Players can quickly be labeled as “difficult” or a “problem in the locker room” and teams will often shy away from adding them to the squad because of this. While some teams may be afraid to add a more outspoken or divisive player, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are not.
Bucs general manager Jason Licht used some colorful words when describing the type of player the team is willing to take, saying they don’t automatically rule out, “d-bags and assholes.”
“We have a long process of defining who we’re taking off [the draft board] and who we’re not,” Licht said. “Now just because a guy, maybe people don’t like him, or he’s a d-bag or an asshole, we’re not just going to automatically take them off. It’s got to affect their football character and it’s got to affect the team. There’s a lot of people that fit that description that are very good football players and maybe it works in their favor.”
Sometimes players who are initially labeled as “d-bags or a-holes,” just need a little leadership and mentoring, Licht said.
“[There’s] a difference between a bad guy and an immature person, and we’ll take immature and help them develop,” Licht said. “But, you know, we just don’t want people that are going to affect the locker room in a negative way that affects the performance of others and the team.”
He continued, adding, “We’ll take a guy that’s a little bit of a d-bag or an asshole if they can get to the quarterback, for sure.”
Licht didn’t name anyone specific when mentioning these types of players, so we will have to use our imagination on who he was talking about.
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Author: Shanna McCarriston
May 8, 2025 | 4:15 pm
