The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Jameis Winston from the Florida State Seminoles on Thursday evening with the number one pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, though they had plenty of other opportunities had they opted to make such a choice.
One of which was a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles who reportedly offered a combination of quarterback Sam Bradford, the 20th overall pick, a 2016 first-round pick and an additional player.
It would have been quite the haul for the Bucs, but the price still wasn’t good enough as Pro Football Talk reports Tampa Bay wasn’t interested in the Philadelphia Eagles trade package.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Eagles offered the following to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the first pick in the draft: the 20th pick in this year’s draft; Philly’s first-round pick in 2016; quarterback Sam Bradford; and another player on the roster.
It’s unclear who the other player would have been. Possibly linebacker Mychal Kendricks. Possibly Lane Johnson or Fletcher Cox, but the Eagles were expressing reluctance to include either of those pieces.
For the Bucs, it’s understandable as to why they didn’t make the move as they likely feel the upside of Jameis Winston is far greater than the return they would have received from Chip Kelly’s Philadelphia Eagles.
Perhaps the deal would have slightly improved them as a team this season, but Winston gives them the better opportunity from a long-term standpoint.
