Buccaneers GM Jason Licht Says They Want To Keep TE O.J. Howard

Update:

Buccaneers GM Jason Licht tells Adam Schefter that they want to keep TE O.J. Howard, despite the trade rumors that have been circulating the past few weeks.  

“We’re excited about having OJ Howard play with Rob Gronkowski. Why wouldn’t you want to have many weapons at that position? We have an excellent tight end group right now,” Licht said.

According to Jeff Howe of the Athletic, the Buccaneers will likely need to reduce their current asking price for TE O.J. Howard if he’s going to be traded tonight. 

Howe mentions that Tampa Bay’s asking price is simply “too high” right now for Howard. 

• Albert Breer thinks the Buccaneers should have a strong market for Howard, particularly if this draft class is as weak as is widely perceived. 
• CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones believes the Buccaneers could get a third or a fourth-round pick from a team for Howard, whose value was hurt by the trade for Gronkowski.
• On Wednesday, Jenna Laine of ESPN reported that the Buccaneers nearly traded Howard two months ago to the Redskins in exchange for LT Trent Williams, but talks ultimately fell through.According to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, the Buccaneers don’t plan to just give away Howard. Unless a team blows them away with an offer, Stroud says Tampa Bay is more than happy to line up Howard and recently-acquired TE Rob Gronkowski in two-tight end sets. 

Howard’s name had surfaced on the trading block for the Buccaneers last week before the Gronkowski deal took shape. He was also reportedly available for a second-round pick at the trade deadline last year. 

It’s worth mentioning the new CBA forces teams to fully guarantee the fifth-year option, which could play a role for the Buccaneers as they have to make a decision on Howard’s option after the draft. 

Howard has shown promise but struggled to acclimate to new HC Bruce Arians‘ system last year. While new QB Tom Brady has shown he can succeed with two-tight end sets, the optimal situation for Tampa Bay might include trading Howard for another high pick. 

Howard, 25, is a former first-round pick of the Buccaneers back in 2017. He signed a four-year, $11.094 million contract that included a $6.208 million signing bonus and he stands to make a base salary of $1.97 million for the 2020 season. 

Howard’s contract includes a fifth-year option for the Buccaneers to pick up this offseason. 

According to OverTheCap.com, trading Howard would free up $1,977,936 of available cap space while creating $1,552,246 in dead money. 

In 2019, Howard appeared in 14 games for the Buccaneers and caught 34 passes for 459 yards receiving and one touchdown.