Jason Licht Knows The Challenge
February 2nd, 2026
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BY IRA KAUFMAN
A year from now, the Buccaneers could be looking at a rebuild rather than a reload.
This franchise appears to be at a tipping point as Todd Bowles prepares for his fifth season on the sidelines since replacing Bruce Arians. The first three of those years ended with a division title, but 2025 concluded with a disastrous collapse following the bye week.
With a 35-33 record behind him, Bowles is clearly under scrutiny, But save a little room under the heat lamp for Jason Licht and his cabinet. Licht delivered a Super Bowl with shrewd drafting and key free-agent signings, but this roster was exposed last fall.
The next few months are critical if Tampa Bay wants to avoid falling behind in a division that shows tangible signs of improvement.
Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht.
Carolina is on the rise under Dave Canales and the Saints may have found their franchise quarterback in Tyler Shough, who ranked ahead of Baker Mayfield in completion percentage and passer rating. The Falcons enjoyed a banner defensive draft and replaced Raheem Morris with two-time Coach of the Year Kevin Stefanski.
Licht and his braintrust face quite a challenge in the offseason.
Assistant GMs Mike Greenberg and Rob McCartney, VP of Player Personnel Mike Biehl, Director of Player Personnel Shane Scanell and Director of College Scouting Tony Hardie must coordinate with Licht to fill the holes that emerged last fall. The Bucs have seven draft picks, including the No. 15 selection in the first round. That’s not enough ammunition to fix what went wrong, so Licht should be aggressive in free agency.
The strengths of this team are obvious.
The offensive line, when healthy, is an impressive unit and Licht deserves credit for drafting four of those starters. He also signed guard Ben Bredeson as a free agent in 2024 and Bredeson is now a versatile blocker who looked very comfortable at center when Graham Barton shifted to left tackle early in the season because Tristan Wirfs was sidelined.
The receiving corps is talented and deep, especially if Chris Godwin returns to form. Godwin averaged seven catches and 82 yards through seven games in 2024 before suffering a dislocated ankle that limited his production last fall.
Licht needs to find another running back and a tight end who can get down the field and stretch opposing defenses. And don’t forget about landing a credible backup quarterback.
Adding defensive talent is the obvious priority and this secondary would look a lot better if quarterbacks were hurried and harassed. That didn’t happen nearly enough in 2025 as teams consistently handled Bowles’ blitzing schemes.
This front seven on defense doesn’t have enough talent to compete at the highest level. The only stalwart at this point is Vita Vea, who turns 31 this week. Calijah Kancey can’t stay on the field and Lavonte David is no longer a sideline-to-sideline defender.
There’s not enough there.
Chris Braswell is still looking to shock the world while David Walker is still looking for his first NFL tackle. SirVocea Dennis often appeared lost in coverage. Logan Hall and Anthony Nelson are complementary pieces, but this embattled defense needs star power.
Maxx Crosby?
If a Maxx Crosby becomes available, Licht shouldn’t think twice about parting with a premium draft pick. We’ve seen how Tampa Bay’s drafted edge rushers have failed at the pro level. Blame Bowles all you want for the lack of production but do you have any confidence Haason Reddick is going to flourish for another team in 2026?
If the Bucs finish with a losing record again, Bowles won’t be back. He knows it. But at that point, Licht might not survive a third coaching dismissal under his watch. The Glazers kept Licht at the helm of football operations after Lovie Smith and Dirk Koetter were fired.
If Bowles goes, Licht could also be moving on.
Bowles has to coach better to save his job. Licht’s not naive. He knows the challenge he and his inner circle are facing in the next three months.
He’ll be looking for the next Shaq Barrett, an underutilized talent who could prosper at One Buc Place. He’ll be looking for the next Carson Schwesinger, a second-round linebacker who will likely be named Defensive Rookie of the Year on Thursday.
The Senior Bowl is over. Licht’s work has just begun.
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February 2nd, 2026 at 3:37 pm
Yet I have little faith in JL. Hope I’m proved wrong. This off-season should be about 90% focused on the defense.
February 2nd, 2026 at 3:38 pm
JTHV Says:
Jason Licht isn’t going anywhere. The Glazers love that guy and rightfully so. JL will retire a Buc.
February 2nd, 2026 at 3:38 pm
Litch should know where they are at, He had a big part in putting them there.
February 2nd, 2026 at 3:44 pm
Jason has known about the non-existent pass rush for a few years now and we are still waiting for that challenge to be met how long are fans meant to wait on that.
February 2nd, 2026 at 3:47 pm
Liche was going to be on the hit seat until BA and Brady arrived. Now that their are gone he is back on it. He is a great OL scout.
February 2nd, 2026 at 3:48 pm
Can Max Crosby cover? Bad talent, bad coaching equals total house cleaning next season. Should’ve happened already.
February 2nd, 2026 at 3:51 pm
Jason might know the challenge but the question is, what’s the plan?
Bowles has shown for the past 4 seasons hes the exact same coach. No growth, when the pressures on he coaches not to lose. So if Licht gives up a premium draft pick for Crosby, how’s that really going to help this season? The Browns had the single season sack leader and they won how many games? 4?
Why bring Crosby in to have him in coverage? How will Bowles even use him to the best of his abilities and not to fit some scheme?
I cant tell if Bowles is suggesting to Licht which players to get or vice versa, or maybe it’s 50/50, I don’t know. But the personnel decisions have been bad, especially at backup QB.
We’ll see how serious they are come FA. I suspect they’ll get mid to lower tier players to save money and prepare for the inevitable roster reset in 2027.
February 2nd, 2026 at 3:51 pm
Lets see what Licht does this season as far as player acquisitions via free agency and/or draft, regardless of whether Bowles fails to meet expectations, did Licht provide him the tools necessary to succeed? There’s a belief we have the talent, we just lack the coaches to harness said talent, I say meh, other Mike Evans, I don’t know who are super stars are. Both Winfield and Wirfs got max deals and they aren’t exactly jumping off the stat sheet. This is Licht’s roster, and imo its mediocre.
Let’s peel this back just a little. In alternate universe, we don’t land Brady and Arians has to fly with another QB, this team remains .500 for the remainder of Arians tenure, which would’ve ended at the end of 2021 season with no Super Bowl, and most likely we’re blowing this whole thing up prior to 2022 season. And without the SB, who knows where some of our high profiled veterans end up doing. Might not have stayed in Tampa. Yes, credit Licht for having the roster that attracted Brady to TB. But Brady by himself doesn’t win us a SB…Brady then recruited Gronk, AB, Fournette. None of these dudes come to Tampa without Brady.
This past season, I think Licht pulls the trigger on a DE and/or veteran guard before the trade deadline and maybe we win just 1 more game to take the south. No, we don’t win the SB, but a trade might have gotten us at least 1 more win, and as usual, Licht does nothing, this is a trend. Point is, imo yes, Licht is overrated and has been riding the success of the Brady acquisition, completely ignoring the fumbles he’s made both pre and post Brady. It’s going on year 4 since Tom has been gone, and the product isn’t any better. If Bowles goes, I’m ready to see someone else in here as GM. Being able to bring in your own and/or have a say in the new GM is a nice incentive for the potential new HC.
February 2nd, 2026 at 4:04 pm
Whoever was responsible for bringing in Bilgewater as the backup QB should get run out of OBP immediately.
And I don’t care if it was Bowles, Licht, or both. That was an inexcusable epic failure. It played a major role in the collapse.
If we had a decent backup then Mayfield could have been rested and or benched when needed. Good teams have more than an empty jersey as the QB2.
My guess is we’ll see the same inept decisions and have a full reset in 2027.
Either that or the Glazers will again rely on a compliant media only to happy to paper over the reality. Bowles and Licht are frauds. Brady saved them all.
February 2nd, 2026 at 4:07 pm
This defense is NOT one Maxx Crosby away from being good. A complete overhaul in coaching and personnel is needed. Until that happens, they’ll be somewhere around .500, maybe worse.
February 2nd, 2026 at 4:11 pm
@lynchmob – 100% agree – it was willful negligence to have teddy as a backup. Jason licht is a .449% loser over 12 years even with Brady. he just plain sucks without Brady. facts are facts.
February 2nd, 2026 at 4:12 pm
I have been a big fan of Jason Licht, but him supporting the return of Bowles the last two years has caused me to lose confidence in him.
With the Bucs talent and QB they could have pursued a top-notch head coach this year. A smart GM would have promoted Coen last year.
February 2nd, 2026 at 4:26 pm
I disagree with the notion about Crosby. Look bottom line we need a star at edge. He aint drafting one. Go buy it or trade up for bain. Or take Mesodor and trade up for Jacob Rodriguez in the second. Im telling u. Jason’s got to stop valuing these picks bc he frankly isnt great at it
February 2nd, 2026 at 4:46 pm
I’ve been a big supporter of JL and what he’s been able to do. He brought us a Superbowl by bringing in BA, Brady, Gronk, Brown, Lenny, JPP and has drafted a great oline and good depth at WR. Then after selling out for that Superbowl and being in a bad place with the cap, he brought in Baker and has kept the Bucs highly competitive without a complete rebuild.
But I’m beginning to wonder how much control he has over the HC hiring/firing. I think he’s either too loyal to Bowels or the Glazers won’t let him fire him.
Either way the Bucs (either the Glazers or JL) dropped the ball letting Coen go to Jacksonville.
February 2nd, 2026 at 4:55 pm
I am pretty sure that Licht’s job was in jeopardy until Bruce Arians and Tom Brady came to town. That bought him time, but it seems that we’re starting to see a regression to the mean. I hope not, but this will be big off season for him as much as it is for Bowles.
February 2nd, 2026 at 5:11 pm
This draft class isn’t generational, but depending on how Licht and the scouts prioritize positional value and individual talents, we can go about the draft in alot of different ways and come away with talent that can help give us a collective boost.
Like the article says, work on that front is going to ramp up a bunch in the coming weeks with the new league year right around the corner. I’m most interested to see how, and what we do to manipulate the cap in terms of making more money available. Should be an interesting offseason, to say the least
February 2nd, 2026 at 5:12 pm
Orlando, re: regression to the mean is exactly right. That’s why this season is so important, perhaps more so for Jason than for Todd. Excepting The Brady years, he needs to change his stance on both drafting and free agency, both preseason and in-season.
February 2nd, 2026 at 5:26 pm
Who is this IRA PERSON?
February 2nd, 2026 at 5:30 pm
You can wish all you want for Crosby but the Bucs don’t have the ammunition to outbid Dallas with their 3 first round picks to get him IF Vegas is willing to part with him.
February 2nd, 2026 at 5:41 pm
Logan Hall is a free agent – If the Bucs re-sign him on a 3 year deal for $28-30 million, then you know they’re not serious about fixing the problem.
February 2nd, 2026 at 5:47 pm
Sigh…
I used to come to Joe Buc fan on the usual. It’s still the number one Bucs blog in my book. Yet, I don’t see the point of “reading daily” at this time and it’s NOT the Joe’s fault! It’s the Glazers.
The Glazers Have and Continue to Betray us the fans.
Apparently there are agreements around the league ($). Perhaps some Very indepth research on the owners and ownership groups and their “relationships” should be looked at just a bit more intensely or deeply. It’s the ONLY THING that makes the most sense. Not Only that BUT there is someone or two of the Glazers that hate this team. Their Own team. The One we Love… is not necessarily a “truth” for all that have “THE CALL”.
Ask yourself this. How could they not notice the performance of this guy ( Bozo Bowles) and his defense for 4 years straight or his Losing performances for not one but TWO TEAMS…!? Or how about this? How about those jets and what this guy Bowles did while he was there? Folks…. I’m sorry but the “FACTS” DIDN’T ESCAPE THE GLAZERS. THEY’RE NOT THAT STUPID ! How can Any of us or anybody else explain off extending this guy Bowles with a MASSIVELY Failing record after 4 years here straight of failing? This is year 5. “Nothing has changed”.
Who’s fault is that? We ALL KNOW the answer. The Glazers. And I want them to suffer right along with us all. How about you?
And look at what they’re doing to business like JBF. The Glazers are doing a fantastic job of hurting Any and All businesses connected to this team. Sad..
I’ll keep reading JBF because I’ve always enjoyed them for the most part and hopefully the readership helps to keep it’s doors open. To Bad the Glazers couldn’t care less about business like JBF…
I’ll watch as long as it’s “For Free”
February 2nd, 2026 at 6:00 pm
I’m switching to full draft mode for now. $100 says I could do just as good a job as Licht in drafting a DE, K, P, or a QB.
In my opinion we have no hope on the defensive side of the ball.
Bowles is completely failed as a DC and no player or players can fix that dreck.
In that case we better get as good on the offense as possible.
Outscore the bumbling’s of Turtle Todd. 40+ per game is the only chance we have.
Kenyon Sediq at TE from Oregon would be my first round pick if he was still available.