Huff, who is on the practice squad and has impressed the Bucs’ coaches and scouts this week.

Average these grades out and the Bucs’ free agency and personnel decisions deserve a C-minus for the first half of the 2016 campaign. Not good, and certainly reflective of the team’s 3-5 record at the midway point of the season. We’ll see what the second half holds for Licht’s decisions, especially as the rookie class continues to develop.