Doesn’t Appear The Bucs Were Close To Making A Deal
November 6th, 2025
“I’m not trading for that POS! I learned my lesson with Swaggy.”
So the trade deadline came and went. Bucs fans who constantly hit F5 on their keyboards, hoping to see an update at some point Tuesday, were left hearing crickets.
No news. No update. No trade. No luck.
Joe wasn’t really surprised. Did the Bucs have areas to address to give both the team and fans more confidence the team could make a Super Bowl run? Of course.
But two things were involved: One, Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht loves his draft picks. Prying one away from him might be more difficult than pulling a steak bone out of a hungry Belgian Malinois’ mouth.
And apparently, the Bucs think they have the horses to make a Super Bowl run despite a myriad of injuries to key players,. We shall see.
The way Bucs coach Todd Bowles spoke yesterday, it seemed the team never got any closer to making a deal than talk.
“I think it’s always a matter of compensation,” Bowles said about trade chatter between the Bucs and other teams. “Things [were] discussed, but nothing really materialized close.”
As Joe pointed out, no deal tells Joe the Bucs think they can make a push to Santa Clara with the hand they have been dealt. Bowles did not disagree.
“It’s not just confidence,” Bowles said. “It’s just a matter of things working out how you want them to work out. It’s not a confidence thing with the other guys, or it’s not a detriment [thing] at the same time if we don’t get anybody…
“It’s just, you see some things that can try to make you better, and if it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t fit you and it doesn’t fit what you’re trying to do, then you just move on.”
Joe knows the Bucs are also big on bringing in the right people. Perhaps there was a deal to be made but the Bucs didn’t want to introduce “that guy” into the locker room.
You know, like DeSean Jackson and Swaggy Baker? (coughCANCERScough).
That’s certainly understandable.
November 6th, 2025 at 12:12 am
Time to coach hard. Let’s see it.
November 6th, 2025 at 12:16 am
Ok Todd and AC/DC u have your horses.
Run your race 🤙🏾. See u @ the finish line with the #1 seed.
6-2 now
November 6th, 2025 at 12:16 am
Huh… I thought you said yesterday, that it told you that the Bucs FO must NOT believe they are a Super Bowl team!?:/
November 6th, 2025 at 12:19 am
WDAE mentioned “JoeBucsFan” several times today!!!! But, nowhere NEAR as many times that Ira said “Tom” tho!!!! LoL
November 6th, 2025 at 1:58 am
We’ll see, like I said yesterday… I hope we’ve got enough horses and win out
it just sucks to see LB Logan Wilson go for a 7th and I called that…and its not like we couldnt use a little LB depth, but all good. Maybe we’ll be in position to draft CJ Allen in the first or Whit Weeks if we wait until the 2nd.
November 6th, 2025 at 3:53 am
It seems like a huge mistake for Licht to not pull the trigger on a pass rusher.
Pass Rushers have been the one important area where Licht & Co have FAILED at drafting.
Most teams have pass rushers they draft that don’t work out. I think it’s one of the hardest positions to draft unless that player is a Top 5 lock.
With that being said, we HAVE TO try and trade for one. It baffles me that we keep relying on the Draft to land us pass rushers even, though, we’ve been terrible at it.
November 6th, 2025 at 4:16 am
The main thing I find “overly optimistic” is to believe there will be no more injuries till the end of the season! “Our guys will trickle back from injury” assumes no one else will be lost to injury…. Big gamble
November 6th, 2025 at 4:42 am
I thought we may see a surprise, but wasn’t surprised either when we didn’t. Not Jason’s way. He is good with draft picks, especially late ones.
Paraphrasing to what Todd mentioned on Ira’s podcast, “Do we want a rental or long term player.” Jason and Todd know what they are doing. No flash in the pan midway. Going by another one of Joe’s post, “Bucs are confident they have a Super Bowl team.” Agreed.
November 6th, 2025 at 5:51 am
Bucs just have to keep winning most of their games to stay in front of Carolina get to the playoffs and it’s a new season with many players returning that’s got to be what they are thinking imagine this team at full strength insane. Staying healthy is number one!
November 6th, 2025 at 6:19 am
It’s gonna be pretty “neat” to see us get to the Super Bowl much less the playoffs without “receiving depth” because the “Reality” is We Are ALREADY at the End of that depth RIGHT NOW!
Two rookies, one old guy, and a couple of 3rd/4th/or 5th stringers who are untested AT BEST!
Can you say, “Unlikely”… or “Pipe Dream”? I wonder why they call that type of thing a “Pipe Dream”? I can only come up with the Most Likely reason (Occam’s Razor) and that’s called “Being Sky High on Drugs”! Likely a combo of STRONG Weed and Hopeium…
Let me ask. What happens if the rookie Egbuka gets hurt again? Did everybody see the list of the receivers we have left? You people do know that “we have to ACTUALLY WIN A Lot of the games we have left in order to Even Go To the playoffs”! Right??
I can’t help to see it as people MUST BE TRIPPIN if they actually believe that we’re just heading on in to the Super Bowl, no problem. Only a Very Gullable Child would actually believe that and jump up and down like a monkey clown cheerleader, claiming such a thing as that…
I Really Can’t Believe “that many” adults are convinced So Easily….
Well, I guess if we are 100% blessed with ZERO injuries for the REST of the Season…
AND the few token receivers that are left, All the Sudden turn into Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and even McMillan (all in their prime of course). And I mean RIGHT NOW!
Not at the end of the season when we “may have lost” too many games, including to NFC SOUTH rivals that “may” end up with overall better records…
Let me just pass the bong on around because the monkey clowns have been hording it and Smoking WAY TOO MUCH! I mean, there’s only so much hopeium to go around with a MASSIVE AMOUNT of our “Very Best” Offensive Key Starters dropping like Flys and STAYING GONE!
ONE… “Just One More” hip drop tackle and we may just run Completely OUT of “IT”
ESPECIALLY IF OPPONENTS CONTINUE TO SMASH AND BRUTALIZE OUR VERY BEST PLAYER…. Baker Mayfield. I mean can you even imagine Tracy Olman as our QB going forward, ESPECIALLY without Any of our Super Star receivers??
I just CAN NOT!
November 6th, 2025 at 6:22 am
“[if] it doesn’t fit you and it doesn’t fit what you’re trying to do, then you just move on.”
Exactly what I was saying in a previous comment here. Very difficult to find players that you know are going to fit the Tampa mold and culture via free agency without doing extensive player interviews.
November 6th, 2025 at 6:31 am
This coach talks as if he knows what he’s talking about (with his record!)
November 6th, 2025 at 6:40 am
midseason acquisitions scored in five straight Super Bowls – Chiefs receiver DeAndre Hopkins in Super Bowl LIX, Chiefs receiver Mecole Hardman in Super Bowl LVIII, Chiefs receiver Kadarius Toney in Super Bowl LVII, Rams receiver Odell Beckham Jr. in Super Bowl LVI, and Buccaneers receiver Antonio Brown in Super Bowl LV.
November 6th, 2025 at 6:44 am
maybe Bucs assuming someone will get cut to save money and we’ll sign them? maybe a secret ‘cut and sign’ deal, or maybe a WR who’s been on layaway nobody knows about, an injured or recently disappeared wideout we’ve already spoken too, like Bridgewater sitch? seems reallty nutso to not get a wideout. I get that we could add at another position and gain only slightly, but at wideout we’d gain considerably with a significant ripple effect to the most important players – EE and Bake
November 6th, 2025 at 6:45 am
could move White to WR if someone suddenly becomes great at picking up blitzes, or try to turn Devin Culp into one, since he almost is already.
November 6th, 2025 at 7:42 am
White definitely needs to be involved in the passing game. 100%
November 6th, 2025 at 7:43 am
BUCS HAVE A HOMEGROWN SB TEAM!!!!!
LETS GO!!!!
GO BUCS!!!!
November 6th, 2025 at 8:10 am
Panthers have the 49ers, Rams and Seahawks down the stretch. Problem is they also have the Saints twice and the Falcons….
November 6th, 2025 at 8:24 am
Stunning, supposedly the front office thinks they can make a run at a SB with half an o-line second string RB and a rookie WR? Oh yeah need those day three draft picks. You plebs keep buying tickets, merch and the NFL ticket to support the Glazers checkbooks. What a disgusting joke.
November 6th, 2025 at 9:32 am
Who cares about a big block buster trade in a year we can win the Super Bowl
There is always NEXT YEARS DRAFT which is more important than a title this year.
– Jason Licht
November 6th, 2025 at 9:33 am
I don’t know Joe, real competition shows we might not really be ready for that run. Detroit and Philadelphia, well I don’t think Detroit held near as much. When the season started we had to beat ourselves not to make the run, if we turn it up a d the o-line can stand up maybe but the ball must be caught as well as running a lot better..
November 6th, 2025 at 9:44 am
It’s either JL arrogance or we’re back to being cheap. In fact, trades for young proven vets is more of a sure thing than let’s say drafting,
Arguyo, Hargreaves. McNichols, JTS, Hall, Braswell, Gay, Britt, and Jake the punter.
Jakobi Myers or Jordan Brooks would have helped today and long term. The team needed a shot in the arm for stretch run. Thos two also fix problems next year.
November 6th, 2025 at 9:49 am
i think it is just about money. they get players for cheap with draft picks.
November 6th, 2025 at 10:33 am
Jeffrey Becker Says:
midseason acquisitions scored in five straight Super Bowls – Buccaneers receiver Antonio Brown in Super Bowl LV.
^^^^^^^^
No. We didn’t trade for AB. TB12 recruited him after he got to Tampa and pitched the idea to Arians and Licht. Neither wanted AB but TB12 convinced them he could help AB keep it together.
You could have said we traded for Gronk. That would have been true. He also wasn’t playing but NE held his contract. Unfortunately it still wouldn’t have help you out. It wasn’t midseason.
I doubt you’re correct on anything in your post but I don’t care enough to fact check.
November 6th, 2025 at 10:45 am
The only person that got traded that might have worked for the Bucs, was Jaelen Phillips. But so many negatives about his trade. Gave up a 3rd, he has no contract next year and a huge injury history. I’m good with not trading for a rental player like this.
November 6th, 2025 at 11:12 am
BigZ Says:
November 6th, 2025 at 9:44 am
It’s either JL arrogance or we’re back to being cheap. In fact, trades for young proven vets is more of a sure thing than let’s say drafting,
Arguyo, Hargreaves. McNichols, JTS, Hall, Braswell, Gay, Britt, and Jake the punter.
Jakobi Myers or Jordan Brooks would have helped today and long term. The team needed a shot in the arm for stretch run. Thos two also fix problems next year
……….
Agree totally BigZ. Giving up even a 2nd or 3rd rounder for a proven player is well worth it. Waddle is locked up until 2028, but would be the highest paid receiver on the Bucs, he is young and talented, and based on market conditions now expensive but over the next years not so much.
Or you can pay 2 receivers 20+million and maybe get a half season out of them.
Licht = Arrogant because he hit on a 7th rounder.
November 6th, 2025 at 12:47 pm
Joe + everyone else is pushing a false narrative about JL valuing draft picks. That’s a bogus argument. He trades away picks to move up in the draft on a yearly basis. To be fair, he’s traded down, but many more trade ups that relinquish 4th, 5th, 6th or 7th rounders.
Gave up a 5th to move up 2 spots for Mauch, gave up a 7th to move up 6 spots for Durham, gave up a 7th to move up 17 spots for Kief…a few examples. Not saying these were good or bad trades…saying JL trades draft picks. So this idea that no trades at the deadline because he’s so good at drafting and doesn’t want to part with any is nonsense.
November 6th, 2025 at 2:31 pm
I just don’t understand the narrative that the only options were no trades or a Sauce type trade requiring 1st rounds picks. Could we use a WR, especially if this is an all in season? Absolutely, BUT they are expensive in trade compensation, want big contracts, and even when ME13 retires at the end of the season (and acknowledging that CG will never return to form), we’re still pretty stacked at WR. People talked about TE. While I admit Otten is merely serviceable, our OCs haven’t been big on using TEs in the passing game since Leftwich, and not that much even then. So we’re trading for a blocking TE? Nah. Not gonna get a good guard for any reasonable price midseason. EDGEs cost a fortune. ILB on the other hand, can be had for a reasonable price and we need the help. LVD is old (sorry, we have to admit it), and SVD has a long injury history (and minus the last few games, sucks {like worst in the league against the pass by a COMFORTABLE margin}). I don’t think it’s beyond the pail we could’ve gotten a better starter, and definitely could’ve gotten a rotational player or valuable backup. But instead we had to hold on to the promise of the next Jose Ramirez (now playing in the CFL BTW)…