Bucs GM Jason Licht.
As Joe pointed out last night, it appears the Bucs are confident they have the horses to make a Super Bowl run.
Despite a myriad of injuries to critical players that would bring most teams to their knees, the Bucs apparently believe they can still get to Santa Clara in February, and not as a paying customer.
Joe is not here to rag on the Bucs. Joe gets that the team values draft picks above all else. The drafting by Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht this decade bears that out. Hell, they are getting critical snap from a couple of Day 3 draft picks from this spring, Elijah Roberts and Tez Johnson.
However, a comment left on this here corner of the interwebs from a reader last week struck a chord with Joe: “A draft pick next year will not help you win a Super Bowl this year.” That’s spot on. Rarely do teams have a legitimate shot at a Super Bowl run.
Standing on the dock watching the ships go by might be what the Bucs are doing by sitting on their hands this week and not upgrading at the trade deadline.
Look, Joe hates to type the following, but until Joe sees Chris Godwin slicing through defenses the way Godwin did before he had his ankle destroyed, only then will Joe believe Godwin returns.
Same with Mike Evans. We expect him to be in mid-season form after missing two months (or more) the second he steps on the field for the first team since he had his shoulder wrecked in Detroit?
It’s hard for Joe to wrestle with the thought that a rookie receiver, no matter how good he is, is going to lead the Bucs deep into the playoffs.
And yes, the Bucs expect Calijah Kancey back hopefully for the playoffs. Again, is Kancey going to be in midseason form the first time he steps on the field?
For some context, back in the playoffs for the 2020 season, Vita Vea returned for the NFC title game after missing most of the season with a messed-up ankle. He played in 46 percent of the defensive snaps (and he was a huge reason Shaq Barrett went nuts that day).
Joe really thought there was an opportunity here to help shore up razor-thin areas on the roster due to injuries, which would only make those positions stronger in January when people, in theory, are healthy enough to return.
Who knows when the stars next align for the Bucs to be this-close to a real Super Bowl run?
It just seems like a major opportunity lost.
“Hope” is such an empty, evil word.