Bucs GM's Comments on OJ Howard Should Be Taken as Seriously as His Past Rob Gronkowski Statements

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers just gave their offense a major jolt when the allure of Tom Brady managed to pull Rob Gronkowski out of retirement and force the New England Patriots to send Gronk down to central Florida.

Amid rumors that former first-round pick and now backup tight end OJ Howard was on the trading block, Licht tried to squash those thoughts, saying that Tampa is more than excited to pair Howard and Gronkowski together.

In response to any speculation that Tampa could trade OJ Howard, Buccaneers GM Jason Licht said today: "We're excited about having OJ Howard play with Rob Gronkowski. Why wouldn't you want to have many weapons at that position? We have an excellent tight end group right now."
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 23, 2020

Yeah, says the same guy who tried to pour cold water on the Gronkowski rumors.

In a vacuum, Howard, Gronkowski, and Cameron Brate, who is signed until 2024, would be the best tight end room in the league. However, Howard's athleticism and receiving ability could help fetch Tampa Bay a quality draft pick in exchange for a tight end who wouldn't see regular snaps in Bruce Arians' offense.

I mean, really, three featured tight ends?! Three??

And we all know teams are known for speaking the truth right before the draft.
— Think Of It As Money (@mc9ers5) April 23, 2020

Arians' vertical passing game doesn't make use of the tight end too much, so keeping two of the league's better tight ends around when a player like Howard could fetch quite a pretty penny in a trade makes no sense. Bucs fans shouldn't expect Howard back in 2020, despite what Licht says.