Hindsight speaks loudly, but the Bucs missed the boat on the Micah Parsons trade and it could hurt their Super Bowl aspirations
Hindsight is 20/20, but it sounds like the Bucs could’ve made a serious push for Micah Parsons if they wanted to.
Look, let’s get this out of the way right out of the gate: This isn’t an opinion working under the assumption that trading for a player like Micah Parsons is an easy task nor is it criticizing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
It’s also heavily realized this is a matter of hindsight, simply because we now know what it would’ve taken Jason Licht to acquire Parsons in a trade.
Man. Licht and the Bucs really missed out on an opportunity, here.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported Friday morning the Dallas Cowboys were completely uninterested in speaking with teams about trading Parsons unless said team(s) had not only a tradable defensive lineman, but an effective defensive lineman, on its roster.
The Bucs are a team that could’ve made that happen. Now, they’ll have to worry about potentially seeing Parsons and the Packers in the playoffs. For a team with Super Bowl expectations, that will be a big obstacle to potentially overcome.
Buccaneers could’ve traded Vita Vea and two first round picks for Parsons and it would’ve been a good move
Vita Vea means a lot to the Bucs defense and he’s been a great player. However, shipping him off with two first round picks would’ve been a feasible move for Tampa Bay and it would’ve made the defense better, ultimately.
Yes, they’re two completely different players at two completely different positions, but Parsons offers more even when placed in the proper context. He can line up anywhere on the defense except corner and safety and he offers the opportunities to make plays in coverage, the run game, and in the pass game. I’m talking impactful plays, too. Sure, Vea drops back in coverage and has even made a tackle here and there, but he doesn’t pick off passes or swat them out of the air after dropping back. He also doesn’t run with assignments.
Parsons’ versatility would thrive in a Todd Bowles defense and the Bucs’ defensive mastermind would be able to come up with an infinite amount of ways to deploy him across the board. Parsons would elevate the play of others around, more than Vea does. Yes, there would be an adjustment up front, but having Parsons roaming the second level/coming off the edge would help mitigate that in a big way.
There’s also the fact that Parsons is stil in his prime at just 25 years old, whereas Vea turned 30 back in February. The Bucs would have Parsons on the roster when he’s capable of playing his best and they would have him during that entire window – it’s so hard to argue against this scenario because of both the short- and long-term impact.
Relieving the Bucs of Vea’s contract would have also helped in a potential Parsons trade
Trading Vea would’ve opened up more than $17.4 million in cap space for 2025 and it would’ve saved the Buccaneers $17 million in cash and $18 million in cap space next year. The $17.4+ million saved this year would’ve largely been cash, too, which is a big plus for front offices and owners.
So, not only would the Bucs receive a player of Parsons’ caliber, an all-word pass rusher who is still in his prime, they would’ve also offloaded a good chunk of salary and created sizable cap room to help with Parsons’ extension.
Again, this is all in hindsight and we don’t know if the Bucs contacted the Cowboys or not. Regardless, if it all it took was a defensive lineman and two 1s to get the job done with Parsons, then one would certainly hope they at least reached out at some point.
