Bucs swing and miss on Quinn and Bennett
As a Bucs fan it is somewhat frustrating to sit by and watch defensive lineman that you know could help the Bucs like Robert Quinn and Micheal Bennett get traded to other teams and the Bucs continue to hope and wait.
If you believe the sources, the Bucs were in play for Robert Quinn. Maybe what the Bucs were offering wasn’t high enough who knows. But a Quinn-McCoy duo on the DL would have created some problems for opposing offenses.
Who knows how much interest the Bucs showed in Mike Bennett, but one thing that hasn’t changed is the Bucs have done absolutely nothing so far to shore up one of the weakest and most important positions on the team edge rusher, and the DL.
Ziggy Anash has been franchised by the Lions and DeMarcus Lawrence has been franchised by the Cowboys, so those two veterans will be off the board.
Two defensive lineman who may be available are Sheldon Richardson of the Cowboys and Dontari Poe of the Chiefs.
Both are just 27 years old and play string against the run and the pass. Both would look good lined up next to McCoy.
With Brenston Buckner comimg in as the new DL coach, Richardson can play both the 4-3 and 3-4. My first choice would be Richardson.
Muhamed Wilkerson is available but I would stay as far away from him as possible. He would be Chris Baker all over again only on a much larger scale. The Bucs have had plenty of head cases come through town and do not need another one.
Trent Murphy of the Redskins and Adrain Clayborn of the Falcons may be the best edge rushers available. Clayborn registered 9.5 sacks last season, but that was inflated by the 6 sacks he collected in the game against Dallas.
It would be a homecoming for Clayborn as he spent the first four years of his career in Tampa From 2011-2014.
Murphy is coming off an inactive 2017 season in which he was recuperating from ACL and MCL surgery. Reports are he should be good to go for the 2018 season.
I’m sure Jason Licht has a strategy as to how he wants to rebuild this team. Overall improvement of the defense is the most pressing need on this team. The Bucs cannot afford another season where the defense gives up over 360 yards a game and cannot pressure the QB. This should be No. 1 on Jason Licht’s list this off-season. Get the defense fixed immediately.
—The Bucs have re-signed Ryan Fitzpatrick to a one year contract to back up Jameis Winston. There was some thought the Bucs may pursue Mike Glennon after he was cut by the Bears, but with Fitzpatrick back in the fold, he is content to back-up and mentor Winston. This also gives the Bucs another year to develop Ryan Griffin who they are really high on.
—There are two other players the Bucs need to get signed before March 14th. Adam Humphries and Cameron Brate. Brate is in the top 10 for touchdown catches by a TE the last two seasons, and Humphries is as solid as they come as the third WR.
-The Bucs also signed Demar Dotson, Chris Conte, Javien Elliott and Josh Robinson to one year deals last week.
