Buccaneers free agent right tackle Demar Dotson told PewterReport.com he wants to return to Tampa Bay for a 12th year, and general manager Jason Licht and head coach Bruce Arians indicated the team would be open to re-signing the 34-year old veteran when meeting with the media at the NFL Scouting Combine.

“We’ve talked about that,” Licht said. “We haven’t closed the door on any of our impending free agents. Demar has done a fantastic job for us for a very long time and I’ve got a lot of respect for him.”

Arians notes that the price has to be right. Dotson earned just under $4 million last season, and the Bucs would possibly consider re-signing him to a similar one-year deal – or perhaps a slightly cheaper contract.

Dotson is the current longest tenured player in Tampa Bay, joining the team as an undrafted free agent in 2009, but he has yet to make it to the postseason. Before he retires, Dotson desperately wants to see the Bucs make it to the playoffs.

“I really want to be back here,” Dotson told PewterReport.com in December. “I don’t want to come back and play for pennies, but I still want the opportunity to be around what this team is building. There’s a good nucleus with a good quarterback and a good collection of wide receivers and I think we’re trying to build something along the offensive line. And the defense is getting better.

“Bruce [Arians] has changed the atmosphere and the culture around here and I want to be a part of it. I’ve been here for 11 years and I haven’t really won nothing. I’ve never made it to the playoffs. I’ve never had that opportunity. I want to leave here knowing that I at least had the opportunity to make the playoffs and make a run for a championship. I’ve been here 11 years without a single playoff game. That hurts.”

Tampa Bay needs a long-term answer at right tackle moving forward, so even if Dotson returns the team needs an heir apparent, and could even look to the first round of the NFL Draft for a right tackle candidate. PewterReport.com had mocked Houston offensive tackle Josh Jones to the Buccaneers in the second round of its first 2020 Bucs’ 7-Round Mock Draft in January, and moved him to the team’s first-round selection in its most recent mock draft, which came out in February after the Senior Bowl.

While Jones carries a first-round grade, the Bucs have the 14th overall pick and could be in position to select an even higher-rated offensive tackle like Alabama’s Jedrick Wills, Louisville’s Mekhi Becton, Iowa’s Tristan Wirfs or Georgia’s Andrew Thomas. Becton, Thomas and Jones all played left tackle in college, but could move to the right side in the NFL.

“I probably watched more offensive linemen than I have in years because there’s a lot of good quality guys up and down between centers, guards, and tackles,” Arians said of his offensive line draft study. “I usually like watching skill players more but I spent a lot of time this year on offensive linemen.”

When asked if there were any of offensive linemen that have impressed him on tape, Arians said: “Oh gosh, there’s about five or six tackles that are big-time.”

Whether the Bucs do spend a high draft pick on a right tackle of the future, Dotson could be of value as competition for the starting job as well as a mentor to the rookie offensive lineman. Dotson has been a great teammate and is well-liked and well-respected at One Buccaneer Place. Arians called Dotson “a warrior” in his post-season press conference, and Bucs left guard Ali Marpet wants to see him return for another year in Tampa Bay.

“It is extremely frustrating for me to see people think that Dot is not a great player,” Marpet said. “The dude is a phenomenal right tackle – he’s one of the better right tackles in the league and he doesn’t get his credit and he’s great on the offensive line. It’s hard having a player play at such a high level consistently in pass protection against elite pass rushers and just be able to lock them down. I think people sometimes overlook how hard that is and he does such a good job.”