_“Careful under that bus, Desean.”_
Never again.
Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager has opened up to media more in recent years and Joe has enjoyed it. In fact, Team Glazer should give Licht an interview bonus structure. Licht being out there is good for the franchise.
Licht is kind of like the Baker Mayfield of GMs.
After building an impressive up-and-comer pedigree working around Jimmy Johnson, Don Shula, Andy Reid and Bill Belicheat, the Bucs hired Licht as GM in 2014.
Like Mayfield, Licht hit NFL rock bottom and rose from the ashes, slightly reinventing himself while staying genuine.
As Mayfield told SiriusXM NFL Radio last week, he wishes he knew years ago what he’s realized in his Tampa days. (Don’t we all?) Licht says the same thing.
While Licht has been with the Bucs 12 years, he’s only become a legend for his roster-building acumen over the past seven years.
Yesterday, TheAthletic.com [delivered a feature on Licht](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6538680/2025/08/12/buccaneers-gm-jason-licht-character/) from Dan Pompei, who very kindly referenced and flattered JoeBucsFan.com in the piece– “deftly delivers Bucs news and opinions, sometimes with a wink.” Thanks, Dan!
Licht gave Pompei bold calls on two past high-profile moves.
> In March 2017, Licht took a chance on dazzling but challenging wideout DeSean Jackson in free agency. He didn’t blend with the quarterback or his coaches, and the waves he created didn’t justify the production. “The me now would never sign DeSean Jackson,” says Licht, who traded him after two years.
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> In hindsight, Licht believes he was fooled in 2019 when he chose linebacker Devin White in the first round. White was a starter for the better part of five years for the Bucs but eventually was let go. He’s with his third team since.
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> “Knowing what I know now, he would have been off my board,” Licht says. “It was too much about him.”
Ouch!
Joe almost cringed about the White comment. First, Joe thinks Licht is probably being hard on himself considering White was a key cog to the Bucs winning a Super Bowl. Second, it feels to Joe that Licht did not want White for the 2022 season but Todd Bowles did — and Bowles won out.
Joe has little doubt Licht knew White was the wrong guy for the locker room before 2022 kicked off, so why was he kept? Strange. (Perhaps even stranger is why White was signed by the Raiders led by Licht’s former right-hand man and Tom Brady).
As for Jackson, Joe’s been sitting on off-the-record information of something stunning Jackson did to sabotage the Bucs. Unfortunately, the prominent national figure who detailed this to Joe still won’t give Joe a green light to share it publicly.
Kudos again to Licht sharing openly. Fans love that stuff.
Joe eagerly awaits the eventual response from White and Jackson.