On Jan. 2, the Bucs decided to go back to their glory days of the early 2000s, hiring Lovie Smith, the former head coach of the Chicago Bears in addition to being the linebackers coach under former Bucs coach Tony Dungy. A few days later, Smith and the Glazers, who own the team, tabbed Arizona director of pro personnel Jason Licht to be the team’s new GM. Once Licht and Smith were brought on board, they went to work on molding a new roster which would make Dungy proud.
In the opening hours of free agency on March 11, Smith and Licht struck quickly, signing former Bengals defensive end Michael Johnson (five years, $43.75 million), ex-Seahawks defensive tackle Clinton McDonald (four years, $12 million), former Giants tight end Brandon Myers (two years, $4.25 million) and Pro Bowl corner Alterraun Verner, formerly of the Titans, for an absolute steal of a contract (four years, $25.75 million). Not bad for a cornerback who was ranked as the fifth overall corner in all of football last season by Pro Football Focus. This led to the release of Revis. Even though he was rated as PFF’s second best corner last season, Revis was due a $16 million salary next season. Smith and Licht decided to take the money owed to him and spread it around to other areas of need.
The next day, the coach-GM combo struck again, inking two players to lead the new offense that is to be installed under coordinator Jeff Tedford: ex-Bears quarterback Josh McCown (two years, $10 million) and former Bengals offensive tackle Anthony Collins (five years, $30 million). Smith and Tedford are banking on McCown and Collins to be the players they were last season and not the career backups they were before. Collins was arguably one of the NFL’s best protectors last season after replacing injured left tackle Andrew Whitworth in Cincinnati before forcing Whitworth to move to guard upon his return. But McCown is arguably the biggest signing the team made. In order for the Bucs to return to playoff contention, he needs to be the guy to run Tedford’s offense in addition to tutoring Mike Glennon, the 2013 third round pick who showed promise during the lost 2013 season while starting 13 games.
Even though the flurry of signings has slowed over the past few days, the team has still been active. Licht picked up center Evan Dietrich-Smith from the Packers for four years and $14.25 million, then subsequently traded last year’s center, Jeremy Zuttah, to the Baltimore Ravens for a 2015 draft pick. He then followed that deal with a flurry of depth signings. Cornerback Mike Jenkins (Oakland), linebacker Dane Fletcher (New England), wide receiver Louis Murphy (New York Giants), guard Oniel Cousins (Cleveland) and safety Major Wright (Chicago) all came aboard via one year deals. Licht also focused on resigning some of his own players, such as running back Bobby Rainey and linebacker Jonathan Casillas, who look to be contributors once again next season for Tampa Bay.
All of these additions have allowed some players to leave, such as linebackers Dekoda Watson and Adam Hayward, who signed with Jacksonville and Washington respectively. Zuttah and wide receiver Mike Williams (to Buffalo) were traded for draft picks. But those moves shouldn’t affect the Bucs too much, as they are almost certainly looking to replace Williams with a more talented, less troubled and younger pass catcher in this year’s draft, which is loaded with them.
Overall, Smith and Licht’s plan is coming into shape. They went into free agency and signed young players who are just now entering their primes, such as Johnson, Verner and Collins. The draft will be another opportunity to add at least two more probable starters, as the Bucs have the 7th and 39th overall picks. Look for Licht to replace Williams early on, as at least one of the draft’s top two receivers, Clemson’s Sammy Watkins and Texas A&M’s Mike Evans, will be on the board when the team picks at seven.
The questionable new uniforms notwithstanding, Bucs fans should look forward to a new era of Buccaneer football. If all goes according to plan, Smith and Licht will have ushered in a golden period of football here in the Bay Area.
Jordan Llanes can be reached at jordan.llanes@theminaretonline.com.