Good morning everybody. It's time for Buccaneers Insider Live, presented by Miller. Like Casey Phillips, here was senior writer and editor Scott Smith. And as always, this is where we take all of your questions, thoughts, comments, all that, And definitely I know this is the time of year we enter where we have a lot of those because we have everything with free agency and craft and resigning people new people and trades and all these things that this is when we get to be sort of analytical and
hypothetical about everything. So there's a whole bunch of stuff you guys can ask us about. If you're not already watching on the Facebook page, head on over there and you can submit your questions for us there um be or we get to all of that. Of course, we have incredibly sad news that we need to address and just that I wanted us to be able to talk about a little bit with the news of the passing of Vincent Jackson, former Buccaneers wide receiver and Scott I
dis forige. You can start with you giving some of your thoughts on on that news and what he meant to this franchise and city. Well, I think my initial thought is the same as everybody else. And that's my reaction, I guess you would say, and that's incredible shock. Um. You know, this franchise has been around for forty five years and so and and has had thousands of players
and at some times you're gonna lose them. But you would not have guessed Vincent Jackson if you were told that somebody had passed away, a former player only thirty eight years old. Just incredibly highly respected inside the organization, outside the organization, throughout the community, for all the work that he's done, certainly among all the military families that he helped. Um. Just just shocking and obviously very very sad, sad for his family. UM. You know, there's not much
more I could say. I know, the people that really really had a connection with him, UM said things on Twitter and elsewhere, like Mike Evans and Gerald McCoy and people like that, and uh, you know, I think their their words say a lot about how much he meant to so many people. Yeah, I completely agree, um, And I one of the things I love about my all with the organization is how much I tend to cover those community events, UM and do sort of the off
field stories. And one of the very first stories I did when I started here was about Vincent opening his cast restaurant, him giving me a tour, and I just remember that story realizing he talked about how he had personally gone and selected some of the reclaim material that
they were using in the ceiling of this restaurant. Just seeing all these little details that he focused on, and it showed why he was so good on the field, And then it carried over to off the field, where this wasn't something where he just kind of put his name on it. He cared about everything that he did. It was always something near and dear to his heart. And he was so welcoming to me. And I mean, he was such a vet by that point, a big
name player, super successful. He didn't need to do videos, he didn't need to help us with some of that stuff, but he was always so willing um to do that
and made it so fun. And um, I got to cover his military events he did and the baby shower he and his wife would throw for the military moms, and um, you could just tell that the genuineness behind it and how much he cared and how much he meant to a lot of those players and there's been so so much turnover in this organization that I think there's only something like eight players that were here when he was here. Um But he made a mark for a very long time on everybody that came into contact
with him. So yes, we're praying for his family and everybody that was close to him, but we just wanted to make sure we started with a bit of a tribute to a guy who was a great football player and an even better guy off the field and impacted Tampa in huge ways. U. You were right to start with his community work and stuff he did off the field, but it's also worth noting what a great player he was and one of the best Breegent signings, the most
successful freed and signings the Buccaneers have ever made. Um So, just a real pro on and off the field. Absolutely. Um So, Now as we start moving to some of these questions I know everybody has Again, if you're just joining us, if you have questions for our show, you can go ahead and put them in the comment section underneath the Facebook Live video. Of course, I saw that I knew would be getting this one pretty quickly. J J. Watt. We had a feeling that was going to be a start.
Bryce started out asking, um, is J J. Watt of possibility? He brought out the idea of he thought of as will Shock. He added with will Shack be back? And then I just figured in general, that would be an interesting place to start of where you know, as people look at, is J. J. Watt a good fit here? How you see what position in this defense and that sort of thing. Well, just from a fit, I think J. J. Watt would be a great uh ed rusher, sort of inside outside guy in Todd Bull's defense. And a year
ago I would have easily and quickly dismissed this. They're just saying it's very unlikely that the Buccaneers will go after J. J. Watt. But after what Jason Lett and Bruce Arians and their staffs did last year, every time the possibility of something came up, like Rob Gronkowski or Leonard Fournette or Antonio Brown, uh, it felt easy to dismiss it, and then it happened. So I think after last year, I'm gonna be a little less quick to
dismiss concepts like this. I still think it's unlikely, so you know, take it with a grain of salt, but I think that the question of there had it, had it probably framed the right way. If for some reason Shaquille Barrett was not resigned, that would make it more likely. But I don't know if the timetable is going to work there because he's J. J. Watt is already actively searching for a new home, and you see plenty of reports with him being linked to various teams that are
possible signings. So J. J. Watt might sign somewhere before we know what's gonna happen with Shaq Barrett. Yeah, I think. I think given the salary cap and the incredible number of free agents we have, including some very important ones, I think the majority of our work is gonna be done trying to keep what we have intact, and so it makes it seem less likely to have big signings
like a J. J. Watt, which is perfect cause. Our next question was from Michael, who said, what is the realistic expectation of keeping the boys together now that we're a couple of days past celebrations and we start looking towards next season, so we're the likelihood and then what is the salary cap situation when it comes to all of that, Well, the salary cap situation isn't completely in stone yet. I know there's been a lot of reports
that will be about a hundred eighty million. But then we also have the recent reports that the NFL and their broadcast part are getting close to new tenure deals which could include a whole new infusion of of you know, dollars that could be possibly spread around in different ways to sort of make up for the impact of the pandemic and maybe push that salary cap just up just a little bit, which would help the Buccaneers and a
lot of teams. Of course, um, I think it's relatively realistic to expect to get most, probably not all, but most of the Buck's key free agents back, just because there's a lot of motivation on both sides. I mean, you heard it at the parade, You've you've heard players say it. I think now I've heard in Dominican Sue, Chris Godwin, Lavante, David Shack, Barrett. I'm pretty sure I've heard all of them say at some point in another that they do want to continue here with the Buccaneers.
Now that doesn't mean they're gonna give some great, big, huge hometown discount, but it could be more along the lines of how you structure your deals to make all of them fit together. So I think the fact that there's a lot of belief that this team could chase another championship next year and you know, for a few years possibly um is a good motivating factor in the right direction. Still, some of these guys are definitely gonna
get paid, though. I mean, I have to also imagine that getting to have a boat garade in February doesn't hurt, you know, when you look at these different cities you're choosing from, I just feel like, you know, I feel like, how do you not want to live in Tampa as Yeah, I got relatives shoveling the driveways this week, so we've had our air conditioning on, so I think I'd prefer to be here. Yeah, I feel like this winter storm that has swept most of the country is probably helping
our free agent con um. All right, So we had a question from Justin who said, do you see us drafting a running back in the first round? Um, if some of the guys or said let's see, or if he said E T. N from Clemson, if we're still on the board at that point, So it looks like maybe just some first round priorities he's wondering about. Yeah, e t n And and um Naja Harris of Alabama. They both are guys are projected to possibly be around
in the second half of the draft. Um, you know, running back in the first round sometimes feels like a bit of a luxury pick. But the Bucks are in a position to make a luxury pick now. Again though it's it's I think we're gonna be saying this to just about all these personnel questions for the next couple of months. It largely depends on what happens. Does Leonard Fournette come back, because if you have Leonard Fournette back and Ronald Jones and Keyshawn Vaughan, I think you probably
could use your first round pick on something else. Um. You know, we talked about every year how much a lot of the front office people wish you could switch the draft in free agency order. And I feel like this is the first year that's actually kind of nice for us to have free agency first, that we do have so many guys that we like and want to bring back that this is the first time it feels more like this is good that we're going to know
the free agency situation before the draft. Yeah, because I think you'd rather have Chris Godwin than any receiver you could take at thirty two. Um. But you know if you sort for some reason lose Chris god when that does put that on the table, right. Yeah. Samuel asked do you think Bucks will do a lot of short term deals and wait until next year when the cap is more to sign longer deals. That makes some sense,
and I think that could work with some guys. I mean, I believe in domin Con Sue, for instance, has signed three straight one year deals counting the RAMS. But there's some guys that aren't gonna want one year deals. I think Shack Burry is an example, really wants to get a long term deal done at this point. I would think Chris Godwin, who who has so far only played on his UM rookie contract, would want a long term deal.
Of course, there's the option using the franchise tag on one of those guys, which could end up being a one year deal. Um. I think the questioner makes a good point. It makes a lot of sense. You just have to have motivation on both sides. Um. Christopher had asked, do you see us trading down or up or staying at thirty two. Yeah, I could see us trading down. It makes a lot of sense. I mean, you're already
at thirty two is practically the second round. If you could, like, let's see, you could trade down five or tin picks and reclaim the fourth rounder that you gave up to get Rob Gronkowski. Um, that's probably a good move, particularly because it's you know, the Buccaneers aren't going into this draft with a giant glaring need. I think they clearly needed to get a tackle last year. Um. And and
everybody kind of knew that. Um, I don't see that here, So you would think that there are a bunch of positions on the board and when that With that being the case, it probably doesn't hurt you at all to move down five or tin pick. So somebody's really motivated to move up and give you a third or fourth round pick. I think it makes a lot of sense. Okay, And Richard asked, are there any assistant coaches going to
other teams for promotions? Yeah? I think I think the Lions made it official maybe today or yesterday, that Antoine Randall els our new wide receivers coach. So good for him. We loved having him. It's too bad that he's gone, but that's great for him. I have not heard of any others. And how much is that going to impact this team's ability to have success again next? I think we talk a lot about resigning players. UM in your mind,
how big of a factor is bringing back coaches? You always hear every single time how much a team values continuity when it's going into a training camp and it has the same coordinators in particular UM running the same systems. So I think it's a it's a huge benefit to the Buccaneers. We I think we saw a little bit of that last year. You know, it was a little there was the big transition with Tom Brady, your quarterback, UM, you know, fitting into the system. But otherwise the defense
under Todd Bowles. You know, they had most of the crew back and the same schemes, and I think you saw how that paid off. So it's definitely a plus for the Bucks. Don't don't get used to it, though, because I'm not sure that's gonna last that long. Uh. We're also asked, who do you think is the successor after Brady. I don't think we can answer that question yet, because, first of all, how many years are we talking about, you know, he seems to be motivated to play beyond
two years. That would require another contract for that to happen in Tampa, UM, but a lot can happen between them and now the Bucks could use a draft pick on a quarterback certainly. UM coach Arians did talk about Blaine Gabbert the other day though, how much he thinks, you know, he could, how highly he thinks of him, and that's a possibility. I mean, we are talking about a former very high first round pick. So we've all seen his arm, talent on the field. He played well
in that stint that he had in Detroit. I don't know if that's a big enough sample to really you know, know what you got, but I think there's a lot of confidence in him. And Jared asked, do you see the Rams as being the biggest challenger in the NFC next season? I think that would. I think I'd have to go with Green Bay to be honest with you. I mean, what they were the team standing there at the end with the Buccaneers. They had the first they
had the home field advantage in the first round. By I know, the Rams have an excellent defense and now they have Matt Stafford. Um that you know, they're definitely gonna be a top continder. I would think, um, but I think I would go with Green Bay first. Um, and then we'll close with this one. Richard asked, if we do get a chance to resign most of our guys, what would you say is the biggest need on the team.
I think probably not just next year, but moving forward, the Buccaneers could use some help on the edges on defense. You know, some edge rushers or a you know, one guy that you could develop into a special player. Uh. That's not easy to get when you're picking as low as thirty two though, so UM. Otherwise, I don't know, there's they're just not glaring needs, right I mean the
offensive Yeah, the offensive line is in great shape. Maybe you want another, uh inside linebacker to start preparing for the hopefully not too soon days when you don't have Lavante David, But I don't know he should be around for a while. It's a pretty solid roster up and down, so you know, a dynamic kick returner would be nice, but that's not something you're gonna go after in the first round. I don't think so. I think this feels like the same question is what should the Bucks go
after in the first round? And to me, the probably the best way to go is is outside linebacker edge rusher. Right, all right, well that's gonna do it it for us. On this edition of Buccaneers Inside Er Live presented by Miller Light, we are here with you every week all offseason taking all these amazing questions. Thanks for being with us. We'll see you next time. STO.