Buccaneers assistant GM drops big hint about draft plans

Barring a surprising development, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will enter February knowing that starting quarterback Baker Mayfield is on track to reach free agency in March. 

Despite that fact, Tampa Bay assistant general manager John Spytek suggested during an appearance on the Buccaneers Radio Network that the club will not package the No. 26 overall pick to move up in the draft and select a possible Mayfield replacement. 

"Obviously, I think there’s a bunch of great quarterbacks in the draft this year," Spytek said during the segment, as shared by the JoeBucsFan website. "We’ve won far too many games picking 26th now to factor into that. There’s a bunch of really good receivers, which I know how much everybody loves receivers, but again, picking 26th makes it hard. I mean, if anybody has any good ideas out there about how we can get up to [pick No.] 6 or 7, we might have a shot at some of them. But they’re just too good." 

Buccaneers senior adviser Bruce Arians predicted last week that general manager Jason Licht will find a way to hold onto impending free agents such as Mayfield and superstar wide receiver Mike Evans. Licht convincing Mayfield to accept even somewhat of a team-friendly deal would allow the club to retain Evans' rights via the franchise tag, if necessary. 

On Wednesday, ESPN's Jordan Raanan and Kevin Seifert pointed out that noteworthy quarterbacks such as Washington Huskies starter Michael Penix Jr. and J.J. McCarthy of the Michigan Wolverines could fall to a team such as Tampa Bay in the second round of this year's draft. However, Mayfield turns just 29 years old in April, so re-signing him and then spending a high draft choice on a signal-caller wouldn't make much sense for a club that earned a wild-card playoff victory on Jan. 15. 

"It really feels like an offensive draft for me at this point from a talent standpoint," Spytek added during the radio spot. "How many of those guys fall to 26 will be something we have to monitor. I’m confident in our group. I’m confident in our scouts." 

Brianna Dix of the Buccaneers' website mentioned on Monday that updated mock drafts predicted at that time that Tampa Bay would use the 26th pick to address a position other than quarterback. Regardless of the Buccaneers' true draft plans, it sounds like their 2024 Week 1 QB1 is on the roster as of Jan. 31.