The Cardinals were one of the teams that talked to the Buccaneers before this year’s draft about the possibility of a Mike Glennon trade, Tampa Bay GM Jason Licht confirmed in a conversation with Fox Sports 910 Phoenix (audio link). Licht described talks with his friend and mentor Steve Keim as “casual,” joking that he wouldn’t let the Cardinals GM “bully” him into making a deal. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter), Arizona was one of a handful of teams with some interest in Glennon, which Licht confirmed.
“We had several teams that were investigating what our thoughts were and asking what our plan was for Mike,” Licht said. “And the plan was that we’re going to keep Mike.”
Several trade rumors swirled around Glennon prior to the draft, particularly after the Bucs signed Josh McCown and were linked to some of the top quarterbacks in this year’s draft class. However, head coach Lovie Smith indicated last month that the club views Glennon as its quarterback of the future, and Licht made similar comments a couple weeks later.
With McCown in the mix, Glennon figures to enter the season as the Bucs’ No. 2 quarterback, but he could push the former Bear for the starting job in camp. During his rookie season, Glennon performed well for Tampa Bay, starting 13 games and racking up 2,608 passing yards to go along with 19 touchdowns and just nine interceptions.