HEADLINES

Jason Licht

NFC Notes: Bucs, Bucannon, Receivers

May 26th, 2014 at 12:31pm CST by Rob DiRe

Mike Glennon is the Buccaneers‘ quarterback of the future, despite the arrival of Josh McCown via free agency. After McCown was announced as the starter, trade rumors began to circulate concerning Glennon, but head coach Lovie Smith and general manager Jason Licht have come to the decision to support the quarterback they inherited, writes Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune. They believe Glennon possesses the most important traits needed for a successful quarterback.

“The three things — and Lovie and I were in complete agreement on this — are toughness, intelligence and accuracy,’’ said Licht. “And then arm strength is a distant fourth. Mike showed during this process that he has those three things and he scored very high on those three things.”

Here are some other notes from around the NFC:

  • Although the Buccaneers have had a thin roster the past few seasons, Smith says that one of the most important aspects of winning is depth at multiple positions, writes Cummings. Specifically, Smith spoke about the team’s depth at safety and how impressed he is with the players they have.
  • Cardinals‘ first-round pick Deone Bucannon hasn’t provoked many negative statements from the organization, but head coach Bruce Arians tried to come up with one, writes Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com. “(Deone has) only got one problem — He is so much a perfectionist,” said Arians. “It is paralysis by analysis right now because he wants to do everything just perfect.”
  • Lions‘ receiver Ryan Broyles is committed to returning from a ruptured achilles tendon that sidelined him in 2013, writes of Kyle Meinke of MLive.com. “I’m looking forward to the competition. It’s never scared me away,” said Broyles. “But at the end of the day, we’re here to win. They’re going to put guys in place to help us win.”
  • Saints‘ receiver Kenny Stills is looking to get better in his second season with the team, writes Mike Triplett of ESPN.com. Stills could have an increased role in the offense after finishing 2013 strong, but has new competition as the team traded up to draft Oregon State receiver Brandin Cooks.

Pompei On Bradley, Licht, Babin

January 25th, 2014 at 9:34am CST by Matt Feminis

A dearth of elite talent in Mobile has created a potpourri of non-traditional headlines. In his latest missive, Bleacher Report’s Dan Pompei explains that Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley has been the “star of the Senior Bowl.” Contained in the NFL Confidential section are the following notes:

  • Despite Buccaneers head coach Lovie Smith having final say on personnel matters, ownership made the final call on the hiring of GM Jason Licht. It is believed the Dolphins were also sold on Licht.
  • Jason Babin is expected to be cut by the Jaguars. At 33, Babin might be relegated to a situational pass-rushing role for his next team.
  • One GM calls the 2014 Senior Bowl rosters the worst he’s ever seen, explaining that many of the players expected to be drafted highly are underclassmen. Additionally, several of the most highly regarded seniors opted not to attend the All-Star game. The GM refers to the exhibition as a “second-round game,” saying 15-18 players could come off the board on the draft’s second day.