Buccaneers, Cardinals discussed Glennon trade

Mike Glennon isn't headed to Arizona after all. (USATSI)

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If Mike Glennon were confused about his present and future role with the Buccaneers, you could understand why. After a solid rookie season by Glennon in the aftermath of the Josh Freeman debacle, newly-hired coach Lovie Smith almost immediately brought in Bears backup quarterback Josh McCown and proclaimed him the starting quarterback.

Then, last month, the Buccaneers called Glennon the team's quarterback of the future, and it sounded like there was never a doubt in Glennon's mind that he would eventually return to his starting spot.

But in a semi-interesting twist, Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht told 910 AM in Phoenix that he had conversations with the Cardinals about possibly trading Glennon to Arizona.

"We had several teams that were investigating what our thoughts were and what our plans were for Mike," Licht said. "The plan was we were going to keep Mike."

He says that now, of course. But Licht did talk with Cardinals general manager Steve Keim about a potential swap. It make sense, of course, since Licht was with the Arizona franchise for the past two seasons as the vice president of player personnel and that Licht considers Keim a mentor and one of his closest friends.

Still, Licht resisted the temptation to rid his team of Glennon and send him to the Cardinals, who will start aging quarterback Carson Palmer with fourth-round pick Logan Thomas and a combination of Drew Stanton and Ryan Lindley behind him.

"We talked about Mike. I wasn't going to let him bully me into taking his [N.C. State] Wolfpack quarterback," Licht joked.

But here's something Licht is serious about apparently in regards to Keim.

"He," Licht said, "is not getting [Glennon]."

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Saints news: WR Marques Colston feels 'completely different'; WR Kenny Stills to be more involved



A couple of notable observations out of Saints camp on Wednesday. One came from The New Orleans Advocate's Ramon Antonio Vargas, who spoke to wide receiver Marques Colston. He has been making some highlight plays in camp, and perhaps a major reason why is that he is fully healthy after dealing with foot pains for the past couple of years."Feels completely different," Colston said. "... No restrictions."Colston has missed just one game since the beginning of the 2012 season but has been listed with a foot ailment on the injury report for multiple weeks in 2012 and 2013.Another player standing out in camp is wide receiver Kenny Stills. ESPN's Mike Triplett writes that Stills "has looked good throughout offseason workouts" and appears ready to improve upon his rookie-year numbers (32 catches, 641 yards, five touchdowns). Of course, that's possible only if Stills gets the ball more often. According to Triplett, head coach Sean Payton wants to make that happen. After re-watching film from last season, Payton said the team felt that it needed to give Stills more opportunities to produce.



Stills was targeted 51 times in the passing game last season, which was fifth-most on the team. He finished behind Darren Sproles and Lance Moore, who have moved on. Yes, they drafted Brandin Cooks in the first round, but he could struggle out of the gate as many rookies do. I'd expect Stills to see about 20-30 more targets this year, trailing only Colston and tight end Jimmy Graham. With his special ability to get down the field, he can put up fantasy points on just a couple of receptions and be a consistent WR3.Conversely, I'm down on Colston, who scored just one touchdown before November last season and saw his yardage and yards-per-catch totals take a drop from 2012. He turned 31 years old last week. He may have one more big season left in him, but I don't think there's any arguing that he should now be considered a WR3 in 12-team leagues. From a fantasy standpoint, I think he and Pierre Thomas stand to be most negatively affected by Cooks' presence over the middle of the field.