It was a massive NFL trade deadline on Tuesday, with mutiple big pieces changing hands across the league. The New York Jets went on a fire sale by dealing cornerback Sauce Gardner and tackle Quinnen Williams to the Indianapolis Colts and the Dallas Cowboys, respectively, and the NFC South got in on the action by trading wideout Rashid Shaheed to the Seattle Seahawks.
It was a very busy day, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had some needs to address to — so did they make any moves before the 4 p,m. deadline on Tuesday?
Tampa Bay Buccaneers General Manager Jason Licht watches the action against the Pittsburgh Steelers / Barry Reeger-Imagn Images
No, they did not. And if you know general manager Jason Licht, that should come as no surprise.
Licht has only ever made one in-season trade as general manager of the Bucs, and it came in 2020 when the team won the Super Bowl — he traded with the Jets to acquire defensive tackle Steve McLendon in October of that year for a sixth-round pick. The Bucs won the Super Bowl that year, but McLendon was largely signed to help replace the then-injured Vita Vea, so he wasn’t an impact player as much as he was a depth player.
As such, Licht doesn’t tend to make moves at the deadline, and he didn’t this year, either. Head coach Todd Bowles spoke to media last Monday before the team’s bye week, and he echoed a similar sentiment that Licht has always had — trades simply cost too much value when it comes to picks, which Licht thinks of very highly.
“I think the discussion is more of how much do you have to give up to get somebody that you really want? That will be the discussion more or less going forward,” Bowles said. “We feel like hopefully guys can come back, but at the same time, if there is something out there that is available…Depending on whether you have to rob Peter to pay Paul, we [have] to weigh those options.”
The Buccaneers had some holes at inside and outside linebacker heading into this deadline, but as it stands, they’re set to stick with the players they have. They’ll put them all to the test on Sunday when they face off against an excellent 7-2 Patriots team at 1 p.m.
