Eager for more snaps.
Yesterday at the NFL owners meetings at the swanky Breakers in Palm Beach, Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht held court and virtually his entire chat with the pen and mic club was about defense.
There is a certain hole in the secondary. The Bucs released Jordan Whitehead, who was the Bucs’ starting corner. Did that mean the Bucs are going to draft a safety?
Licht, during his entire chat, said in many different ways that drafting for every position on defense is a possibility. Even safety.
However, Licht did confess that the Bucs may already have their new starting safety on the roster. It’s something that Bucs coach Todd Bowles floated at the combine back in February in Indianapolis.
The solution at safety to replace Whitehead may be nickel corner Tykee Smith. Licht said that is not a far-fetched idea.
> “It’s definitely something Todd has talked about,” Licht said. “You know, you don’t want to load up a rookie with too much, and I think Tykee (entering his second season) having a year under his belt can handle a lot more.
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> “It just kind of depends on how the construction of the roster continues here after the draft, but it could be a possibility.”
Back in February, Bowles said that Smith was lobbying to be on the field more. If he played more safety, the Bucs could either put him there full-time or when Smith is not playing nickel, he could be moved to safety.
Either way, there are all sorts of ways Smith could be used. And Licht likes Smith’s attitude of “Just put me in the game, coach!”
> “He’s definitely wired the right way,” Licht said of Smith. “He wants to play all the time. So do a lot of our young players – and older players.
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> “But our young players, that’s a quality that we like in them. They want to do whatever they can to get on the field as much as they can.”
The way it sounds like from both Bowles and Licht, unless a quality safety falls in their lap at No. 19, it seems as if Smith has the upper hand to replace Whitehead in the starting lineup.