The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Arizona Cardinals plan to draft quarterbacks in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft, according to NFL.com's Ian Rapoport.
"Rapoport named Tampa Bay as one team prepared to dial up a signal-caller at No. 7 after the Buccaneers spent the pre-draft process hosting a laundry list of top prospects," NFL.com's Marc Sessler wrote on Thursday. "Rapoport also cited Arizona as a candidate to pick an heir apparent to Carson Palmer at No. 20.
"That aligns with the latest mock draft from NFL Media's Daniel Jeremiah, who projects the Cardinals to select Fresno State's Derek Carr."
Tampa Bay ended up starting then-rookie quarterback Mike Glennon last season, but new coach Lovie Smith likely wants to hand select his own signal caller. The Buccaneers also signed backup veteran quarterback Josh McCown, who's coming off a career-best season with the Chicago Bears.
The Buccaneers' No. 7 pick could net them one of the projected top three quarterbacks: Blake Bortles, Johnny Manziel and Teddy Bridgewater. Bortles is widely projected to be the first quarterback off the board, but with the quarterbacks' draft stocks all reportedly dipping, Tampa Bay could end up with Manziel or Bridgewater.
Arizona, in addition to needing an eventual replacement for the 34-year-old Palmer, doesn't have reliable depth behind him. Drew Stanton and Ryan Lindley sit behind Palmer, and neither backup signal caller is likely to get the job done if Palmer were to go down.
Rapoport also reported the Detroit Lions were interested in moving up in the draft for either wide receiver Sammy Watkins or Mike Evans, which confirms an identical report from the Detroit Free Press.
