Luring Free Agents
March 10th, 2015
What will Bucs GM Jason Licht do in the coming hours?
Joe has written it before and will write it again: There are nine potential spots where the Bucs could use an upgrade. And compared to some, Joe is being conservative.
We all know the positions; the most important are quarterback, offensive line and defensive end.
Quarterback likely will be solved in the draft. So could offensive line (to a degree) and defensive end. However, the Bucs might want to atone for their free agent sins of last spring by going back to the free agent well.
Be careful, suggests Andrew Astleford of Fox Sports Florida.
The sell at those positions and others, though, may be as hard as Roger Goodell trying to rally support at an NFLPA meeting. What, exactly, can be said to lure a coveted free agent to Tampa after a 2-14 year, with more uncertainty ahead? Beaches, A-plus weather and no state income tax only go so far.
Of course, some will sign with the Bucs. Of course, there will be some sort of haul. Of course, there will be more promise introduced, more grandiose visions shared about each player working out as planned.
But remember: Complement those honey-dipped words with a hearty helping of caution.
Joe thinks Bucs general manager Jason Licht will be a bit more conservative in the coming days. The Bucs went all drunken sailor last spring in free agency, and got too many guys in return who played like drunken sailors, for the most part.
If the Bucs land, say, Packers tackle Bryan Bulaga, that may be the only big fish Licht signs. The rest will be quality Tier 2 players.
March 10th, 2015 at 8:48 am
Greg Hardy would be awesome….. But I doubt he’d pass the Lovie test.
March 10th, 2015 at 8:50 am
Which is why the smartest thing would be to …
Trade down TWICE in the 1st round and annouce to the fan base
WE are TIRED of chasing our tails…
We WILL REBUILD this team with young home grow talent…..please be patient !
March 10th, 2015 at 8:54 am
They only way to get guys at this point and time is to over pay…. pure and simple. Our last 6 years have been compareable to jax and oakland. After a few weeks and the big names have signed we will have a better shot and will be able to find value, but the murray, cobbs, and iupatis of the world aint comming unless you insanely overpay. Besides the losing, we will have a rookie qb and a possible regime change if we repeat last years preformance.
March 10th, 2015 at 8:54 am
I would not worry about the Left tackle position, Lovie will have this team in the top 5 pick of the draft for next year. get the LT then!!!
March 10th, 2015 at 8:55 am
When has it ever been an issue to sign free agents? Whenever they have wanted to pay the money they get them just like the Jags big TE haul that turned down three much better franchises. Usually it’s about the cash and with the combination of no state tax on home games, weather, the area and proximity to the rest of the state and a great playing field it’s not that tough of a sell to a lot of players.
March 10th, 2015 at 8:56 am
Yea – Free Agency is a real crap shoot this year in our positions of greatest need. Including MLB as well Joe which you neglected to mention as a very serious need.
There really is no way to buy our way out of the position Dominick put us in. It’s gonna take another couple years at least to fill all these needs with quality draftees. L&L should have been more up front about this fact from the beginning.
March 10th, 2015 at 8:59 am
just advertise flip flops, no pressure and the floppy hat club plus a fat contract.
March 10th, 2015 at 8:59 am
I’m starting a news hashtag…
#whatwouldparcelsdo
First he’d fire Lovie, thats a no brainer…
Second, he’d START the bidding at 2 firsts, a 2nd and a third for the number one pick, let the auction begin
Third, start drafting the top lineman you can get your hands on…it all starts in the trenches
Then he’d tell the fans who were bellyaching, but you didn’t pick the next great over-hyped bust at QB…if you don’t like it, go find a new f##king team.
March 10th, 2015 at 9:10 am
The opportunity to start will attract some players. I agree that MLB is an area of need, but our lack of depth isn’t just Dominik’s doing. Licht chose a frickin’ running back in the third round last year (which didn’t fill any of the obvious holes), made our offensive line worse, McCown, Johnson, etc. After getting a QB, we need to build up both lines.
March 10th, 2015 at 9:12 am
Oh, and don’t forget this selling point…a coach who will respect you, and treat you like a man, even when you’re losing…14 damn games a season….but, hey, at least he respects you’re inability to play…
March 10th, 2015 at 9:21 am
Only 10 more months to go
March 10th, 2015 at 9:35 am
bring the common sense flmike. i’m with you!
March 10th, 2015 at 9:39 am
We were so darn good before Lovie messed everything up.
The only player I see out there to make a real difference would be Hardy.
Otherwise a lot of questionable players, and no magical oline prospects. Gonna have to roll with what we have plus draftees.
Eventually you have to have continuity on an Oline, cant just keep reshuffling the deck.
March 10th, 2015 at 9:51 am
I’m so eFing tired of being a Bucs fan…a fan of a team who, ever since the Alvin Harper bomb, has continued to pull the trigger and miss. They’re afraid to endure the long road of buiding through the draft. Case in point: Dallass…they have quietly and patiently been drafting O linemen the last few years and now have a dominant ground game (not Murray, the O line).
Let’s aquire a solid game manager to is smart, experienced, and patient…and then watch our #1 multiply?
March 10th, 2015 at 10:00 am
lol i’ll never understand the idea of trading DOWN to pick up lower rated draft picks as if it’s going to upgrade a team with average talent lol trade down to add more average talent lol yea sure sounds smart (sarcasm). how about standing pat, being frugal in free agency and seeing where your team stands. it’s obvious no one here knows what this team will be just like everyone saying the cowboys were going to win 3-4 games because of injuries and tony romo’s back, you say it then try to conveniently forget you said It later on in the season.
the one thing im sure of is lovie is known for having better than average defenses but haters wont even give the man that credit even before free agency and the draft people are predicting what we will be…STFU nobody’s because you’ll all change your tune after free agency, change it again after the draft then again in training camp. if quarterback is your issue you ride or die, people who say trading down is safer than taking the pick obviously no nothing about taking risks in life, every scenario is a risk especially if you want certain players, trade down and cant get who you wanted now you end up settling…..
March 10th, 2015 at 10:06 am
LOL
March 10th, 2015 at 10:19 am
@bucs4lyfe
“the one thing im sure of is lovie is known for having better than average defenses but haters wont even give the man that credit even before free agency and the draft people are predicting what we will be…”
Did he make the defense better or worse with his FA signings last season? Remember we were a 4-12 team the year before with a defense that was getting better….now i’m going to use Lovie’s own words against him
“We were a 2-14 team last season”
end of argument…
March 10th, 2015 at 10:32 am
lol since when did year one tell the whole story of coach in his first year with a team dude come on be smarter than that. lol so greg schiano went 7-9 thanks to josh freeman then add revis and go 4-12 hmmmm I wonder how that happened, how do you have the same team and even add the best corner in football then get worse…..first year tells you nothing silly guy
March 10th, 2015 at 10:51 am
No reason to sign Baluga, He’s a right tackle, which is not the biggest position of need. The Left tackle will likely have to be drafted. Right tackle is an easier position to fill and shouldn’t require a contract worth $7 million a year, reportedly what Baluga wants.
March 10th, 2015 at 10:59 am
What player wouldn’t want to play for the best coach in the whole league in Lovie Smith? (Sarcasm)
March 10th, 2015 at 11:07 am
“Beaches, A-plus weather and no state income tax only go so far.”
When you are talking millions that income tax is not insignificant! I agree with PatrickBucs. We won’t have trouble selling the idea of coming here if the player sees other benefits like a chance to start.
How many times have we heard athletes and coaches talk about or sign deals and say it wasn’t about the money! It’s almost ALWAYS about the money.
Clearly Michael Johnson preferred the Bengals to the Bucs. So why didn’t he stay in Cincy. MONEY!!!
March 10th, 2015 at 11:13 am
BTW Another draw for the Bucs is the turf. While Aaron Rodgers may have complained..he’s used to primo Lambeau Field…most players would relish leaving an artificial turf team to come to our natural grass.
And last and unfortunately not least…we have the Mons!!!
March 10th, 2015 at 11:53 am
“Some things are really hard to do, almost impossible to do, like playing perfectly in extremely complicated positions. But it really bugs me when I miss things that I really shouldn’t have. I am always going to make mistakes. I don’t have any illusions that my understanding of chess is perfect or anything like that. It’s just that I have to work on relatively simple mistakes. When I can lower the percentage of such mistakes then things are going to be much better.” – Magnus Carlsen – World Chess Champion.
March 10th, 2015 at 12:18 pm
Their best shot are free agents who already have a Super Bowl ring. When you get to that level, it’s worth a few million less to guys who haven’t won it all to play for a legit contender.
March 10th, 2015 at 12:40 pm
CsB Says:
March 10th, 2015 at 9:51 am
I’m so eFing tired of being a Bucs fan…a fan of a team who, ever since the Alvin Harper bomb, has continued to pull the trigger and miss. They’re afraid to endure the long road of buiding through the draft. Case in point: Dallass…they have quietly and patiently been drafting O linemen the last few years and now have a dominant ground game (not Murray, the O line).
Let’s aquire a solid game manager to is smart, experienced, and patient…and then watch our #1 multiply?
@csb. I don’t think you remember the end of Grudens era and the Morris era we didn’t sign any good free agents to attempt to build through the draft. TE Glazers used the money overseas and we had awful, just awful drafts is a huge reason why we are here today. Everyone uses free agency to fill immediate needs it’s a more expensive crap shoot then drafting a rookie. The Bucs and other teams have to meet the minimum salary cap floor. Just watch some if the deals that the Raiders and Jags will do in a few days.
March 10th, 2015 at 2:08 pm
@bucs4lyfe
We all know what happened in 2013, Freeman went mental, hypothetically, Freeman stays sane, what happens to this team, even with the mersa and Nicks’ injury?