O.J. Howard trade rumor update

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With the Buccaneers on their bye week and the NFL trading deadline approaching rumors tend to surface. Teams are typically put into two categories in regards to the trade deadline, buyers and sellers. At 2-4 the Buccaneers are in a position to choose between buying and selling. Apparently the Buccaneers aren’t “buying” into being sellers this year.

 

Rumors In The Air

Rumors are exactly that, just rumors. They come and go as often as a Buccaneers’ lead in the 4th quarter. There has been a rumor circulating that the Buccaneers are shopping tight end O.J. Howard around as a possible trade candidate. At first reaction this makes sense. Howard hasn’t had much production this year with 13 catches for 176 yards. The Buccaneers are in fact deep at tight end and have several other needs to address. The factor in that the tight end position isn’t used much in Bruce Arians system. So far it makes sense to shop him right?

Not So Fast

Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports the Buccaneers have no intention to trade Howard. You can hear a collective exhale throughout the bay area.

Honestly, this makes more sense. Howard is young, still under contractual control for 2 more years and has all the attributes to be a top player at his position. The reality is Arians and offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich have to find a way to get Howard more involved.

The Buccaneers do need to address some serious issues, to do so they will have to “sell” something if they expect the fans to “buy” into them being competitive. With the tight end position not a focal point in this system the Buccaneers do need to look into moving (selling) one of them. Howard is not the one!

Photo credit: buccaneers.com

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