WEBVTT - Franchise Tag Candidates, Important Offseason Dates | Bucs Insider

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<v Speaker 1>Um, hello, they are Buccaneers fans. This is Casey Phillips

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<v Speaker 1>and senior writer and editor Scott Smith, and it is

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<v Speaker 1>time for Buccaneers and Sideur Live, presented by Miller Lte.

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<v Speaker 1>As always, this is where we take your question. So

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<v Speaker 1>if you're not already watching on the Buccaneers Facebook page,

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<v Speaker 1>you can head on over there and in the comments

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<v Speaker 1>section underneath our live video you can submit your questions

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<v Speaker 1>there for us. So I know as we give people

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<v Speaker 1>a chance to do that. Now is the time of

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<v Speaker 1>year that there are a lot of things that are

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<v Speaker 1>going to start happening in terms of roster building looking

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<v Speaker 1>forward to the team. So first of all, just give

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<v Speaker 1>us a little bit of an idea of a couple

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<v Speaker 1>of things coming up on the calendar that Bucks fans

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<v Speaker 1>might want to watch. Well, the next I guess date

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<v Speaker 1>on the calendar of some significance is the start of

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<v Speaker 1>the two week window in which teams can use franchise

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<v Speaker 1>and transition tags on their players, and that's next Tuesday.

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<v Speaker 1>That's when that will begin. And then you have two

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<v Speaker 1>weeks leading up too close to free agency to do

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<v Speaker 1>that if you soak shoes, and then the NFL scouting

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<v Speaker 1>combine is back and missed a year last year due

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<v Speaker 1>to the pandemic, but um, it's back in person and

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<v Speaker 1>that's always a big event that draws pretty much all

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<v Speaker 1>the personnel people and coaches and media from around the

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<v Speaker 1>league to Indianapolis. So that would be March one to

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<v Speaker 1>March seven, and then the start of free agency, which

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<v Speaker 1>is the new calendar year for the NFL, is March sixteen. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>So let's talk a little bit about the franchise tag

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<v Speaker 1>part Um, What are some of the potential options for it,

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<v Speaker 1>how likely it is the team uses it. Just kind

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<v Speaker 1>of break down some of the things that maybe we

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<v Speaker 1>would want to know when it comes to the franchise tag. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, the last couple of years, the big story

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<v Speaker 1>for the Buccaneers and free agency was how well they

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<v Speaker 1>were able to retain all of their key free agents,

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<v Speaker 1>especially last year, and in both cases, one of the

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<v Speaker 1>key elements there was using the franchise tag, first on

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<v Speaker 1>Shack Barrett in two thousand twenty and then on Chris

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<v Speaker 1>Godwin last year, And in both cases that really helped

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<v Speaker 1>because that was one off the table that you didn't

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<v Speaker 1>have to worry about. And in Shack's case, it d

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<v Speaker 1>it end up leeding to a long term contracts to

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<v Speaker 1>keep around for a long time, which is great. That

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<v Speaker 1>didn't happen with Chris Godwin, and so people are gonna

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<v Speaker 1>wonder with the Bucks um tag Chris Godwin for the

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<v Speaker 1>second year in a row. The issues there are when

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<v Speaker 1>you when you do that a second year in a row,

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<v Speaker 1>you have to give them one of what they had

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<v Speaker 1>last year, or if the formula works out to being

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<v Speaker 1>more than you've give them that. But it's gonna be

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<v Speaker 1>at least about nineteen point three million dollars for the

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<v Speaker 1>wide receiver franchise tag for Chris Godwin this year. Obviously

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<v Speaker 1>he's probably worth that given what he does to the team,

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<v Speaker 1>but you're also talking about a player who is early

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<v Speaker 1>in the stages of recovering from a knee injury, and

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<v Speaker 1>that always makes it harder for teams to make big

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<v Speaker 1>long term decision well not long term, but big decisions

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<v Speaker 1>on right now, So that complicates matters. I would think

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<v Speaker 1>probably the most likely candidate if the Bucks decided to

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<v Speaker 1>do with three years in a row is Carlton Davis,

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<v Speaker 1>because the Bucks certainly think and I think a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of people run the league think that he's a number

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<v Speaker 1>one caliber cornerback. He's also only twenty five years old,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's hard to hard to let that go, you

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<v Speaker 1>know what I'm saying. So the franchise tag for a

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<v Speaker 1>Corners about seventeen million dollars. That's a lot, but you

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<v Speaker 1>know that's market value. So we'll see. I would think

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<v Speaker 1>he's probably the most likely one, Okay. And we had

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<v Speaker 1>a question um from Seawan asking what is your prediction

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<v Speaker 1>of what position we will draft in the first round?

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<v Speaker 1>And uh, that kind of also links to what I

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<v Speaker 1>was gonna ask next about the combine coming up and

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<v Speaker 1>just how we feel like the draft evaluation process itself

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<v Speaker 1>might be different this year compared to last year when

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<v Speaker 1>you were bringing everybody back for sure, and you have,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, just how things might be different terms of

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<v Speaker 1>how you're evaluating not only the first round pick, but

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<v Speaker 1>but the draft overall. And so yeah, for you first round,

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<v Speaker 1>what position seems likely and then overall, how you think

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<v Speaker 1>they're going to be evaluating draft prospects this year. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>So it's a little tough that question right now in

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<v Speaker 1>mid February, and you kind of alluded to the reason

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<v Speaker 1>why there's a long list of free agents, and depending

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<v Speaker 1>upon whom the Buccaneers can bring back will really in

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<v Speaker 1>packed how they decided to go. Last year, we all

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<v Speaker 1>remember the story was the Buccaneers were in a position

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<v Speaker 1>to draft just about anywhere they wanted to. Um edge

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<v Speaker 1>rusher did seem like the most likely candidate for a

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<v Speaker 1>clip position, and that's how it ended up being. But

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<v Speaker 1>it was sort of a luxury draft in which you

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<v Speaker 1>could really go best player available. I don't think that's

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<v Speaker 1>gonna be the case this year. I think the Buccaneers

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<v Speaker 1>are gonna have a hard time getting all of those

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<v Speaker 1>free agents back. Probably lose one or two of them.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't want to predict predict two, but it's hard

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<v Speaker 1>to imagine us getting all of them back. So if

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<v Speaker 1>you lose Carlton Davis, quarterbacks suddenly becomes very important. Also

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<v Speaker 1>because Sean Murphy, Bunting and Javel Dean will be in

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<v Speaker 1>line to hit for agency next year. So depending upon

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<v Speaker 1>what you're able to keep out of all those guys,

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<v Speaker 1>corner can become an issue really quickly. And Uh, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>gonna fall back on the line that you've heard me

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<v Speaker 1>say a million times, Casey, you can never have enough

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<v Speaker 1>quality cornerbacks, So to me, I like that, Uh, the

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<v Speaker 1>Bucks probably could use another edge rusher, who knows if

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<v Speaker 1>Jpp is gonna be back. Um, you could always use

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<v Speaker 1>help on the offensive line, who knows if Ryan Jensen

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<v Speaker 1>is gonna be back. So one of those three positions

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<v Speaker 1>probably would be at the top of my list. And

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<v Speaker 1>then running back. And I'm not a big proponent of

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<v Speaker 1>first round and running backs, but we were talking about

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<v Speaker 1>the end of the first round around where the Buccaneers

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<v Speaker 1>took Doug Martin ten years ago and that worked out

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<v Speaker 1>pretty well. So there's a lot of possibilities. But we'll

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<v Speaker 1>have a better focus on that after free agency begins. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>and we asked me about evaluating players. I think the

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<v Speaker 1>biggest thing about the combine, being back and in person

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<v Speaker 1>is not the workouts, because the scouts and coaches will

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<v Speaker 1>always tell you they know what they know from film,

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<v Speaker 1>uh and the pro days, they'll get plenty of time

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<v Speaker 1>to see the players work out there. What they value

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<v Speaker 1>most is those sit down meetings in the evenings, and

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<v Speaker 1>those obviously had to be conducted via zoom last year.

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<v Speaker 1>I think the fact that you'll get to be back

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<v Speaker 1>sitting down with all those guys for that whole week

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<v Speaker 1>and just knocking out tons of fifteen minute interviews is

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<v Speaker 1>probably the biggest difference in the evaluation process this year. Right, Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>that makes sense alright. Our next question was from Eric.

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<v Speaker 1>He said, do you see us getting a quarterback in

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<v Speaker 1>free agency? There's not a bumper crop of quarterbacks in

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<v Speaker 1>fre agency. I think the biggest names are like Teddy Bridgewater,

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<v Speaker 1>Tyrod Taylor, Jamis Winston, which seems very unlikely, and that's

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<v Speaker 1>I'm probably missing one or two of them there, but

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<v Speaker 1>it's not It's not a really exciting group, I would say.

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<v Speaker 1>So that's why there's so much speculation about every quarterback

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<v Speaker 1>who seemingly doesn't have does not have a totally solid

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<v Speaker 1>will to stay with the team he's with right now,

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<v Speaker 1>where the team may want to move on, like San

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<v Speaker 1>Francisco may want to turn to Trey Lance and let

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<v Speaker 1>Jimmy Garoppolo go. So that's why you're hearing all that.

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<v Speaker 1>And those names are a little bit more exciting because

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<v Speaker 1>their guys like Russell Wilson. So I don't know that

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<v Speaker 1>the free agent market doesn't seem like a bumper crop

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<v Speaker 1>right now. Right. Sean had asked if you see us

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<v Speaker 1>bringing back Richard Sherman as a potential coach, considering he

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<v Speaker 1>ended up being used in that role some this season. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>that depends on if Richard Sherman wants to transition into

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<v Speaker 1>coaching right now. I know injuries kind of marred his

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<v Speaker 1>attempt to come back with us here last year and

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<v Speaker 1>he ended up not playing a ton of games. But

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<v Speaker 1>he might still want to play, you know what I'm saying. Um,

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<v Speaker 1>But yeah, I mean sure, he obviously is good at it.

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<v Speaker 1>And and uh, we've seen Bruce Arians through the years

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<v Speaker 1>at times do that quickly. With some of these players,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, they finished their career and they're coaching almost

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<v Speaker 1>right away, So it's possible. Sure, Okay, And I'm sure

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<v Speaker 1>you're shocked that we've had a whole bunch of questions

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<v Speaker 1>about just the quarterback situation at large. Um. So we

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<v Speaker 1>will again run back what we can know at this

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<v Speaker 1>point in time. We know that we're gonna be talking

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<v Speaker 1>about this every Wednesday, as as we should. I know

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<v Speaker 1>that this is a huge topic of discussion for all

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<v Speaker 1>of the fans and everything going on. So I'll essentially

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<v Speaker 1>sum up all the different versions of it, um, from

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<v Speaker 1>whether it's someone yelling at us who is going to

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<v Speaker 1>be our quarterback? Always love the all Caps questions really

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<v Speaker 1>really fun, and then also the idea of just what

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<v Speaker 1>is the most likely route we would go, whether it's

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<v Speaker 1>in house, draft, free agency trade. Well, starting in house,

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<v Speaker 1>there's only one quarterback under contract right now. Well that's

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<v Speaker 1>not technically true because Tom Brady remains technically on the roster,

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<v Speaker 1>but he's retired. Um Kyle Trash, the second year guy

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<v Speaker 1>who we drafted at the end of the second round

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<v Speaker 1>last year, didn't really get to see him play, so

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<v Speaker 1>it's really kind of hard to evaluate if he'd be

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<v Speaker 1>ready at the start of next season. Blaine Gabbert is

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<v Speaker 1>actually a pending unrestricted free agent again like he was

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<v Speaker 1>last year. But I believe that if the Buccaneers came

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<v Speaker 1>to him and said we want to resign you and

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<v Speaker 1>you have a real good job, just fight for the

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<v Speaker 1>starting job, he'd probably be pretty motivated to come back.

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<v Speaker 1>So even though he's not under contract yet for two

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<v Speaker 1>I think he remains one of the options. Uh. We

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<v Speaker 1>talked already just a minute ago about how the free

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<v Speaker 1>agency field isn't really strong at quarterback this year, so

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<v Speaker 1>that one seems unlikely to me. So then you're talking

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<v Speaker 1>about possible trade acquisitions, and listen, we can be asked

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<v Speaker 1>this every week. There's no way we're going to have

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<v Speaker 1>an answer for that right now until things start happening.

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<v Speaker 1>But I kind of in a bigger sense, do think

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<v Speaker 1>that the Buccaneers will try to take a big swing

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<v Speaker 1>like they did two years ago with Tom Brady. You

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<v Speaker 1>can't take a bigger swing than Tom Brady, but you

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<v Speaker 1>can take a pretty big swing, and uh, I think

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<v Speaker 1>they'll try. It. Doesn't mean it's not gonna be easy

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<v Speaker 1>because there's salary cap considerations and what do you give

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<v Speaker 1>up in a trade? And does any team even want

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<v Speaker 1>to trade their stud quarterbacks? So, but I just think

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<v Speaker 1>because this roster is still so so talented at so

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<v Speaker 1>many positions, uh, that the Buccaneers consider themselves contenders, that

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<v Speaker 1>window is still open. And so the first thing we'll

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<v Speaker 1>do is try to swing big and then if that

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't work out, then you have to, you know, try

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<v Speaker 1>something like Lane Gabbard or somebody from the fage market. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>well that is going to do it for us. On

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<v Speaker 1>this edition of Buccaneers Insider Live presented by Miller Lte.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks as always for those great questions. We'll be back

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<v Speaker 1>here next week again to answer them, so we'll see

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<v Speaker 1>you then