Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht has been making calls to NFL prospects on draft day since 2014. Fortunately, he has never encountered a player who has answered the phone and told the Bucs GM he doesn’t want to play for Tampa Bay.
However, if that day ever comes… Then Licht appears to have a very straight forward response ready to go.
Jason Licht Jokes He Would Tell a Player “F— You” If They Reject Being Picked by Tampa Bay
If you are a fan of the Pat McAfee Show, then you are probably very familiar with the plethora of loose-lipped banter that takes place on the broadcast.
However, one hypothetical response from Bucs GM Jason Licht stood out during his appearance on the program earlier this week when he was discussing the phone calls he makes to players they select during the NFL Draft.
Licht said, “And, it’s the most important day for these players, so I don’t want to come out sounding like a dork… one day one of them is going to say I don’t want to be there, and I’m gonna have to say ‘f— you’.”
Few players in the history of the NFL have completely rejected the idea of playing for a specific team, but the exceptions include players like Bo Jackson, John Elway, and Eli Manning.
Jackson was drafted by the Bucs with No. 1 overall pick in the 1986 NFL Draft, but never played a single snap for the organization after a visit with Tampa Bay that did not receive proper NCAA approval cost him his final year of baseball eligibility at Auburn.
Fortunately for Licht, that situation took place way before he took over as general manager for the Bucs.
Licht Has Memorable Draft Day Phone Call with Benjamin Morrison
Licht also stated earlier in the interview, “I get a little nervous making those calls on draft day because that recording lives in infamy.”
Ironically enough, Licht was involved in one of those calls that will live in infamy after Benjamin Morrison’s reaction to being selected at No. 53 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Morrison started to cry shortly after he picked up the phone call from Licht. His reaction went viral once footage of the phone call surfaced and was posted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers official X account.
Morrison was originally considered a first-round prospect by many NFL Draft pundits entering the 2024 college football season.
Unfortunately, hip surgery and an injury-riddled final year at Notre Dame dropped Morrison all to the middle of the second round. The Bucs made it clear they believe in Morrison’s talent, character, and ability to recover from this surgery — which finally led to Morrison starting his NFL career in Tampa Bay.
Licht even commented on how some players are removed from their board based strictly on character by adding, “We put the players that are worthy of being drafted on the draft board like every team does, but then we just kind of take the assh-les and the d-uchebags off, and the guys that don’t love football and guys that have proven they don’t like it, that are difficult to deal with, and we just kind of mitigate our risk. We’re taking great players that are great humans.”
The Bucs clearly have created a culture, which should make Morrison a great addition to this secondary in need of depth entering the 2025 NFL season.
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