What Bucs’ Jason Licht saw in Baker Mayfield that others missed | Pro Football Talk | NFL on NBC

Mike Florio and Chris Simms are joined by Bucs G.M. Jason Licht to unpack how the team rallied around Baker Mayfield, why Mike Evans is a critical piece of the Buccaneers’ puzzle and more. #NBCSports #ProFootballTalk #BakerMayfield #JasonLicht
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What Bucs’ Jason Licht saw in Baker Mayfield that others missed | Pro Football Talk | NFL on NBC
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JOINING US NOW A GUY WHO HAS BEEN THE GENERAL MANAGER OF THE 10 BAY BUCCANEERS FOR 10 YEARS THE 2-TIME DEFENDING IS IT 2 OR 3 TIME DEFENDING? DEFENDING BABY GET IT RIGHT TORI 3 TIME DEFENDING. NFC SOUTH CHAMPION

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS JASON LIGHT JASON, WELCOME BACK. HOW ARE YOU? APPRECIATE YOU. THANKS FOR HAVING ME ON ALWAYS MAN THIS PAST YEAR. I MEAN THIS WAS THE YEAR THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE REGRESSION. THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE

LETDOWN. I IT HAS TO BE EVEN MORE SATISFYING, YOU KNOW, THEY SAY ONLY 1 TEAMS HAPPY AT THE END OF THE YEAR. YOU GUYS HAD TO BE HAPPY YOU GET TO THE FINAL 8 AND YOU GIVE THE LIONS EVERYTHING THEY CAN HANDLE.

YEAH AS YOU REFLECT ON IT, YOU’RE HAPPY AT THE TIME, YOU KNOW, IT TAKES A COUPLE WEEKS AFTER THE LAST LOSS BUT UH, DID YOU REFLECT BACK ON IT? IT WAS YEAH JUST IT WAS AWESOME JOB. EVERYBODY INVOLVED IN THE ORGANIZATION.

JUST DID A TREMENDOUS JOB AND WE HAD TO TAKE A UNPRECEDENTED, YOU KNOW DEAD MONEY HIT AND TAKE A QUARTERBACK THAT REALLY WAS OUT THERE AND NOBODY WANTED THEM. WELL, HE COME TO THE BOX. SO THAT WAS GREAT. SO, BUT WHAT DID YOU

SEE THAT EVERYBODY ELSE MISSED? WELL, I’LL BE HONEST WITH YOU. UM BRUCE WHO’S 1 OF MY BEST FRIENDS, AND I STILL TALK TO YOU KNOW. OFTEN HE HAS ALWAYS BEEN A BIG BAKER FAN. YEAH SURE AND BRUCE KNOWS CUES BEFORE

HE TOOK THE BUCKS JOB. HE SAID THERE WAS 1 JOB. HE WOULD COME BACK FOR IT WAS THE BROWNS JOB ON BAKER MAYFIELD WAS THE BEEN IN MY EAR. HE’S BEEN IN TODD’S EAR TODD ACTUALLY REALLY LIKED BAKER WHEN HE WENT THROUGH THE

PROCESS IN THAT IN THAT DRAFT WITH THE JETS. UM, AND THEN THEY ENDED UP WITH DARNOLD, BUT GOT TO KNOW BAKER VERY WELL AND THEY KIND OF HAD A RELATIONSHIP WHENEVER WE PLAYED AGAINST HIM. SO, UM, IT WAS YOU KNOW,

THERE WAS THERE WERE SOME THERE WERE SOME LOVE FOR HIM INTERNALLY AND I THINK THAT WAS A GOOD SPOT FOR HIM TO GO TO SO BECAUSE OF THAT SO PEOPLE WANT TO DO YEAH. YEAH YOU YOU A LITTLE BIT THE THE BRADY

THING RIGHT? I MEAN THE DEAD CAT MONEY ALL THAT THAT WENT ALONG WITH IT TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WE DIDN’T EXPECT ANYTHING THE THE POST BRADY RECALIBRATION, RIGHT, YOU KNOW KIND OF ALLUDE ON THAT AND KIND OF HAVE YOU HAD TO DEAL

WITH THAT IN YOUR ORGANIZATION. WELL, IT WAS A LOT OF PLAYERS, UH THAT YOU KNOW THAT WERE PAYING THE PRICE FOR AND I DO IT ALL AGAIN. UM IT WAS GREAT. YEAH. IT WAS WORTH IT. BOTH PARADE IS SOMETHING ELSE. UM, BUT UM,

YOU KNOW AND IT’S IT’S TOUGH FOR A QUARTERBACK TO STEP IN BRADY SHOES. YEAH, RIGHT. IT’S IT’S YOU KNOW AFTER HE LEFT AFTER WENT ON SUPER BOWL. IT’S AND BAKER WASN’T AFRAID TO DO IT. WE HAD A

WE HAD A BUT WE STILL HAD A LOT OF GOOD PLAYERS THOUGH. WE HAD LEVANTE WE HAVE TRISTAN WE HAVE YOU KNOW, VITA ANTOINE WINFIELD AND SO WE STILL HAD MIKE EVANS CHRIS GODWIN. SO IT HE HE CIRCLED US AS A PLACE. THIS

IS WHERE I’M GOING TO BET ON MYSELF AND I CAN REVIVE MY CAREER AND HE SURE DID DID YOU GUYS FEEL LIKE A LITTLE BIT OF A CHIP ON YOUR SHOULDER? CUZ EVERYBODY COUNTS KENNEDY OUT LIKE, OH THE GOAT’S NOT HERE. SO THE

BUCKS ARE GOING TO FALL OFF MADE MORE PLAYS. YEAH IS WHAT IT WAS RIGHT, BUT YOU STILL DIDN’T KNOW IF THIS WAS GOING TO BE HIS TEAM AND THEN IT WAS THE VIKINGS GAME THE FIRST GAME OF THE YEAR DROPPING THE SHOULDER DROPPING

THE SHOULDER, YOU KNOW HAVING THE TOUGHNESS BEING THE TONE SETTER WHICH YOU DON’T WANT YOUR QUARTERBACK TO NECESSARILY BE BUT IN OUR CASE IT WAS HIM AND THE TEAM JUST KIND OF RALLIED AROUND HIM. RIGHT? NO, NO, YOU GOT SOME BIG

DECISIONS TO MAKE RIGHT YOU GOT BAKER. RIGHT. WHERE DOES THAT STAND BAKER MIKE EVANS ANTOINE WINFIELD JR. IF YOU IF YOU DON’T MIND JUST KIND OF DISCUSS THOSE A LITTLE BIT WITHOUT GIVING UP TOO MUCH OF, YOU KNOW, GIVE UP ALL YOU WANT.

DON’T TALK THIS WAY TO MY KID BEFORE WE STARTED FOR A REASON. WELL, WE WANT THEM ALL BACK. YEAH, SO AND WE’RE TALKING TO THEIR REPRESENTATIVES CURRENTLY RIGHT NOW AND UM, WE’LL CONTINUE TO DO THAT THIS WEEK AND NEXT WEEK AND HOPEFULLY

HOPEFULLY GET THEM ALL BACK. SO DO YOU SAY TO WINFIELD’S AGENT? YOU KNOW, YOUR GUY WASN’T A PRO BOWLER SO THAT REALLY COUNTS AGAINST HIM. NO, I DON’T THINK WE CAN USE THAT. IT’S ALL THE ANSWER DID YOU SEE THIS?

I WAS A PRO BOWLER. WE GOT TO RE-EVALUATE THAT THERE WERE UM IN THE LOCKER ROOM AFTER THE GAMES, I MEAN HE HAD SEVERAL GOOD GAMES, BUT I LOOK AT HIM AND I GO I KNOW AND HE’D SAY YEAH, I KNOW TOO.

A GOOD PLAYER. WHAT WHAT MEDIA POINT. BUT LIKE WHAT WOULD A LITTLE F***. RECEIVERS OF ALL TIME. SOMETIMES WE’RE A LITTLE UNDERAPPRECIATED. YEAH, UM, AND THAT KIND OF GOES ALONG WITH THE CHIP ON OUR SHOULDER, RIGHT? UM YOU CAN SAY THE SAME

THING ABOUT LEVANTE, YOU KNOW, I THINK LEVANTE’S IF YOU LOOK AT HIS NUMBERS HE’S HE’S UP THERE HALL OF FAME WORTHY NUMBERS, RIGHT? ESPECIALLY IF HE PLAYS ANOTHER YEAR AND UM, BUT MIKE, I DON’T KNOW. IT JUST GOES UNDER THE RADAR BUT HE

IS AND HE’S 1 OF THE BEST PLAYERS IN OUR FRANCHISE’S HISTORIES UNPRECEDENTED IN A LOT OF WAYS AND I MEAN, I JUST CAN’T SEE LIFE WITHOUT MIKE EVANS. SO I’M I’M HOPING PRAYING AT NIGHT THAT WE GET SOMETHING DONE.

HE LESS DIVA-ISH. IT FEELS LIKE MAYBE THEN TOP TIER RECEIVERS UNSELFISH RIGHT UNSELFISH SELFLESS, RIGHT? UM, THERE WAS A TIME WHEN WE WERE, YOU KNOW, A FEW YEARS AGO WHEN OBVIOUSLY YOU CAN ONLY USE 1 DO YOU FEEL LIKE

HE WOULD NOT REACT WELL TO THE FRANCHISE TAG, AND HE FEELS LIKE HE DESERVES A REWARD FOR WHAT HE DID LAST YEAR. DO YOU HAVE LIKE A PSYCHOLOGICAL LIKE BECAUSE HE’S THE CENTER OF THE TEAM. HE’S THE QUARTERBACK. IS THAT

PART OF THE THE THOUGHT PROCESS FOR YOU THAT USING IT COULD BE PROBLEMATIC TO THE RELATIONSHIP IN SOME WAY. UM, I I’M NOT SURE. TO BE HONEST WITH YOU WHERE HE WOULD STAND WITH THAT. UM, I DO KNOW THIS THAT WE AND

OUR OWNERS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN UH CONSCIOUS OF WE JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE COURSE AN ORGANIZATION IT CAN SO WE CAN ASSIGN AS MANY PLAYERS AS THEY CAN AND AND ALL THAT. BUT WE ALSO WANT

TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY’RE HAPPY, UM WITH THEIR DEAL. SO, UM, I THINK THERE’S A LITTLE BIT OF A PSYCHOLOGICAL ELEMENT THERE WITH THE QUARTERBACK RIGHT? YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU DON’T WANT THE QUARTERBACK TO THINK THAT YOU’RE YOU

DON’T WANT TO BE IN THE LOCKER GOD THEY’RE SCREWING ME OVER. THAT GOES WITH A LOT OF PLAYERS A PLAYER LIKE MIKE EVANS AS WELL. YEAH. SURE SURE. WELL YOUR FANS SHOULD BE VERY HAPPY 10 YEARS ON THE

JOB A SUPER BOWL WIN AT A TIME WHEN YOU GOT THE PATRIOTS FLOATING AROUND AND PATRICK MAHOMES FLOATING AROUND YOU GOT THAT 1 SUPER BOWL WIN, AND YOU’RE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. WE APPRECIATE SOME OF YOUR TIME.

WE WISH YOU ALL THE BEST THIS WEEK AND BEYOND JASON LIGHT BUCCANEERS GM. WE’LL BE BACK WITH DOLPHINS COACH HERE ON PFT LIVE