Ian Beckles: Bucs Future Is Bright
February 10th, 2024
If the 2023 offseason is any indication, this spring should be very interesting.
That’s the angle that former Bucs guard and currently popular local sports radio personality Ian Beckles took in the latest episode of his podcast “In the Trenches.”
Last offseason when Tom Brady decided to hang it up, Beckles noted there was a pall that hung over the organization. It didn’t help when the Bucs decided to sign a guy who seemed to be an NFL castoff, Baker Mayfield to complete to start.
What happened? General manager Jason Licht went out and added an excellent rookie class and Mayfield turned out to be a complete steal. Now with some extra Team Glazer loot to spend on players, Beckles thinks the Bucs might just be better in 2024 than they were last month — when they won a playoff game and were a timeout and a play away from advancing to the NFC Championship.
“Jason Licht and Todd Bowles and this organization made things happen,” Beckles said. “To me, they get an A+ in a lot of ways. Nobody thought they would be here. Nobody thought they would be in a situation coming off a playoff win.”
Beckles added that a playoff win is a big thing for the Bucs as the history of the franchise doesn’t have that many.
“Jason Licht will have to earn his money again,” Beckles added. “This time he has more money.”
The big transaction in Beckles’ eyes is obvious: quarterback. Beckles can’t comprehend why the Bucs would even be looking at other options other than Mayfield, unless other teams drive up this price to a crazy level.
“Baker Mayfield is a fan favorite,” Beckles said. “Baker Mayfield will sell jerseys. Baker Mayfield knows this [offensive] system.
“I think it is pretty clear from the words of the Buccaneers they are trying to re-sign Baker Mayfield, as they should. The Buccaneers are not going to franchise him. That’s not going to happen.”
And Beckles said with Mayfield having a career year, why would he want to leave?
Why did the Bucs improve aside from Mayfield? Beckles cited two players: one a rookie and the second, a second-year player.
Basically, Beckles believes the Bucs got strong play from a pair of players no one expected to produce.
“I think we took a bunch of strides this year that I didn’t see us taking to be honest with you,” Beckles said.
Those two players? Rookie defensive tackle Calijah Kancey and second-year offensive lineman Luke Goedeke.
* On Kancey, “I always say it is hard for a rookie to shine. He shined. He looked like he belonged.”
* On Goedeke, “I wouldn’t have bet a nickel on this kid. He couldn’t play left guard and now you put him at right tackle? That’s a whole different animal out there.”
In short, Beckles seems to think the Bucs will be a problem for teams and a postseason obstacle for years.
“The future is bright,” Beckles said. “I know it is crazy but I think the future is bright.”
If the Bucs nail the draft like they did last year, Beckles is probably correct.
February 10th, 2024 at 11:24 am
I would add Ya Ya Diaby to the list of players that were a pleasant surprise. He led all rookies in sacks and only started the 2nd half of the season
February 10th, 2024 at 11:28 am
Damn right it is. Licht and his crew have done a great job. A good offseason begins with Baker and Evans back in the building. Winfield, David and McLaughlin as well. Then we need 3 more impact guys… IOL, Edge and S. A good draft and a solid FA or 2, this team can be a contender.
February 10th, 2024 at 11:28 am
They are 3-5 players away from being serious contenders, assuming they keep most of the pending free agents including Mayfield, Evans, David, McGlaughlin and Winfield. Find a Center/LG, a good Edge, another CB and some D-line Depth, maybe a hard yardage RB. With free agency and the draft, all of those are possible.
IF not this year, then 2025, though there are some contracts that will need reworked.
February 10th, 2024 at 11:35 am
I really hope to hear soon that both Mayfield and Evans have been resigned.
February 10th, 2024 at 11:35 am
I agree that the franchise’s direction is looking good but I don’t think they were expecting to compete seriously again until 2026. This middling success can hold a franchise back with their current financial situation. I think the Bucs need to trade at least one high priced vet player away like Chris Godwin, Carlton Davis, or Jamel Dean and reinvest that pick in the draft to keep the continued success and give them cap relief in the next couple of seasons.
February 10th, 2024 at 12:14 pm
A “bullish” Beckles? He may even be a “bull” in certain lifestyle groups. 🙂
Seeing Magic Marpet reminds me that he was the first large domino to fall after the ‘21 season…then Jensen injury…then Gronk wisely waving it all off. It’s no wonder the ‘22 season was such a dumpster fire despite the NFC South divisional crown.
February 10th, 2024 at 12:30 pm
Sounds good to me.
February 10th, 2024 at 12:36 pm
I don’t know why people are so concerned about Mayfield signing. He’ll sign or he will get the franchise tag. No way they let him go. He is the future of the Bucs. McGlaughlin may cost some money but it won’t be the hit Evans, Winfield, and David will be. He’ll be back. We all hope for the others will be back but Licht has his work cut out to bring all of them back.
February 10th, 2024 at 12:44 pm
No one expect the Bucs to win? … Come on, Joe.
Last preseason, nearly every one of your readers posted 9-11 wins. I personally was a 10. The people that know the Bucs knew we had more talent than TB12. You gotta have our backs.
February 10th, 2024 at 12:49 pm
Buccos…looks to me like Ya Ya might be a menace for years!!
February 10th, 2024 at 12:54 pm
Some other thoughts…
We had the benefit of a great kicker.
Rachaad White performed well
We were very fortunate that Evans and Godwin stayed healthy all year…..one of them goes down and we would struggle……Palmer was pleasant addition.
I would add Izien & the development of Zion to the list.
Don’t forget Mauch…..played all year…..will probably be much better next year.
February 10th, 2024 at 1:10 pm
It’s awesome man. We have a lot to build on.
Make sure we get Mayfield/Evans/Winfield/Wirfs/Chase all figured out financially.
Add edge rusher + interior OL help + another RB and let’s go
February 10th, 2024 at 1:14 pm
The future is bright mainly because Jason Licht and Co. have been drafting so well the last few (6) years….
February 10th, 2024 at 1:57 pm
The Bucs lost less games to injury in 2023 than any other year.
Especially if you take Russell Gage out of the picture.
Who were the guys that were on season ending IR.
Who were the guys that missed 8 games.
Miraculously healthy year by any NFL team standards.
February 10th, 2024 at 2:00 pm
Joe … ‘If the Bucs nail the draft like they did last year, Beckles is probably correct.’
I’ll second that Joe. Depending upon how ‘reasonable’ our essential FAs are, I think that JL can probably git ‘er done. It’ll take making some hard choices, but the draft will still be the key after that.
This coaching staff did a very good job IMO of bringing the youngsters along, but there was still a significant drop-off in talent (and experience obviously) when our starters went down. Another excellent draft can rectify that in 1-2 years, as well as help smooth out our salary CAP situation.
Lots of excellent comments above BTW. lanshark nailed the Wish List.
February 10th, 2024 at 2:09 pm
So I think we should add Jordan Whitehead back at safety.
Would be a seamless transition for him. Plus we were better with him there.
Any possibility of the top 4 FA edges would set it over the top with YaYa in the other side. Josh Allen and Brian Burns are probably too expensive, but Clowney might be a steal. Or Danielle Hunter.
If you look at the top 10 IOL FAs, they all graded out better than Hainsey and Stinnie. Draft one and bring in one or two, or vise versa.
Then spend a top 3 pick on LB.
We are not that far away from having a team that can compete.
The future IS bright and I can see it.
We will get extra cash by releasing Shaq, White, and Gage.
Restructuring will help.
We have more money in 26 so kick the can a tad, but draft GREAT.
LfG Bucs
February 10th, 2024 at 2:09 pm
geno711 Says:
February 10th, 2024 at 1:57 pm
The Bucs lost less games to injury in 2023 than any other year.
——————————————————————–
Losing Gage (#3 WR) and Ryan Jensen both had a large negative impact on our offense IMO.
There were other injuries where the players continued to play, but not nearly as well as they normally do. I believe that that was the case with Vita Vea. He was very disruptive at the beginning of the season but disappeared during some of the games at the end.
Losing Gage to injury did give some experience to our other WR’s lower on the depth chart and that will pay dividends in 2024 and beyone.
February 10th, 2024 at 2:42 pm
Bucs are positioned to may a run at one of the centers in the draft do the consider the guy from Michigan with the blown knee? I doubt they can get a difference making edge or tight end. It’s a deep WR class so there can be first round talent available in the second.
Do they take a shot at the QB from Michigan?
February 10th, 2024 at 2:51 pm
Mayfield is alright but it’s a tragedy that Kyle Trask is stuck a s backup when he should be starting.
February 10th, 2024 at 2:59 pm
In addition I thought Cody Mauch really improved his play towards the end of the year. I like the Izien kid at Nickel as an undrafted free agent. We even got some help at wide receiver in the draft with the kid from Nebraska. He was a little inconsistent at times but helped us in some big time situations. I think it may be quite hard for Licht to duplicate this , but if he can draft a top Center or guard along with a good inside linebacker and maybe a safety that can all play immediately this team could really go places next year. The first thing we have to do though is get Mayfield, Evans, Winfield and Lavonte re-signed if we want to continue forward.
February 10th, 2024 at 4:03 pm
BucsFanSince1996 Says:
February 10th, 2024 at 2:09 pm
Fair enough. I did not think Gage was a big loss.
For me, when Jensen never underwent the gold standard ACL surgery, I never expected that he would help the Bucs again.
So, for me, Jensen was never a factor and we knew he was not playing before the draft.
February 10th, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Robbie says u r a knucklehead pure & true none more ignorant than u r stupid jackass ways I don’t remember u on this site all season return to u r old sites cause this 1 has all the dummies we need move on to Cleveland take Trask with you bye bye
February 10th, 2024 at 5:02 pm
Robbie says the more I thought bout it how the hell cud u possibly make a prediction like that Trask has zero resume in the NFL plz think before you post morons!
February 10th, 2024 at 5:34 pm
At the beginning of this season- Everyone had the Bucs finishing in last place. I know I was expecting a Bad season.
What a difference a QB makes!! He got the Team to believe, then he got us to believe. Sign Baker Mayfield for 10 years. Other than Brady year one, No Buc QB EVER has turned this team around like Mayfield. And Brady inherited a MUCH better team than Baker.
Ian is right. The future is Suddenly bright for the Bucs.
Same as Ive harped all year. We need a Pass rusher, Guard, Center, and Strong safety.
Add those- sign our FAs, Bucs are a winning team for a long time
I always like to see us build our lines thru the draft, and sign Skill positions thru Free agency. Alot of RBs,WRs and Backup QB wandering the streets. Guys that can really play.
Especially after the last roster cutdown after camp.
Not many good pah ruhers or Lineman outta work.
Fix those spots, bolster our skill positions. Find a Vet Backup QB to go with Woolford.
The Bucs future will be bright
February 10th, 2024 at 5:56 pm
robbie Says:
February 10th, 2024 at 3:42 pm
The future would be brighter if 6’5″ Trask, who had outplayed 6’0″ Mayfield in training camp as confirmed by Joe, had been rightfully named the starter. We would have had the same or similar final record – around .500 – but we’d have a future with a much higher ceiling than career .465 Mayfield. Alas, the Bucs and the Joes are too shortsighted to see this.
^^^^^^^^^
You’re STILL talking about last year’s training camp? Get some help, dude.
February 10th, 2024 at 6:01 pm
@ tim – GREAT POINT! Brady had ABB, GRONK, EVANS and a healthy GODWIN to throw to. Uhhhhh…nice group of receivers for the GOAT. And that O line? MONMEY!
ANd some ppl are complaining about Mayfield. GMAFB.
Either get behind Mayfield or find another team. He’s not going anywhere.
If Mike is back too. Great! I just don’t want us forcing the ball to Mike for NUMBERS. WIN the game.
February 10th, 2024 at 7:29 pm
Jason Licht is the greatest GM in Bucs history if thats the case we should win another superbowl by year 2030 or so!
February 10th, 2024 at 7:41 pm
Have to agree, the future is looking up for the Bucs. If Licht and staff can do as well this draft as they did last year they will be a problem for the rest of the teams. Hopefully we draft a real center and Mauch makes the second year leap.
February 10th, 2024 at 7:51 pm
“Robbie” aka Trask’s mom…If Trask is as valuable as you say, other NFL teams will be lining up to trade for him. Do you actually think this will happen?
February 10th, 2024 at 7:56 pm
“I mean, it starts top-down,” Mayfield said. “How they run the organization and everybody being on the same page and just, how do you win games? When you have a lot of voices going on behind the scenes, you’re making distractions for your players. You’re not putting them in a good position to have success and play free. So for me, getting to Tampa – it was refreshing.”
I have a feeling Canales is walking into a trap
February 10th, 2024 at 9:37 pm
Robbie: Oh, okay. Did Trask make the training camp/preseason Pro Bowl? Or do they not have such things because nobody cares?
February 10th, 2024 at 10:45 pm
Let’s be real .. the flag football pro bowl MVP award is just that.
February 11th, 2024 at 9:11 am
MarkyMark
“I have a feeling Canales is walking into a trap”
Exactly. Baker has played for two other franchises and had a cup of coffee out in LA.
Baker knows what a clusterfk Cleveland and Charlotte are, and it’s due to rotten ownership.
This is why Baker emphasized “from the TOP down”. I think we frequently take the Glazers for granted. I guess it started with the ManU purchase which strained their budget a few years. Once they caught up they have been EXCELLENT OWNERS! They not only produce on the field they are great in the community.
I’m going to take this opportunity to say THANK YOU GLAZERS!
February 11th, 2024 at 10:15 am
robbie
NOBODY remembers training camp! The ACTUAL record is what counts!
You whine and call Baker a “journeyman” and improvement from you’re earlier names for him. LMAO
Now make a bold prediction robbie. When if ever will Trask elevate his rep from benchwarmer to “journeyman”. Being a “journeyman” is a major step up for Trask at this point.
February 11th, 2024 at 2:17 pm
He’s not wrong. Team was way over the cap, had to let a bunch of talent walk, 1/4 of the team was rookies and UDFA’S. Definitely an B+ for Licht, A+ to the coaching staff to develope those players. Its not a coincidence this team played much better down the stretch. The future? Steep learning curve with Canales, I don’t see that with Coen. Super Sunday distinct possibility after they bring back Winfield, Evans and Baker..
February 11th, 2024 at 2:19 pm
And let’s stop dumping on Trask. Yeah he ain’t the starter, but they’re hanging on to him because he could win you a few games if Mayfield goes down. Glad he’s here
February 11th, 2024 at 6:58 pm
optimisticbucsfan said: “I just don’t want us forcing the ball to Mike for NUMBERS. WIN the game.”
I agree, although I don’t think it will be a problem with our new O.C. He says he wants to use Godwin in the slot more and utilize him in motion like Cooper Kupp.
Add a Cooper Kupp type performance (pre-2023) for Godwin to Evans and you have dynamite!
February 11th, 2024 at 7:10 pm
The Trask fan club should be happy to know that he probably will start a game in the future. That is, after the starter (and maybe even the #2 QB) go down for whatever team he is playing for at the time (assuming anybody other than the Bucs want him on the roster).
February 11th, 2024 at 9:55 pm
Winny Testaverde You forgot Alex Cappa . He was a pro bowler before he left for Cincy.
February 12th, 2024 at 6:42 am
Enough of Beckless please….This guy is notheing more than another ex player seeking to somehow remain relevent. It is not pretty Beckess.
Go Bucs