Autry Falls Off The DE Board

March 15th, 2018

Bucs pass

Yes, there really was a young pass rusher on the market this week, a guy younger, more productive and presumably better than the 30-year-old journeyman the Bucs signed yesterday, Mitch Unrein.

Joe’s talking about Raiders free agent Denico Autry, who is about to formalize a deal in Indianapolis, per the typings of the Indianapolis Star.

Autry has agreed to, but not yet signed, a three-year contract that will pay him up to $7 million in its first year and would max out at $17.8 million if he plays it out. The deal, which fully guarantees $6.5 million, does not contain any guarantees beyond the first year. That gives the Colts tons of flexibility with the 27-year-old who was a rotational player in Oakland but will likely compete to become more than that in Indianapolis. At minimum, Autry adds significant depth up front.

Joe wrote about Autry six weeks ago. He turns 28 in July and hasn’t missed a game since 2015. His five sacks in 2017, well, they look like a pot of gold to a Bucs fans.

Autry is versatile, rushing inside and outside, and he officially defensed (broke up) seven passes last season, which is a stunning number for a guy who only started in three games. And don’t tell Joe, ‘Oh, he’s a 3-4 end kind of guy.’ Well, Bucs defensive line coach Brentson Buckner talks about how d-line skills are what they are, and guys can use them in any system. Plus, Autry goes about 6-5, 270 and is athletic.

It’s just hard for Joe to believe that the anemic Bucs pass rush of last year wasn’t a top priority in free agency and during the pre-free-agency trading frenzy.

35 Responses to “Autry Falls Off The DE Board”

  1. BuccaneEric75 Says:

    Not surprised. Would’ve been surprised if we signed him. Nothing to see here. Another one bites the dust.

  2. AKick'nTheBucNuts Says:

    We all know the top priority is saving Glazer cash.

    Draft some DE for the next regime.

  3. ndog Says:

    Man Joe we don’t need him we have Will Gholdston!!!!!

  4. Radman Says:

    Bucs FO is either grossly incompetent or following orders from ownership. Either way it’s another mediocre season.

  5. Joeypoppems Says:

    This entire FA period has been baffling. Waaaaaaaaaaay more questions than answers right now.

  6. Evolvingbucfan Says:

    Don’t need him we got a kicker and some back up d-line/rotational guys…………….., we’re good. hahahaha

  7. Capt.Tim Says:

    Knowing how thin the DE group was going to be, still amazed we missed out on Robert Quinn over a FOURTH ROUND pick!!

    We said earlier that we should of offerred a 2nd round pick, and a couple people said that was crazy.
    Quinn is a proven comodity. 50% of first round picks are bust. Dont know the stats for second round picks- but I do know the Bucs history of 2nd rounders is horrible!!

    To have missed out on Quinn, for a fouth round pick, is another reason all these coaches, and Licht, need to be fired

  8. Mitch Says:

    The dialogue on this site is melodramatic. Tampa has “won” free agency in recent years, and lost big time during the season. A change in strategy is welcomed and good to see.

  9. Lord Cornelius Says:

    Yeah i would have liked this guy.

    Makes no sense to compare him to Unrein. Unrein is a 4-3 DT or 3-4 DE or even NT. This guy is a 4-3 DE or 3-4 OLB. Different roles

  10. Buccaneer scotty Says:

    Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah!!!!!! We are done in free agency we got our guy’s plus the draft what more could you want! Light for president #Go Bucs!!!!!!! We going to the super bowl get ur tickets now!!!!! Joe please stop tell us about a bunch players we won’t sign!

  11. Chris Says:

    Jason Mccourty cut, but we won’t sign him. Licht is done with free agency, the last piece has been signed, the kicker. The position Licht civets the most. I can see him in camp, rubbing the new kickers head, hunched over, repeating “my preciousssss” over and over. His lack of action on the D ends that were traded is criminal.

  12. DB55 Says:

    Who’s ready to boycott the season? ✋🏽

  13. LakeLand Says:

    The New York Jets signed RB Isaiah Crowell for 3 years $12 million. And the Cleveland Browns signed RB Carlos Hyde for 3 years $15 million.

  14. Tempco1 Says:

    Been a season ticket holder since 2000. I have 9 hours to renew my tickets……Give me a reason too!!!! I am waiting tick tock. I could use the $5,000.00 on something else.

  15. JonBuc Says:

    Maybe the Bucs will sign his grandpa Gene Autry as a back-up kicker?

  16. Lamarcus Says:

    DM going to Raiders 😂😂😂😂

  17. ATrain Says:

    Scotty
    The only Bucs making it to the SuperBowl will be the London Bucaroos

  18. Phil Says:

    It doesn’t seem like anything is a priority. No new talent added so far.

  19. Jeremy Says:

    He is Will Gholston.

  20. stevek Says:

    This guy could have helped.

    Tempco1, do yourself a favor and get Lightning Tickets, or spend the money a sweet vacation. The Glazers don’t deserve one cent of your money for their failure to at least “swing the bat” on FA.

  21. Defense Rules Says:

    @Mitch … “A change in strategy is welcomed and good to see.” I see an assumption in there Mitch … that Bucs actually HAD a strategy to begin with. Unless of course you consider ‘Go Cheap & Hope’ to be a strategy. Licht’s accumulating some good young talent through the draft (Jameis, ME13, OJ, Marpet, D Smith, etc), but not surrounding them with enough other talent to win big time. IMO, it’s all about TEAM-BUILDING, and right now (and for the past 10 years) I’m just not seeing that happening.

    Personally convinced that’s much more on OWNERSHIP than it is on the GM & coaching staff. Never liked ‘Committee Ownership’ and that’s what we’ve got. The old saying ‘A camel is a horse built by a committee’ applies to the Bucs … and we’re the camel. Glazer Boyz need to sell to someone who cares about building a winning T-E-A-M.

  22. CarrollwoodBucFan Says:

    Remind me again why I should spend my money on season tickets again this year?

  23. NFLNut Says:

    No one chooses the Colts over the Bucs UNLESS THE PAYCHECK IS BIGGER imho … I wanted Autry and mentioned him a couple months ago … I would have much rather had him than Unrein … but he was 2x the price and Licht probably didn’t even express any legit interest 🙁

  24. Richey D Bucs Says:

    Browns just released CB Jason McCourtey, ranked 17th among all CBs last season. Too good for us to go after I guess.

  25. bucs_365 Says:

    Unrein and Autry — apples and oranges…

    Seems obvious to me that in a pool of really mediocre pass rush talent, the Bucs chose to add the top 2 run stoppers to help make teams one dimensional. Do that, and rushing the passer gets a lot easier. This is a strategy. They’ll draft probably 2 pass rush guys. Obviously, we’d all prefer they had been able to snag Quinn, but we move on.

  26. miken Says:

    Everyone killing the glazers for not spending but it aint that. Our gm is whiffed on so many he’s afraid to do it again. Also, he over estimates the guys on the roster, thinking they will “step up” next year.

  27. JimmyJack Says:

    Bucs365….I agree with you. Fixing the run defense will be huge, though that is something that needs to be proven.

    But just fixing the run D is not going to make a huge difference if our pass rush is as awful as it was last year. 3rd and 8 is not a tough conversation if you can’t get pressure…..It is not just about sacks with our passrush they cannot apply any pressure and hurry throws. Still work to be done.

    The plan that I’m hoping they are showing us here is a heavy rotation on the Dline. We don’t need a guy like Ayers out there every play. We need ends who can rotate now. And no we cannot rely on Spence, that is a letdown waiting to happen. I know they like Gholston but he was highly ineffective last year. And when the other team passes on first down he puts the entire line at a pure disadvantage. And I really liked Gholston but he is just too awful at passrush to keep around IMo. If they do bring him back they better be right.

    In conclusion…..Our DTs may honestly be in no better shape if McDonald walks and our edge Rush is just as bad as they were last year.

  28. horst Says:

    Last chance for a splash, a man named Suh!!!!

  29. Buc4life Says:

    Chances are over. 5 more empty seats in the stadium. I’m done. Sick to my stomach that we can’t do any better than this.

  30. TheRealDrew Says:

    Not many players want to come here. They will only for big money, and those players don’t work out cause they’re just looking for a payday. Not until there’s promise of a quality organization (coaches, QB, winning) are they going to come and play well.

  31. Pierce Says:

    Are the glazers trying to save money? He’s essentially got a 1 year deal. Wtf?

  32. Rod Munch Says:

    This guy is nothing special or impressive, the Bucs would literally be better off taking another swing at Jacquies Smith than signing this guy who brings nothing to the table. Not a big deal to pass on him.

  33. joestang Says:

    i;m all for bringing back the blackout rule, i would rather watch a real pro football team than these losers.

  34. BoJim Says:

    Sure seems like they’re not signing anyone better than ‘just decent’ on purpose. Don’t know what that purpose is yet.

  35. godzilla13 Says:

    DE Chris Sims signed with the Browns for only 5M a year.