Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager admits mistake in drafting kicker Roberto Aguayo

iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers traded up to select Roberto Aguayo of Florida State in the second round of the NFL Draft.

Over the weekend, the team waived Aguayo, who joined the Chicago Bears shortly afterwards.

Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht says he’s “owning up to it,” telling MMQB.com that drafting Aguayo was a bold move that did not work out. Licht says:

“I’m owning up to it by releasing him. It was a bold move, and it didn’t work out. I don’t know what else to say. I know I have the support of my coach and my ownership.”

Kickers are rarely picked in the top two rounds in the draft, if they are even drafted at all. It is even rarer to trade up in the draft to select a kicker.

Licht says he was determined to solidify the kicker position for years to come, but concedes the organization made a mistake in anointing Aguayo the starter right away without bringing in serious competition to challenge him.

Aguayo will battle Connor Barth for the starting kicker job in Chicago. Barth was released from the Buccaneers after Aguayo was drafted.

Despite missing on Aguayo, Licht tells MMQB.com he is not afraid to make more bold choices in the future:

“You can’t make decisions, or not make them, based on fear. I will say that you have to learn from things that didn’t work out. Whatever that is in this case, we’ll figure it out.”

Aguayo called his struggles with the Buccaneers “unfortunate,” but the Florida native is ready for a fresh start in Chicago

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