As the NFL Draft approaches next week, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are said to be one of the teams that have developed a very strong interest in Heisman winner Johnny Manziel. Despite signing Josh McCown to be their starting quarterback this past offseason, the team has fallen in love with the Texas A&M product, and that’s even with all of the concerns some have with him off of the field.
In fact, according to Buccaneers GM Jason Licht, he doesn’t have any worries about Manziel off the gridiron because he understands where some of those instances arose from.
“He’s the Heisman Trophy winner,” Licht told the Tampa Bay Times. “A lot of the situations he’s been in you can’t blame him for. If I were young and had a Heisman Trophy on my mantel, I’d probably be in a lot more trouble than the next guy. So I think we’re just going to make the best football decision, what’s best for our football team and I think Lovie and his staff can handle the rest of it.”
The Buccaneers have been so intrigued by Manziel that there have been whispers that they could even trade up from their seven spot, which seems a bit unlikely, but we’ve also seen crazier stuff happen before when the draft arrives.