In the least surprising news ever.
Everyone and their brother knew that the Buccaneers were not going to be buyers during this deadline. Simple because this team was looking toward the future, and most likely did not want to give up draft picks to help build in 2024. That being said, I would not have been upset if there were a few pieces that the Bucs moved at this deadline (looking at you Devin White).
I think the big move that I wanted most from the Bucs was trading for Javonte Williams. He is exactly the type of guy that could really help this backfield. Not only is he fast, but he is able to break so many tackles. Which, if you recall, is a problem for our current running backs. Not only that, but we would have him on the cheap for this year and all of next.
However, it seems that the firesale that many pundits (including me) predicted the Broncos to have did not occur. That tends to happen when you defeat the Voldemort of your franchise in the Kansas City Chiefs. Not only that, but a resounding victory in which the run game and defense played a heavy role in the victory. I thought that the Broncos might’ve been willing to part with him for a second and maybe one of our RBs since he seemed expendable, but he proved he was anything but.
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The Bucs have done this for a few years now in standing more or less pat at the trade deadline. While I can understand the fanbase’s frustration with that, the reality is this team has a lot of holes that would’ve been very difficult to patch up. There are arguably guys out there that could help (Jaylen Johnson could’ve helped the secondary and Robert Tunyan would’ve been a big help to the o-line had he been available), but I don’t want this team to just throw draft picks around just because. Though I did write an article criticizing Jason Licht for his hand in the Bucs’ putrid offense, I still think he is a really good GM and has proven to be mostly adept at drafting. With the whole of the NFC South remaining more or less unchanged, the Buccaneers still have a good shot at the division title.
Make sure you check out Devin’s blog at cannoncrunch.wordpress.com.