Market For Cornerbacks Quickly Drying Up

March 13th, 2012

Michael Lombardi of the NFL Network suggested the Bucs may have to settle for Eric Wright if Mark Dominik plans on beefing up the Bucs cornerback position.

With the prospect of the Bucs starting the season down and/or out their four starters in the secondary from last year — not that last year’s starters reminded people of the Raiders secondary of the early 1980s — on paper what the Bucs could be looking at minus Ronde Barber, Cody Grimm, Aqib Talib and Sean Jones (who is not expected to return), well, Joe has seen chickenwire hold back water better.

Many Bucs fans were hoping Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik would land Cortland Finnegan, but he went to St. Louis.

Then there was the possibility of getting Carlos Rogers, who decided to stay with San Francisco.

Earlier this evening, BSPN reported Dallass, Kansas City and San Francisco were fighting over Brandon Carr. The Bucs were not mentioned.

So, as Michael Lombardi of the NFL Network suggested tonight, the cornerback-poor Bucs are likely left with Detroit’s Eric Wright for a solid starter if Dominik is still going to roll the free agency dice tonight.

Right now the pickings are slim at cornerback. Lombardi likened the rush of certain position players to a run on a position that goes on during the draft.

Joe hopes Dominik is leaving no rocks unturned in coming up with a corner. Soon.

42 Responses to “Market For Cornerbacks Quickly Drying Up”

  1. Aldo Says:

    to me, the message is that he wants claiborne and he will be all in on him

  2. Jarret Says:

    Seems like they’re assuming Claiborne will be there at 5

  3. J 2.0 Says:

    I’m sure some of you saw the joke on the twitter feed:

    “We’ll call him Courtland Innigan because Andre Johnson beat the F out of him.”

    Amusing.

  4. this guy Says:

    i wonder why were not going in on carr, maybe using that money for nicks since he became a real possibility.

  5. Amar Says:

    Exactly, CLAiBORNE! The next closest thing to Deion SANDERS!!

  6. barton1017 Says:

    any word on Tolbert?

  7. NJBucsFan Says:

    Hopefully KC signs Tolbert. Want no part of him…over rated.

  8. eric Says:

    oh yeah we have to play defense too.

    Forgot about that.

  9. Cmurda Says:

    I want Tulloch. I’d be happy with Eric Wright.

  10. FlBoy84 Says:

    They draft is pretty deep in CB talent, but would be nice if Dom was able to grab Wright, Porter, Middleton, Toler or Marshall to help with vet leadership and depth. Assuming Claiborne will be there at #5 is very risky, because all he did was help his stock at the combine and the Browns could very well grab him at #4. Know Toler is recovering from torn ACL, but he was productive before getting hurt.

    Being that Finnegan signed for just $5mil less than VJax, definitely glad Dom didn’t go that high for a CB. Don’t forget that Philly is still looking to unload Samuel, so something may happen there as well.

  11. Have A Nice Day Says:

    Wright is a perfect fill in until Claiborne blossoms. Barber will be nickel. Talib will be #1. Claiborne learning. Wright will be the #2. Works for me.

  12. Matthew Says:

    Asante Samuel is available via trade either a 2nd or 3rd round pick. He’s a top level CB only 29 or 30, two years left on his deal. Porter or Wright are also good fall backs with Claiborne coming in the draft.

  13. Pete Dutcher Says:

    Nicks might be signed tonight. Bucs have made an offer and word is it dwarfed Saints offer.

  14. derk Says:

    i hope carl nicks, david carr, mike tolbert, and eric wright are the pool who we’re going after…. sounds like experience,just what we need.dont know if its true, but lofton wanted $9 mil per… too much for him.

  15. this guy Says:

    where you hear this pete?

  16. Erick Says:

    Ewww Eric Wright is garbage! Have to find someone better than that. If not just save the money.

  17. Have A Nice Day Says:

    http://twitter.com/#!/ChiefsInsider/status/179751997992484864

    This chiefs insider says we made an offer. Not sure who exactly he is.

  18. Capt.Tim Says:

    Just my opinion- but it looks like Bucs will adress offense thru FA, and Defense thru draft. That might work, but think they need to sign a FA MLB.

    Then draft 2 CBs, OLB, safety. Etc

  19. jLM Says:

    Roy Cummings sais Nicks flew in tonight. Also said the night might not be over. This was on bleacher report

  20. FlBoy84 Says:

    @Erick, Wright did have 74 tackles and 4 picks last yr. , so wasn’t all bad.

  21. Macabee Says:

    I’m not sure we ought to assume that Claiborne is going to be there at pick #5 in the draft. While browsing around the blogosphere, I came across this article on the Viking’s pick at #3. I think we need to get a CB in FA if it’s possible, just in case.

    http://www.cbssports.com/columns/story/17770864

  22. Steve from Oregon Says:

    Im suprised Terry Porter is not getting more attention?

  23. tonytwocents Says:

    thanks jlm, was looking for a source other than sleazy KC guy. roy also says GMC is showing Lofton some skin to bring him to the Bay. Reel him in McCoy. If anything, take him on a long boat ride with the contract in hand, just the two of you, one pen, and no one to hear him screa – just show him a nice time..

  24. gotbbucs Says:

    Macabee

    That stinks to me like a team trying hard to get somebody to trade up into that spot. If they can’t trade down, Kalil will be their pick, and if the do in fact take Claiborne that only makes our pick more valuable to teams looking to trade up.

  25. Steve from Oregon Says:

    Gotbucs….unless somebody comes at them with a monster package, I think they are set on drafting Kalil to help save Ponder, if for some reason Kalil was still there at 5, I think the Bucs have to draft Kalil….he rated at the #1 or 2 player in the entire draft regardless of position.

  26. gotbbucs Says:

    There’s a report that Richard Marshall is going on a visit in Miami, I see no reason why the Bucs wouldn’t pounce on that opportunity to get him in their complex while he’s in the neighborhood. He’s not exactly a press conrner like I think Schiano wants, but he’s pretty versatileas far as playing both Corner and Safety.

  27. Erick Says:

    I lived in Cleveland the last 3 years, got to see Wright get burned play after play. You think Biggers is bad, put on some game film of Wright from 2010. Stay away!

  28. Steven Says:

    Foregone conclusion that Morris Claiborne is our guy in the draft. I do believe that we will end up with a starter in free agency as well. I’m thinkin that guy is Tracy Porter. Not heard much chatter but knows the NFC South very well from playing in NO and they are letting him walk.

  29. Hawaiian Buc Says:

    If we did get Nicks, that would give us 3 pro bowlers on the OL. He would instantly make our OL dominant, in particular on the left side. I would give that man ANYTHING he asks for. Who knows, we may even be able to put up 30 on people once in a while. I kind of forgot how that feels.

  30. Pete Dutcher Says:

    Brandon Marshall involve in incident. Lol

  31. Hawaiian Buc Says:

    It definitely looks like Claiborne is going to be the guy. I’m not a big fan of drafting a CB that high (kind of like how Joe and many others feel about RB’s), but if we do get a couple good LB’s and maybe a safety in free agency, he may be the right pick. I don’t know if there would be anybody willing to do it, but I would also look into trading down. At this point (assuming we get Nicks), I’m going to trust the Rock Star to make the right choice. He’s earned that.

  32. Pete Dutcher Says:

    @Tony
    GMC tweeted late Tuesday afternoon/night that all we needed now were his boys lofton and another player. I’ll see if I can track it down.

  33. Pete Dutcher Says:

    @Tony
    Here it is:

    Gerald McCoy @Geraldini93 2h Still working on my boys @superreg30 and @CurtisLofton50. Negotiations not over yet so we will see what happens.

  34. Pete Dutcher Says:

    @superreg30 is DB Reginald L. Smith II

  35. Have A Nice Day Says:

    Meachem is now a Charger. Saints getting weaker by the minute.

  36. gotbbucs Says:

    @ Pete

    It’s Reggie Smith

  37. Ladyz Says:

    Gerald, best success in working those guys. They would certainly be great assects to our team.

  38. 941-Bucs Says:

    @Erik

    He did drop off horribly in 2010 but he has consistently gotten better year after year (minus that 2010 season). He actually played last year and in 09, 08 was his rookie year.

    Young and still has potential. Starting material, maybe not STAR-ting material. If we can nab Claiborne we will be fine with that tandem(especially if Barber does come back for one more year)

  39. 941-Bucs Says:

    played well* last year and in 09′.

  40. So. Ill. Bucs Says:

    Tracy Porter is getting a lot of attention from the Rams and Gregg Williams. Ladarius Webb from Baltimore has a tender on him, but do the Ravens have the cap room to compete with Dominik and co.?

  41. So. Ill. Bucs Says:

    Just saw that Jim Leonhard is still not locked down, bit of wishful thinking but that would sure be an upgrade at safety.

    To those saying Tolbert is over rated, yes he is-if you say he is a starting, full time running back.
    As part of a committee where he handles short yardage and receiving/blocking duties, when he splits time between halfback and fullback, when he plays with a fiery attitude and a whole lot of heart, when he doesn’t complain about not being a star-well he’s pretty good at that stuff. He’s no Frank Gore, but he’s no Kregg Lumpkin either.

  42. Bobby Says:

    @ Capt Tim….are you feeling better now about the Glazer’s? See, it’s like I said..there’s a time to spend and now was the time. They really didn’t have any choice but I believe it actually worked out for the good. After the 2010 season it was really difficult to tell what our needs were. One would have thought we didn’t need a Vincent Jackson the way Mike Williams looked and Nicks wouldn’t have been available for the O-line. By waiting we have a clear idea of our needs both offensively and defensively and the cap space to address a great deal of them. I have to admit, if they land Jackson, Nicks, and Lofton it will be more than I thought they would do. I was thinking two splash signings and the rest would be depth players but it seems they are going all out. Good for them….and good for us.