A key philosophy for Tampa Bay Buccaneers General Manager Jason Licht is his belief in the draft and develop model.
Licht’s knack for scouting draft talent, molding them into above-average NFL players, and then securing their long-term contracts is precisely why he’s one of the league’s most enduring GMs, having joined the Buccaneers back in 2014.
Unlike some general managers, Licht rarely trades away draft picks for proven NFL players, largely because he places such high value on his own selections.
Despite his history of valuing draft picks above all else in Tampa Bay, Licht’s team is in dire need of a game-changing pass rusher. This raises a big question: would he be willing to part with some of those cherished assets to acquire one? That very topic came up at the NFL Combine this week, where Licht was directly asked about trading premium draft capital for the right player.
“I am not opposed to those things. I wouldn’t say that’s in my DNA, to refrain from doing those things,” Licht stated. “It’s gotta be right, it’s gotta be the right trade. It’s gotta be the right player.”
Licht also pointed out that there are a lot of moving parts to consider when deciding if a player is truly worth exchanging valuable assets for.
“There’s a lot of factors that go into it. The age of the player. The injury history of the player. What else besides draft capital we would have to give up,” Licht stated. “And once again, talking about flexibility that we could maintain,” Licht continued. “So, I’m not opposed to those things, just have to see how things go.”
Follow, Like and Subscribe to Bucs Report
For more on this, the NFL and everything Buccaneers check back here hourly at BucsReport.com
