Bucs Looking To Trade For Vikes Taylor and McKinnie?

The Bucs have been very busy trying to replace Cadillac Williams and Luke Petgiout since the middle of the Panthers game. The Tampa Tribune is now reporting that the Bucs have expressed interest in trading for Vikings running back Chester Taylor and tackle Bryant McKinnie. The Vikes can afford to lose Taylor with how well rookie Adrian Peterson has been playing. McKinnie is an interesting part of the deal because he is a good tackle and teams don't let those go.

Who the Bucs are offering has not been released, but one option could be Chris Simms. The Vikings starter Tavaris Jackson has not shown that he can be an NFL starter and is injured at the moment. Simms has been a starter in the league and was effective for a time. The Bucs really have no need for Simms with McCown and Gradkowski also on the roster to back up Jeff Garcia. Simms alone would not be enough for those two players; so the question would be who else is expendable for the Bucs?

Gruden needs to win this year and if he can get players he believes will help the team he may give whatever it is to get them. The Vikes would most likely want at least a first round pick along with Simms for these guys, which Gruden may be willing to give up if he feels he cannot win without getting help. Problem is that Taylor has already been hurt this year and has a history of injury problems. Also, Graham and Pittman have looked fine so far running the ball and they deserve a shot first. The Bucs should wait and see what they have with these runners and this line before doing anything drastic.