On March 12, 2014, Josh McCown signed a two-year, $10 million contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was immediately named the starter by new head coach Lovie Smith. Unfortunately, after an injury and then not returning to form upon his return, McCown was released after just one season with the team.
With futility at the quarterback position and other places throughout the roster, the Buccaneers find themselves with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. The team has commented that it plans to use the pick, and not trade down to acquire multiple picks.
Conventional wisdom has the Bucs selecting one of two quarterbacks: Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota. Winston won the 2013 Heisman Trophy along with the 2013 National Championship, and Mariota most recently won the Heisman Trophy in 2014. Second-year head coach Lovie Smith can’t really do wrong with this decision, as both are projected to be NFL starters for a number of years.
Either quarterback will welcome working with wide receiver Mike Evans, who was one of the 2014 draft picks that the Buccaneers seemingly hit a home run on. Evens had 68 receptions for 1,051 yards and 12 touchdowns in his 15-game rookie campaign. He’s quickly becoming an established down field threat.
A quick turnaround isn’t out of the question for Tampa Bay, as the playoff representative for the conference, the Carolina Panthers, only had eight wins. For now, lets preview the Bucs 2015 schedule.
We know they have six division games against the aforementioned Panthers, the New Orleans Saints and the Atlanta Falcons. At home outside of the division, the Bucs host Dallas, NY Giants, Jacksonville, Tennessee and Chicago. On the road, Tampa Bay faces Philadelphia, Washington, Houston, Indianapolis and St. Louis.
Tampa Bay fans looking to see their soon-to-be No. 1 overall pick in action can use Hipmunk.com for flight and hotel reservations to help attend Buccaneers games. Hipmunk offers flights to Tampa, along with offering a variety of hotels in Tampa from $81 with an easy searchable interface.
Bucs fan will wait and see who their next franchise cornerstone will be. Although growing pains are to be accepted, there will be a new injection of energy to the franchise headed in the right direction.
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