St. Louis Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers Win Mark Barron Deal

Sep 14, 2014; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers strong safety Mark Barron (23) tackles St. Louis Rams wide receiver Brian Quick (83) during the first quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Time will tell whether the St. Louis Rams or Tampa Bay Buccaneers got the better of the Mark Barron trade, but it may turn out positive for both sides.

Rams Impact:  Gregg Williams gets a talented safety

Giving up 4th and 6th round picks can be looked at from a lot of directions but for the St. Louis Rams they feel they got a 25-year old safety with worlds of talent at a grand theft price.  Barron was the 7th overall pick in 2012, so it’s clear experts saw his potential.  The rams have in their minds that a change of scenery and of coaches will unlock what he can truly do.  It doesn’t get much better than Gregg Williams when it comes to safeties.  He’s coached a lot of good ones over the course of his career from Blaine Bishop to Sean Taylor to Roman Harper.  He knows how to get the most out of that position and is the ideal coach to put in charge of a player like Barron.

Bucs Impact:  Lovie Smith builds his draft coffers to forge his defense

On the other side of the fence, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers may see Barron leaving as a bust but the truth is such things happen when the head coaches change.  Lovie Smith has his own scheme in mind for what he wants the defense to look like.  He wants players who thrive at forcing turnovers and that is not the strength of Barron’s game.  So trading him made sense in that fashion.  By sending him to St. Louis the Buccaneers get some quality draft picks back with which they can re-forge the defense more along the lines of what Smith wants.  It seems disappointing now but the fact they got anything for him with his contract nearing expiration makes the deal a minor win with the potential to become a major one.