With Kwon Alexander out the door the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in trouble.
The Bucs may have guaranteed themselves another season mired in mediocrity. Star linebacker Kwon Alexander left Tampa to sign a four year 54 million dollar contract with the San Francisco 49ers.
General manager Jason Licht must have missed the memo that his defense was the worst in the NFL last season and one of the worst defenses in team history.
There is no way to spin this in a positive way. Alexander was one of the best defensive players on the Bucs when healthy and is among the top linebackers in the NFL.
Last week when Donovan Smith signed his contract extension, Licht said that Alexander was the heart and soul of the defense and they wanted to re-sign him.
According to ESPN, Licht was worried about Alexander being able to come back and be the player he was before the ACL injury. Former Buc and 49er general manager John Lynch had no such concerns as he was quick to offer Alexander big money.
Jack Cichy, Devante Bond, Riley Bullough, and Lavonte David are the linebackers right now on the Buccaneer roster.
Adarius Taylor, Cameron Lynch, and Kevin Minter are all free agents and may or may not be back.
Jordan Hicks of the Eagles and CJ Mosley of the Ravens are still available but will command salaries in the 9-11 million dollars per year range. If the Bucs were not going to pay Alexander the 13-14 million dollars a year, it is unlikely they pay that to Hicks or Mosley.
The Bucs have reportedly talked with former Cardinals linebacker Deonne Bucannan about a contract but nothing to confirm on that news.
Outside linebacker Josh Allen of Kentucky and inside linebacker Devin White of LSU are two of the top linebackers in the draft, but neither one will be able to come in as a rookie and fill the shoes of Alexander.
Jason Licht and the front office have spent a lot of money signing Smith, Mike Evans, Ali Marpet, and Cameron Brate to contract extensions.
Despite this, the Bucs are not getting any better.
They are mired in mediocrity, and that starts with Licht and his 27-53 record during his tenure as general manager. Licht is spending a lot of money, but the Bucs still stink and are on pace for another five-win season. That is unacceptable.
This move will haunt the Bucs for a long time. Players like Kwon Alexander just don’t come along very often.
Bucs fans get ready. It may be another long frustrating season in Tampa Bay.
