Bucs GM Jason Licht
Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht, the renowned offensive line whisperer, is the co-chieftain of the undisputed best team in the NFC.
However, Licht still has work to do — soon.
That’s the opinion of retired two-time Super Bowl-winning defensive end Chris Long.
Long has been a big Bucs supporter for years on his popular Green Light podcast, and via other #NFLMedia he’s involved in. Joe listens to Long because he’s candid and actually knows the roster well.
Last night, Long was throwing more flowers at the Tampa Bay GM and imploring him to add firepower to his defense.
“Take a bow, Jason Licht. To have all your guys down and be able to win that football game against a very good San Francisco team — and [the Bucs] haven’t even hit their stride yet,” Long said. “Baker [Mayfield] didn’t even play that good throughout the entire game. I don’t want to say he played bad; he played great. But he still left money on the table.”
Long went on to talk about how he watches every Bucs game and Mayfield has yet to play his best ball all season. Joe would argue Mayfield was damn near flawless in Seattle, but Joe understands Long’s point and agreed with his examples.
Also, and most intriguing to Joe, was Long almost ordered Licht to make a move by the Nov. 4 trade deadline.
Long thinks linebacker SirVocea Dennis is terribly weak in pass coverage — he trashed Dennis’ work yesterday — but he mostly wants Licht to chase a stud defensive tackle.
“I don’t think he’s working with a full deck,” Long said of Todd Bowles coaching the Bucs defense. “Losing Calijah Kancey was a big deal, a big deal, which is why I think they’re going to be a buyers at the trade deadline for a defensive tackle.
“Go get Malik Collins from the Browns. Go get Zach Sieler; rescue that guy from Miami, please.”
Joe will play along on this fine Monday morning.
Sieler has a massive salary, but maybe the Dolphins, a team on the verge of implosion, would be willing to eat a huge chunk of his deal. Sieler feels like such a Licht kind dude, a star out of Ferris State who rose from being a seventh-round pick to become a double-digit sacks guy each of the past two seasons.
Collins is a 10-year veteran who has bounced around on big-money deals since finishing his Cowboys rookie contract in 2019.
Both Sieler and Collins are 30 years old. Each has postseason experience.