NFL prospects may slide in the draft for a number of reasons, including off-the-field issues. However, one NFL franchise is willing to overlook a couple of things when it comes time to draft.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht recently appeared on The JP Peterson Show and revealed that the Bucs are willing to tolerate some things if they think the player in question is a great fit on the field.
“We have a long process of defining who we’re taking off [the draft board] and who we’re not,” Licht said, according to Pro Football Talk. “Now just because a guy, maybe people don’t like him, or he’s a d-bag or an asshole, we’re not just going to automatically take them off.
It’s got to affect their football character and it’s got to affect the team. There’s a lot of people that fit that description that are very good football players and maybe it works in their favor.”
Licht said that there’s a difference between being rough around the edges and a bad person.
“[T]here’s a difference between a bad guy and an immature person, and we’ll take immature and help them develop,” he said. “But, you know, we just don’t want people that are going to affect the locker room in a negative way that affects the performance of others and the team.
“We’ll take a guy that’s a little bit of a d-bag or an [expletive] if they can get to the quarterback, for sure.”
It’s definitely an interesting approach, as many players have had careers cut short due to personal problems.
