Comparing How Bucs And Saints Addressed QB Needs For 2023

When it comes the NFC South, there are two teams that have an idea of who their starting quarterback is going to be and two others that might not even have their quarterbacks on the roster just yet. The Saints are the most direct and obvious one with new free agent addition Derek Carr. The Bucs are second, as their starter will be decided in a competition between Kyle Trask and Baker Mayfield.

The Panthers have the first overall pick and will be taking a quarterback, and while the Falcons have a couple options at the eighth pick, they’ll have to decide if they want a rookie quarterback or to keep going with 2022 draft pick Desmond Ridder.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Chris Simms of NBC Sports covers the quarterback position heavily throughout the year. On Tuesday, he appeared on the Dan Patrick Show, where he was asked an interesting question by the host. Patrick wanted to know which quarterback signing this offseason will have a bigger impact – Jimmy Garoppolo to the Raiders or Baker Mayfield to the Bucs? A couple of seconds into Simms’ response, Patrick threw Carr into the mix, too.

“Do I put Derek Carr in there as well?” Patrick said. “If I put Carr to the Saints, Garoppolo to the Raiders and maybe it’s not fair to Baker going to the Bucs, they may not be as good.”

“That’s where I was leaning,” Simms said. “The Bucs I think are in a little bit of a rebuild mode phase here and that’s why I was going to favor the Garoppolo situation. The familiarity with (Josh) McDaniels, you do have a pretty good trio in receivers as far as Davante Adams, (Hunter) Renfrow, Jakobi Meyers. You got one of the best running backs in football. So that’s possible.”

Then, Simms went into why the Saints might be his choice.

“But Derek Carr, that’s one for real Dan, you’re right about that,” Simms said. “That’s a team that’s still top five-ish, top 10-ish. That O-line is still good and now you couple Michael Thomas coming back with Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed and (Alvin) Kamara’s still got a little tread in the tires. They can be a player when it’s all said and done. I like that move by Derek Carr and the Saints.”

Here’s a clip from the topic of conversation:

The Bucs Aren’t Rebuilding

When it comes to the best quarterback in the group, it’s tough to argue against Carr given his overall experience and longevity in the league. I’m not going to get further into Garoppolo and the Raiders either because they’re an AFC team that the Bucs don’t play this season, so it doesn’t impact them at all.

I respect Simms for the work and what he’s made of himself in this industry, but there are some points he made that I don’t agree with. For starters, to say the Bucs are in a rebuild mode can be interpreted as them punting on this season and planning for 2024. I would argue that with the moves they’ve made this offseason that they very much believe that the division is up for grabs.

Bucs CB Jamel Dean and ILB Devin White – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

If the Bucs were rebuilding, why did they re-sign Jamel Dean to a four-year deal and bring back Lavonte David for another season? Does re-signing one of your best corners to put him on the opposite side of Carlton Davis III sound like a rebuild? Had the Bucs decided to tank and move forward, it wouldn’t really make sense for David to return, either. But he’ll be in Tampa this season.

Last time I checked, the Bucs still have Mike Evans and Chris Godwin at receiver, and Godwin is under contract for two more seasons. Remember when pundits said they were going to be traded? Maybe a rebuilding team would’ve sent them elsewhere, but the Bucs aren’t.

And then you have the offensive line situation. Moving Tristan Wirfs, who’s been — at worst — a top-three right tackle in the NFL, over to the left side is a major commitment by the organization. That’s a team that is lobbying for the postseason in 2023.

There’s no replacing Tom Brady. It was going to be impossible to find a better replacement going into this season. But with the limited room Tampa Bay had to navigate with its salary cap, the Bucs have done a solid job in trying to get this offense back on track with a quarterback competition and Dave Canales as their new offensive coordinator.

Is the roster perfect? No. But it’s got a lot of talent — and enough of it — to compete this season.

How Much Of A Threat Are The Saints?

The other aspect of Simms’ comments that I’m not totally on board with is the overall threatening nature of the Saints after the first week of free agency. Defensively, they were shredded along the defensive line as David Onyematta, Shy Tuttle and Marcus Davenport all left for other teams. New Orleans did replace them with the signings of Nathan Shepherd and Khalen Saunders, but those aren’t upgrades.

For the Saints’ offense, while Olave is an exciting young player, Michael Thomas has played 10 games over the last three seasons. Expecting him to just automatically regain his 2019 form is a large stretch. Rashid Shaheed looked to get better at the end of the season, but the Saints aren’t even close to the conversation of having a formidable trio of wideouts.

There’s a long way to go before all of this will be settled. With no expected front runner, the NFC South comes with a lot of fascination and curiosity this season.

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