Jason Licht Addresses Trading For An Elite Pass Rusher
August 5th, 2025
Bucs GM Jason Licht.
Joe’s always obsessed with improving the Bucs pass rush, and Joe is not alone.
Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht was asked quite quickly during his visit to The Pat And Aaron Show today on WDAE radio about Micah Parsons trading draft capital for a beastly edge rusher.
“Would you consider thinking about moving on from a first-round pick or two for an elite pass rusher?” co-host Pat Donovan asked without naming disgruntled Cowboys stud Micah Parsons.
Licht said he’d consider making an expensive deal.
“You gotta look at the big picture,” Licht said. “You gotta look at what you’re giving up, what player you might have to give up, the whole cap, the whole everything, what that’s going to mean. Who are the casualties going to be that you’re not going be able to [keep]? You gotta look at the whole thing.”
Joe appreciated the response. Licht, given his Hall of Fame-caliber drafting in recent years, easily could have said he’s against trading prime picks because the organization believes in homegrown.
Regardless, the Bucs aren’t trading for Parsons — at least as long as Haason Reddick stays healthy in 2025.
August 5th, 2025 at 2:18 pm
Fair enough, it’d be cool to see who off Lichts’ team has the duty of brainstorming potential trades and what the comp package would’ve looked like. This answer was way too in-depth for it to not have been a discussion had inside 1 Buc.
August 5th, 2025 at 2:19 pm
I wouldn’t trade for Micah Parsons for some reason(s) Joe points out. I’m also a believer in Braswell and Diaby getting better.
August 5th, 2025 at 2:19 pm
That shipped sailed when we sign Hason
August 5th, 2025 at 2:23 pm
Can you imagine an OLB rotation of:
– Reddick
– Hendrickson
– Diaby
– Braswell
– Nelson
With Kancey, Vea, Hall and Roberts rushing from inside?
Oh my…
August 5th, 2025 at 2:30 pm
Hendrickson is the play….
August 5th, 2025 at 2:32 pm
Licht will always value the Unknown (draft picks) over the known. Which if you are in a WIN NOW mode makes little sense
August 5th, 2025 at 2:35 pm
If we could have Parsons, it may be a better deal than Hendrickson, unless Hendrickson is way cheaper due to age. Then, we would really need to compete for a superbowl. I personally would rather have Hendrickson than Parsons.
August 5th, 2025 at 2:50 pm
Licht already found his edge rushing gem……Reddick and he did not cost anything but $$. No need to invest and give draft capital away to pick up Parsons.
August 5th, 2025 at 3:01 pm
You can do a lot of trickery with the cap, but there are limits, and even without Parsons the Bucs are near that limit. Considering that, and the huge cost in draft picks it would take to get him, there’s really no chance of the Bucs getting him.
So instead, we can all just remember Parsons for getting blown up by Fournette on SNF, then getting triggered on Twitter when the video went viral.
August 5th, 2025 at 3:19 pm
The Giants only gave up a 2nd and 5th to Carolina for OLB Brian Burns. That was the Edge Rusher teams should have jumped on .
August 5th, 2025 at 3:25 pm
Licht as usual is spot on, that move would effect everything. In the Hendrickson vs Parsons debate I would take Parsons easily for these reasons
Parsons is a LB, Hendrickson plays DL, we seem to have that.
Parsons has been a stud since day 1 and is way younger.
The money side would be close if we are to believe what Hendrickson is asking for.
What is the cost in draft capital? If we are going deep into the playoff’s and SB for the forseeable future then 2 #1’s may not be bad compared to what we get in Parsons.
Other questions would be what does Parsons bring to the locker room, would he work with the FO on reasonable salary demands to help the team, what’s his overall attitude? The guy seems bright with what he’s said so far, reasonable as well but we don’t know that.
August 5th, 2025 at 3:28 pm
It’s wild how much faith some of you are putting in a guy that had 1 sack last year. Hope it was just an anomaly for Reddick, but he’s over 30 and was showing decline in his last year with Philly too.
August 5th, 2025 at 3:50 pm
If your Superbowl window is wide open-which many think the Buccaneers is-the known quality is certainly more valuable than the future unknown due to the fact that you are in a win it all now mindset. If you think Reddick is such a gem that cannot miss then why were teams not lining up to bid for his services? I will tell you why-Reddick mailed it in last season and looked much the part of a whiny malcontent doing it.
Trey Hendrickson is available for the right price and that would likely be a 2nd rounder and a 3rd rounder or a 1 and a 5 at most. Of course you would then need to pay him about 32 million a year for the next two years with a significant amount guaranteed. Bucs would be an attractive trade partner as it means Trey is no longer in the AFC and with a bit of maneuvering Bucs have the cap room. For this you receive the NFL Sacks leader of the last 2 seasons and put your team in the top 3 in the NFC.
August 5th, 2025 at 3:53 pm
Hoping Reddick is his 2023 self after basically sitting out/being unproductive for 2024 is a foolish way to build a team
August 5th, 2025 at 4:30 pm
Joe … Jason’s response seems like it was tailored specifically to keep your hope alive of building a pass rush of all superstars, each costing $30-$40 mil. Nice politically-acceptable response, but knowing Jason’s past history ref BIG contracts to FAs I got the feeling that you didn’t really buy it either. (Your ‘Regardless, the Bucs aren’t trading for Parsons’ closing gave a clue).
August 5th, 2025 at 4:32 pm
Has Reddick shown anything in training camp?
August 5th, 2025 at 4:51 pm
Reddick is far from a sure thing, but Hendrickson and Parsons are going to hold out for $40 mil guaranteed for years. In that light Parsons makes a tad more sense. Hendrickson might possibly command a tad less draft capitol. But geez, an injury to either one… I shudder to think. Also, we will need to replace the guys we will be unable to resign without much draft capitol. Not a fan of that plan.
August 5th, 2025 at 4:53 pm
I agree with hardy dickerson also the tape that showed him going against Charlie heck looked bad for him I hope he comes through but thats the only player on this roster that I’m iffy about why not go get parsons? Thats Logan hall and JTS (1st rd 2nd rd picks) parsons is young and worth the 1st & 2nd picks plus rachadd white
August 5th, 2025 at 5:07 pm
Sounds like he’s thinking on it!
August 5th, 2025 at 5:18 pm
Yaya and Reddick with Braswell behind them are going to have a break out season along with Kancey. No need to trade
August 5th, 2025 at 5:22 pm
Hendrickson might be in play…I’d take him over parsons in our defense
GO BUCS
August 5th, 2025 at 7:24 pm
sacks are important, yes but if a guy is in the game 500 plays or more in a year and gets 10 sacks, he has to do something on the other 490 plays too, or else ramirez and watts would play more.
in addition to everything else named here
August 5th, 2025 at 7:39 pm
I bet he would if he could. You’d be crazy not to. When knowing that if everything else goes accordingly (mostly just health), that the Bucs will be picking towards the end of the ‘first-round’ anyway, especially with Parsons on this roster. It would be a total no-brainer (even if you had to add a 3rd). Those guys don’t grow on trees. And, the odds that you’re getting anything even remotely close to a player lot that caliber, in his PRIME, and at THAT position (with picks 29, 32, & 90) is about as close to ZERO as you can get. I’m not a big fan of his podcast stuff at ALL, but he’s a generational talent, future first-ballot HOF’er, & is still just hitting his prime. You put him in there with Reddick, LaVonte, & Dennis (flyin’ all over the field), with Vea and Kancey tearin’ it up upfront, & Junior on the backend… Then, you’ve REALLY got something there. It would make our young secondary look A LOT better, that’s for sure. They’d have to be ‘Top-5’ Super Bowl favorites, at a bare minimum. If not at the very top. And, for the next several seasons. Problem being, it’s not happenin’ cause Jerry’s not letting him go. And, there is seriously no-telling what the price would really be, IF Jerry were to put him on the ‘open-market’ like that, & available to all 31-teams. It could get pretty stupid.
August 5th, 2025 at 8:03 pm
I read the article and came away thinking just what DR (and Joe) were thinking about Licht’s response. Bullspit. Dipped in more BullSpit. In other words “It ain’t happening”.
August 5th, 2025 at 10:56 pm
boys play 4-3 right
August 6th, 2025 at 10:44 am
Guaranteed 💯 IF Jerry were to call and say “you can have him (for just 2 first-rounders),” that JL would find a way REAL QUICK for it to work. It’s not happenin’ ONLY because Jerry is not going to allow it to happen. JL isn’t stupid enough to just pass on that type of ‘franchise player’ just hitting his prime. They don’t grow on trees. The ONLY other player in NFL HISTORY to begin their career with at least 12-Sacks in their first 4-seasons, is a man named Reggie White. It’d be a ONCE in a ‘lifetime’ opportunity for the franchise.
August 6th, 2025 at 1:54 pm
I don’t mind trading the 1st round picks for a great player, but it’s the money that player wants that is too much. We wouldn’t be able to have any depth or money for our own players, etc.
August 6th, 2025 at 5:52 pm
Sure, it would be awesome to have Parsons but it’s not worth $40M/yr and 2 high round picks for us. I think that’s probably what parsons and Jerry jones are both looking for. Now if he wants to come play for $15M per year and we cough up a 5th round pick… hells ya come on down!