Jason Licht Banking On Hope
March 31st, 2026
Grilled about pass rush.
Joe doesn’t cover any other NFL team than the Bucs. So Joe doesn’t know the narratives other team leaders cling to, but it sure seems like the Bucs put a whole lot of stock in hope.
And you know what Joe thinks of that word.
Back during The Lost Decade, before the Bucs got good, and now in the post-Super Bowl window of this decade, the word “hope” was pasted all over the pass rush issue year after painful year.
Yesterday at the NFL owners meetings, Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht was confronted about the pass rush, specifically the edge rush. Licht was asked if the Bucs are even in the same “ballpark” with a pass rush that is needed to compete for a playoff berth.
Licht (again) broke out his hope chest.
“We, unfortunately, once again, had some injuries,” Licht began. “We were without Calijah [Kancey] for most of the year. We were very excited about David Walker, what he could do for us. And he got hurt.
“The jury is still out but the little that we did see [of Walker], and to see how he has been in the offseason and getting back from the injury, we are very pumped up about him.”
Now this is an example of what Joe has referred to about some of Licht’s statements. Licht’s been on a David Walker kick in recent weeks, but Joe is convinced Licht is saying this, in part, to give Walker a public boost of confidence.
Walker was hurt in the team’s very first padded practice last summer. So the only thing Walker, a fourth-round draft pick last season, has done with the Bucs — with the exception of one padded practice — is lift weights and practice underwear football. Joe does not know how that translates into any reasonable expectation of how Walker can put a quarterback on his backside in a game.
Again, hope.
Licht did confess the next Simeon Rice and Warren Sapp are not yet in the Bucs locker room. That still has not diminished his hope.
“I’m not saying it’s going to be a drastic turnaround,” Licht said. “I’m not predicting that right now. I’m just saying there’s some hope that this could be a very different look this year.”
Licht didn’t rule out drafting a pass rusher if the right guy is on the board when the Bucs are on the clock.
“I hate to keep saying it,” Licht said. “But I’m very excited about what the future holds at this point in the offseason.”
Maybe Licht is thinking between new defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson, new edge rusher AQM and Walker, the three can combine for 9-12 sacks?
You know, hope.
March 31st, 2026 at 7:08 am
Licht “I’m not predicting that right now.” Maybe later? Is he going pass rush in this draft? OR, he thinks there will be a pass rush in ’27 once Bowles leaves at the end of ’26 and a new coach comes in.
March 31st, 2026 at 7:11 am
Ya can’t coach talent, or JTS wouldn’t be on yet another team
March 31st, 2026 at 7:11 am
I “hope” we don’t lose 12 games.
March 31st, 2026 at 7:23 am
lol David Walker? What has happened to Jason Licht? Might be time to consider moving on from Jason and Todd after the season.
March 31st, 2026 at 7:26 am
When you have hope in one hand and a pile of horsesh!t in the other, all you have is a pile of horsesh!t.
March 31st, 2026 at 7:27 am
Joe … ‘Maybe Licht is thinking between A’Shawn Robinson, AQM and Walker, the three can combine for 9-12 sacks? You know, hope.’
Is that so unrealistic Joe? That Robinson (2.5 sacks last year), Muhammad (11 sacks last season) and Walker (injured last season) together log at least 9-12 sacks? But yes, at this point (preseason) it is just HOPE (‘a feeling of expectation & desire for a certain thing to happen’).
None of us went into last season hoping that Kancey would miss all but 3 games … but he did. None of us were hoping that David Walker would spend the entire season on IR … but he did. Just those 2 things MIGHT have cost us 9-12 sacks by themselves. But then again, that’s why great teams have DEPTH. Of course, ‘next man up’ only works if it’s QUALITY DEPTH.
March 31st, 2026 at 7:31 am
They’ve been banking on hope like forever.
March 31st, 2026 at 7:58 am
What do you expect him to say? You actually think he’s going to come out and say “Your right we need a pass rush so we will draft one in the first round “! We are too close to the draft so he isn’t going to give away any tid bits on what his plan is. Plus everyone knows that he is going to stay true to his draft board. He says it every year. He can’t come out and say “this team sucks so we are really hoping the draft falls our way or we are screwed”? Everyone wants to think that they know better than the professionals. Let the man do his job. Go Bucs!
March 31st, 2026 at 8:02 am
Ahhh..hope. I hope I win the lottery – therefor I will quit my job. I hope I wake up a 6’4″ chiseled younger version of me – therefor I will no longer go to the gym. I hope Todd Bowles suddenly learns how to coach a defense – therefor I will bet a ton of cash today that the Bucs will finish as the top defensive team this year. Right – keep hoping Jason.
March 31st, 2026 at 8:04 am
HOPE IS YOUR WORST ENEMY IN THE MARKETPLACE — and you can add — ON THE FOOTBALL FIELD!!!!!!!
March 31st, 2026 at 8:35 am
Hope will not win 1 game !
March 31st, 2026 at 8:37 am
Pathetic excuse for a GM
March 31st, 2026 at 8:38 am
Seems more like HYPE than Hope.
March 31st, 2026 at 8:38 am
No, but if that is your goal, guess what is going to happen?
Shouldn’t an NFL team, much less fans, having higher standards and goals? You really believe this team is going anywhere when they have to bank on three guys to maybe get a total of nine sacks?
Talk about dumpster diving.
That’s the kind of crap we heard from team leaders during the Lost Decade.
March 31st, 2026 at 8:42 am
What else can you do though, sign a has-been or someone injured? Licht’s tried that and been burned. Or trade away the farm on one player? How did Green Bay feel about putting all their eggs in the Micah Parsons basket when he went out for the season to injury?
What he has done is sign someone that wasn’t a starter but produced… maybe the next Shaq Barrett. Maybe not but there were no other legitimate options.
March 31st, 2026 at 8:44 am
I HOPE we did not begin another LOST DECADE last season.
This year is the last hurrah for Bowles and Lichtbrain.
March 31st, 2026 at 8:57 am
I hope Joe stops posting click bait articles on ME13 and Todd Bowles and actually has some write ups on our new coaches
March 31st, 2026 at 9:04 am
Hope it’s just a word. Expecting the best possible turnout. Just a part of having a positive outlook. It doesn’t hurt anything as long as attempts are made to improve. Every team going into the offseason last year had HOPE that they’d have a better searson than the season before. It didn’t work out that way for Minnesota, Baltimore and Detroit… and the Bucs as well for that matter. It did work out that way for Seattle, New England and Indianapolis. All you can have is hope a few weeks before the draft. We’ll know a lot more when we see who was drafted. The Buccaneers front office, coaching staff and roster might as well have hope, there’s plenty of negativity in these posts and from the fans to level things out.
March 31st, 2026 at 9:17 am
Hope is not a strategy. It is the action required when you’ve got nothing else. That doesn’t bode well for the upcoming season.
March 31st, 2026 at 9:20 am
One thing for sure Joe, if Jason sits on his hands again and does nothing, in December one Buc is going to look like Minnesota. The riddles and BS may need a new front office somewhere else. Someone came here and taught them how to run things and now here we the fans are thinking, are we gonna keep sliding backwards or just head back to skid row this season??
March 31st, 2026 at 10:09 am
” Beatn round the bush”
March 31st, 2026 at 10:13 am
“Riff Raff”
March 31st, 2026 at 10:15 am
i hope bud licht tells bowles to stop talking to reporters about what this team needs and how he thinks the team is going to be better. the rest of the NFL is hoping he continues. what a mess.
March 31st, 2026 at 10:32 am
I hope he is right! It’s a Bucs Life
March 31st, 2026 at 10:58 am
“To compete for a playoff berth” seems to be the hope here. Last year we competed for a playoff berth, only eliminated on the last day via a complicated tie-breaker. It proved to be a fact, not a hope. A hope is wanting to do better than that this year.
March 31st, 2026 at 10:58 am
Thanks for retaining the HC/DC, Mr. GM.
You are both so fired in 2026. Possibly midseason.
March 31st, 2026 at 10:59 am
It does not matter if someone they pick has great athletics and great potential. The Bucs have to get a proven pass rusher that does not need any coaching, they are unable to provide instruction and coaching. Probably why Mesidor is best. Bucs get a chance at 15 overall because he is relatively old. If he was 20 then he would not be available. Either way Bucs will ruin their new player by making him play coverage and look stupid. Before you know it they are injured and their potential is gone. Done with this team thanks to Bowles, everything he does is mediocre at best. Bucs get 4 wins in 2026.
March 31st, 2026 at 11:04 am
We need a better quality of players
And it starts with the draft
Jason Licht draft picks are based on hope
***I hope he can get us 10 Sacks “”””
March 31st, 2026 at 11:06 am
This team has too many question marks
To many iffy players
Not enough bonafide good players
March 31st, 2026 at 11:09 am
They are banking on hope no matter how you slice it. Even a highly regarded edge rusher in the draft involves a level of hope. Even free agent signings are not a sure thing, especially ones who are getting older or coming off an injury. Every team banks on hope to an extent. I think if there’s anything to criticize it’s that the free agent moves so far are half arse attempts to improve the team. No splash signings. Just replacement signings to fill voids left by the departures. I think the MO is to continue to build through the draft. The hope comes into play with having a successful draft in ‘26 , Kancey being on the field for 17 games, that Walker turns into a steal, that Morrison develops into a shut down corner, and that Parrish and Smith continue to build on an already promising start. On offense, losing Evans was out of their control, they put better money on the table and he turned it down, whatever the reason. Egbuka has the chops to be as good as Njigba, the offensive line will return to health as will Irving, Godwin will be fully recovered from his awful injury and McMillan will continue on an uptrend. Lavonte leaving was out of their control also and they at least got a replacement for him. Anzalone is no prime Lavonte but possibly better than the 2025 version. Losing Dean in free agency was calculated and his replacement was drafted last year. All of this happening involves a certain level hope.
March 31st, 2026 at 11:10 am
I hope the “brain trust” at OBP has a short leash for the HC\DC and GM in 2026.
Perhaps empty stands or opposing fans taking over the stadium will wake them up.
But at this point I have zero faith in any corrective measures to be taken.
Keeping Bowles after another 8-9 season means one thing.
The Glazers are happy to fail their way and don’t care about the fans.
March 31st, 2026 at 11:13 am
He’s always very excited in April.
Hope is not a strategy.
March 31st, 2026 at 11:50 am
Hope is not a plan.
March 31st, 2026 at 12:03 pm
Many were hopeful that Todd Bowles would be replaced. The defense became impossible to watch. Hopefully, the expected seven, new defense recruits will improve things.
March 31st, 2026 at 12:07 pm
Shocker, Fred Flinstone yet again leads off with “injuries aren’t an excuse, but…”
Our pass rush should not have been dependent on a 4th round DII 25 year old rookie. If Walker is this mythical savior Licht keeps saying he is, why did he pass up on him 3 times in the draft?
March 31st, 2026 at 12:21 pm
LMAO.
March 31st, 2026 at 12:26 pm
Fans hope too.
March 31st, 2026 at 12:37 pm
im just hoping for a sense of urgency!!!!!
lets hope we see some of that!!!!
GO BUCS!!!!!
March 31st, 2026 at 1:28 pm
We don’t even have a REAL GM. Supposedly, this ROH HOF (lmao) “GM” doesn’t even have any say so over WHO the HC is!? Nor is HE ‘responsible’ for the overall talent level with WHO we even draft (unless it turns out to be a ‘good one’ of course)… Cause, that was “TODD’S Decision.” Hmmmmm… So, I finally get it now! JL is rarely EVER held accountable, because HE is not even the GM. No wonder then, that this has turned into a total, complete CLOWN SHOW. We’ve only done well, when BRADY (and Bruce to a degree) was ‘running’ the team. Outside of just those couple of years, it’s been nothing but a DISASTER. While, living off of nothing but “Brady-Years,” and nothing but a big bunch of “Smoke & Mirrors,” only from being in the NFC South. And, THAT’s IT. We have no GM. Only a bunch of “Yes Men,” who are a part of a good ole “Buddy-Buddy” system. That’s ALL We’ve GOT.
March 31st, 2026 at 1:36 pm
Until, the Glazers get SERIOUS and hire a ‘REAL’ (strong) GM and HC, then everything else we are doing here, is entirely irrelevant, and nothing but a complete WASTE of time.
March 31st, 2026 at 2:44 pm
This brick wall I’m banging my head against is too soft. Need to embed some spikes in it and resume.
🥃🥃🥃
March 31st, 2026 at 5:19 pm
I would say Hope is in addition to BELIEVING you made the right pick.
Im sure Raiders fans are Hoping Mendoza is good.
Even whoever picks Sonny Styles hopes they’re good.
Banking on it would be filling a roster with undrafted guys you think are steals.
It’s an addition not the ONLY thing.
March 31st, 2026 at 5:55 pm
Joe … ‘You really believe this team is going anywhere when they have to bank on three guys to maybe get a total of nine sacks? Talk about dumpster diving.’
Robinson & Muhammad together got 13.5 sacks last season. And you were the one who seemed so high on David Walker. I have no idea how much he’ll contribute, but even if the TOTAL for the 3 of them ends up being 13.5 sacks (like last year), that’s 50% more than the 9 sacks you’re expecting. Isn’t that good news?
Bucs still NEED a big body NT/DT to replace Gaines (Robinson is Hall’s replacement as a DT/DE). And I wouldn’t be calling Robinson a result of ‘dumpster diving’. He can be a beast (he had 5.5 sacks in 2024 for the 5-12 Panthers team that had the #32 defense).
March 31st, 2026 at 9:53 pm
I hope JL and TB are gone next season.
April 1st, 2026 at 6:26 pm
Hope is not a method.