NFC Notes: Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers, Anthony Richardson

Buccaneers

• Florida QB Anthony Richardson said he met with the Buccaneers at the NFL Combine, per Aaron Wilson. 
• Richardson met with GM Jason Licht and HC Todd Bowles during his meeting and feels things went well: “I have. It went pretty well. Just getting to know them. Talking about my life. Talking about ball. Pretty well. It went pretty well,” via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. 

Falcons

Falcons owner Arthur Blank said GM Terry Fontenot and HC Arthur Smith‘s plan has been underway and would only be concerned if the team went 7-10 over the next two years. 

“Terry and Arthur have a plan, which they articulated to me when they were hired. They are working their plan and are on pace with their plan,” Blank, via Josh Kendall of The Athletic. “Now, if we went two more years at 7-10, I would say that really wasn’t the plan. These first two years, this was very much the plan. Win as many games as we can, but we have to change out the roster.”

Blank thinks the “foundation is laid” for Atlanta to be successful going forward. 

 “I think the foundation is laid and I would expect us to become increasingly competitive this year over what we’ve been.”

Blank said they are trying to create “sustained success” and progressive improvement. 

“We’re about progress over perfection, and we want steady improvement,” Blank said. “We are trying to build. We’re trying to have sustained success. We’re trying to build a championship roster one good player at a time. We just need to focus on making good decisions and signing good players and improving this football team.”

Panthers

According to ESPN’s Matt Miller, the sense around the Panthers is that they’re “all in on Anthony Richardson.”

“You definitely get the sense that they’re all in on Anthony Richardson. I know it’s gonna make Dan [Orlovsky] very happy,” Miller said, via ESPN.com. “The athleticism is there, the arm strength is there. And you hear—this offensive staff, led by Frank Reich, they believe that they can develop a quarterback with guys like Jim Caldwell, Thomas Brown they bring in from the L.A. Rams, there’s gonna be a lot of vertical things he can do down the field.

I think this is a good situation for Richardson. A top-10 pick, which we’re all expecting. They can bring back Sam Darnold, who can really hold the door for a year, then let someone like Richardson develop.”

Panthers GM Scott Fitterer said he will be aggressive in securing his quarterback if the team feels conviction about a guy at the top of the draft.

“You gotta be aggressive,” he said, via Panthers Wire. “If you have a guy you have conviction on, go get him. You don’t wanna be reckless. But you wanna look to see what’s been done in the past, and if you have to give up some assets to go get him. I hope we’re not picking in the top 10 again, so it’s gonna be a lot more if you’re in 22 or something else at that point. This might be a year to do some things like that.”