Jason Licht Ranked No. 5 General Manager
April 18th, 2022
Bucs GM Jason Licht
There were years when a list like this would be published and Bucs general manager Jason Licht would rank below GMs who had yet to work a season on the job.
The Lost Decade was hard on Licht and it appeared he might be launched after the 2018 campaign — when nobody knew yet how beastly that ’18 draft class of the then-bumbling Bucs would become.
But Team Glazer stayed patient and Licht made his “quintessential baller move,” also known as recruiting Bucco Bruce Arians to be head coach.
The rest is history, as Licht’s draft record has impressed and he’s crushed free agency since Arians arrived, all while artfully managing the salary cap.
Longtime NFL.com editor and personality Gregg Rosenthal tackled the task of grading general managers last week and declared Licht as the No. 5 big dog in the league. Rosenthal said his assessments were about what’s happening now, including a variety of factors including hiring, media interaction and self-scouting, among many traditional factors.
Joe thinks that ranking is fair, and it further illustrates how lame it was when NBC insider Peter King surveyed a handful of league executives early this year for their top GMs in the league and Licht didn’t get a vote.
Another Super Bowl and Joe could see Licht’s name in the Ring of Honor slot where Team Glazer canceled Jon Gruden.
April 18th, 2022 at 12:18 pm
Jason Licht got a lot better, after Arians and his bunch arrived!
I can remember a time when he was on the hot seat. Jason talked Arians out of retirement, Brady came, and the rest is History!
Finding Cappa and Marpet was pure genius!
April 18th, 2022 at 12:33 pm
I was not a Licht fan early on but he has gotten better. Although we are in salary cap hell there is a way out of it. I just hope he is patient with the coaching staff and youth on our team the way the Galzers have been patient with him.
April 18th, 2022 at 12:38 pm
Brett Veach/Andy Reid at #6? Please. KC has been the most successful team the past 5 years. Letting Alex Smith go for an unproven Mahomes took serious guts. Easily #1.
The Bills, Packers, Steelers haven’t made a Super Bowl in forever let alone win it. Not sure why they are ranked so high.
KC, Rams, and Bucs GMs have pulled off master class moves that ultimately won Super Bowls. That’s your 1, 2, 3.
April 18th, 2022 at 12:45 pm
If we can hit on 3 contributors that would be great
Dline/ corner/ tight end. And a gravy on top guard would be sweet too
April 18th, 2022 at 12:45 pm
Getting TB12 to come to the Bucs is HOF level work
April 18th, 2022 at 12:51 pm
As the draft grades by rounds articles have shown… Licht has been better than average in rounds 1, 2 and 3 throughout his tenure. We just had a bunch of lousy coaches those first few years…
April 18th, 2022 at 12:52 pm
I’m glad he and the others are flying under the radar. It keeps the other teams from raiding the front office.
April 18th, 2022 at 1:04 pm
I agree Licht and the scouts have done a great job of drafting. But the salary cap seems to be a joke now, and Brady has 99% of the credit for the free agents. So #5 seems about right.
April 18th, 2022 at 1:09 pm
Brandon Beane and Brian Gutekunst being ahead of Licht is just plain silly since they have zero super bowl wins. Snead and Colbert have each won one while they were the gm of their respective teams, so an argument can be made for them, but in my absolutely objective opinion Licht is the best of the bunch.
April 18th, 2022 at 1:45 pm
SKBucsFan: I wouldn’t call us in cap hell. Cap hell is what the giants situation is. They have no cap, no talent and no way out. Further proof Sapp made a post last week that the Giants have the HIGHEST paid WR core in all of football and yet they were dead last in nearly every category. My point is I don’t think we are in hell because as you said we have ways out but more importantly we don’t really have many folks any of us would cut due to a “bad” contract. I really can’t think of a guy on the entire team that has a horrible deal. Maybe the worst was Brate and he just took a cut for us.
April 18th, 2022 at 2:01 pm
When our draft picks start ending up playing for other teams you know we are doing something right…..hell, even MJ Stewart has a gig.
Cappa, Whitehead, OJ, Rojo, Gay, Watson, Ryan Smith, McNichols, Vitale
I’m sure there are more examples.
April 18th, 2022 at 3:15 pm
Jason is trash when it comes to DRAFTING. Kyle Trask in the 2nd round to be on the practice squad.
April 18th, 2022 at 4:35 pm
He’s a good GM, but top five? When your drafts consist of mostly top 15 picks, it’s hard to judge. A freaking computer could do that. I’ll say it like this, he’s a top 15 GM, since most of his tenure was littered with top 15 picks. The more appropriate way to judge him, is the drafts after Brady. The jury is still out, mostly because of reaching for Trask. Obviously, nobody expects his post Brady drafting, to be better than pre. If he’s such a fantastic GM, you should expect two contributing starters this season.
April 18th, 2022 at 5:11 pm
Who are ahead of him? Let me guess…Jerry Jones is #1 lol
April 18th, 2022 at 5:21 pm
Licht hasn’t gotten better. He’s got way better coaches to find talent for. That’s the biggest difference.
April 18th, 2022 at 5:53 pm
He should take some chances this draft. I’d look for guys that slide, for one reason or another. Again, the goal for this draft should be two contributing starters on defense. Expecting much more than that is unrealistic, especially where they are in draft order.
April 18th, 2022 at 6:15 pm
Though I am a Jason Licht Fan, let’s not give him too much credit for “getting Brady”. Brady decided to leave New England, and Tampa was not his first choice! His first choice was to play in San Francisco, since he is a Bay Area Boy, and his parents still live there.
Only when San Francisco did not want him, did he decide to come here. Brady came here because of all our talent, not because of Jason Licht.
April 18th, 2022 at 6:46 pm
Licht is numero uno in my book. The Brady acquisition was the best move in the last 20 years. Hands down nothing compares.
April 18th, 2022 at 7:17 pm
Brady picked the bucs, not the other way around. Kraft chose Bill. He picked the bucs for the roster and the roster alone. It was his best chance to win, plain and simple
April 18th, 2022 at 7:49 pm
There’s a reason Rosenthal didn’t put that list on his Twitter page. He cites 4 Bills draft picks (only 3 elite), yet cites 8 elite Bucs picks. Albert Breer is obsessed with the Bills too, maybe one day they’ll actually be right.
April 18th, 2022 at 8:56 pm
I’d have to say, in no particular order, based on what they have built right now… Buccaneers, Rams, KC, Bills, Bengals
These are teams that have been doing it the last few years or are poised to do it (a few possibly again).
I would not put Packers or Titans or 49ers in there because they have allegedly been on the verge of getting over the hump for a while and have not done it.
April 18th, 2022 at 9:32 pm
David, I generally agree. Unless the Packers really hit on a reciever or two in the draft, they won’t contend. They do have that horrific division going for them, so they’re essentially guaranteed a home wildcard game. As for the Rams, once teams (including the bucs) learn to play coverage against Stafford, they’ll come back to earth. The Bills are the clear cut favorite in the AFC, in my opinion. KC will take a step back. Bucs Bills Superbowl.
April 18th, 2022 at 9:39 pm
Name one GM that has done better than Licht in the last 3 years?
April 18th, 2022 at 9:49 pm
David I think you’re spot on.
April 18th, 2022 at 11:07 pm
Brady saved licht’s job. LOL
Brady is the reason we got so many FA’s and discounts
Anyone who thinks Licht is the architect of our SB team is nuts.
I would give Arians more credit first and I don’t like ARians either.
Licht is a joke.
April 19th, 2022 at 2:55 am
TRex…are you the site joke now that the Winston fella is gone? Brady brought Gronk, & Fournette, &…uh. Oh wait, Licht drafted or signed the rest before Brady.
April 19th, 2022 at 12:48 pm
Brown? Suh? JPP? Coming back…you think they did that for Licht?
BUWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
SOme of you just can’t admit the truth…this is Brady’s team.