The Tampa Bay Buccaneers just signed quarterback Josh McCown and declared him their starter, but they're already looking for upgrades at the position. General manager Jason Licht told 98.7 The Fan that he sees franchise QBs in the draft -- but he wouldn't say which ones.
#Bucs GM Jason Licht said to us on @987TheFan "I see franchise qb's in this draft, but likely not the ones you're thinking of." Que?
— Marc Ryan (@MarcRyanOnAir) March 13, 2014
I'm not sure how this works, or who he's referring to. This quarterback class has been analyzed over, and over, and over again and the consensus is that there are three potential franchise quarterbacks in Blake Bortles, Johnny Manziel and Teddy Bridgewater. Derek Carr is sometimes added to that group, and he does have some ties to the current regime, most notably through Jeff Tedford. But there's a slew of talented QBs available beyond that group, each with specific flaws.
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Some of those players include Aaron Murray, A.J. McCarron, Logan Thomas, Zach Mettenberger and a few other quarterbacks. There's talent to be had, but I'm not sure how you could call any of those guys "franchise quarterbacks" or anything remotely similar. Still, this does keep the option open for the Bucs to draft a quarterback at some point in the draft, whether it be with their first-round pick or later on.
Earlier in the offseason, Lovie Smith noted that they wanted to have four quarterbacks in training camp. They now have three in Mike Glennon, Josh McCown and Mike Kafka. That means they'll add a fourth somewhere, and probably in the draft. And apparently, he'll be a franchise quarterback. Because if you can add a franchise quarterback, why wouldn't you? I just don't have a clue who Licht is referring to, here.