Polian: Mo Wilkerson To Bucs Doable, Yet Doubtful
April 13th, 2016
Hall of Fame GM addresses Mo Wilkerson-to-Bucs speculation.
Unlikely rumors still won’t die because the riddle of their source has yet to be solved.
That is the Bucs trading Mike Glennon to the Jets for stud defensive tackle Mo Wilkerson.
The Jets, so starved for a quarterback they almost need vagabond signal-caller Ryan Fitzpatrick, are at a contract impasse with the veteran stiff. and the two sides have been at odds for months.
Of course, the Jets likely would get an upgrade at the position by trading for Glennon. Also, the Jets understand Wilkerson was slapped with the franchise tag for 2016 — $15.7 million. He likely will demand a beastly sum of cash to play for his next team, which doesn’t appear at all to be the Jets.
The Bucs don’t want Glennon, also in the final year of his pact, to walk out the door at year’s end without compensation, neither do the Jets with Wilkerson.
This sounds all well and fine in the world of fantasy football, but the Bucs likely would have to not only sweeten the pot for Wilkerson, but also come to terms with Wilkerson before a trade is consummated. Wilkerson would seek the sun and the moon in order to not test the free agency waters next winter.
So last night, a caller asked the co-hosts of “Late Hits,” Alex Marvez and Bill Polian, if there was a way the Bucs could fit Wilkerson’s massive contract under the salary cap and not have to throw other player salaries off the pier. Polian, a Hall of Fame general manager and a wealth of knowledge of front office tricks, discussed this possibility exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio.
Alex Marvez: When it comes to Muhammad Wilkerson, you are absolutely right the size contract he would be commanding. Is this a feasible option for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in this regard? You already have Gerald McCoy. And he is making a ton of money as it is. And you would be bringing in someone from the outside who presumably would make even more money than Gerald McCoy. Can you dedicate that much money – I guess you can? – to two players at that position along the defensive line? Is it really feasible to have that when you have a Gerald McCoy already in the fold?
Bill Polian: Well, it is feasible. The question is, which one do they see as a nose tackle? And which do they see as a three-technique? That’s Point-One – or five technique. And sure, it is feasible, it is just that you are dedicating an inordinate amount of money to a position on the defensive line. It is not to say these rumors make any sense. But they are out there and our caller addressed them (chuckles). I’m trying to give you as plausible of an explanation as I can. There are some [rumors] that make zero sense. But [the rumors] are out there so you might as well address them so people understand what goes into it. You have to create [salary cap] room and Glennon’s contract certainly doesn’t equal what you would do with Wilkerson. It isn’t even pretty close.
Marvez: No, it is going to be crazy what Wilkerson is going to command from some team in free agency. And of course, the Buccaneers would have to have the parameters in place before swinging that deal because you don’t acquire a player like that unless you plan to keep him for the long term.
It doesn’t add up to Joe for a lot of reasons. First, as Polian stated, the Bucs would have major cap considerations. Second, adding Wilkerson alone isn’t going to transform the Bucs into a playoff contender. And the only thing worse than being a team with a losing record is being a team with a losing record in salary cap hell.
Imagine being a losing team after the 2016 season and in cap hell and — oh, look! — a year down the road you have to pay Mike Evans and two years down the road you have to pay Kwon Alexander and Ali Marpet and Donovan Smith and America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston.
On face value, it seems like a difficult if not impossible squeeze to fit Wilkerson’s contract onto the books, when so many players will be expecting large raises right around the corner.
April 13th, 2016 at 7:15 am
Wilkerson would vastly improve our Dline and if we actually hit on a DE or two this could be worth the risk. Remember VJax huge salary drops off after this year and winning football games is the goal after all. You don’t win with lousy football players as evidenced by the last 10+ years.
Far-fetched but so damn intriguing!
April 13th, 2016 at 7:19 am
I don’t think you get how fantasy football works…
April 13th, 2016 at 7:24 am
It’s a pipe dream, it makes sense in a way, but not salary cap wise. He’s another Darrel Revis. Cares about the money way more than he does what team he plays for. After you’ve made millions already, one would think they would start considering the team they want to play on and if they have a talented roster or not.
Some players are just strictly in it for the money and I could care less for those guys. Give me a guy that wants to win more than he wants to get paid.
April 13th, 2016 at 7:33 am
Your gonna have to let one of your young core players walk in when there contract is up. Like a Kwon, Evans, Marpet, or a D.Smith.
and your gonna have to pay a lot of money to Winston when his contract is up, so no, we don’t need him that bad where we have to sacrifice one of our young studs to do it.
We can find a talented DT in this year’s draft without a problem. There’s a ton of them. So is it really worth it?? Absolutely not.
April 13th, 2016 at 7:55 am
With VJax off the books and Verner off the books you can squeeze Mo Wilkerson on the Bucs load the front end of his deal and when it’s time for Evans who has 2 years before he signs another deal it wouldn’t be a problem.
April 13th, 2016 at 7:57 am
Give them McCoy too
April 13th, 2016 at 8:00 am
I hate ignorant stories, especially from my favorite Buc’s site. Salary cap space is the least of the Buc’s worries. Joe, check over the cap .com before you refer to lack of cap space or cap concerns.
2017 #2 in cap room, $74.761 Million
2018 #3 in cap room, $124.471 Million
2019 #11 in cap room, $154.500 Million.
There. I’ve done your work for you.
You’re welcome.
April 13th, 2016 at 8:31 am
It does not make any sense!!! Just draft a DT (which is very deep this year) and that DT will have a rookie contract thru GMC93 career!!!
April 13th, 2016 at 8:46 am
The Buc Realist Says:
April 13th, 2016 at 8:31 am
It does not make any sense!!! Just draft a DT (which is very deep this year) and that DT will have a rookie contract thru GMC93 career!!!
Totally agree, draft a DT as this is one of the deepest DT draft in a long time.
April 13th, 2016 at 9:04 am
OK……….Let’s make it official. The Realist and I are now Captains of the “Just say No to Mo” crowd around here.
April 13th, 2016 at 9:18 am
Wouldn’t hurt my feelings seeing Wilkerson line up between GMC and a stud rookie LDE in 2016.
April 13th, 2016 at 9:23 am
@SB with Jameis
Now that we settled that, we can move on to important things that deserve our attention!!! Like having the pirate ship sink at RJstadium if the Bucs lose!!!! I think Bucs1987 is still on board with it!!! Think of the drama at the end of the games!!! Think of JW3 yelling at the defense to closeout the game and to PROTECT THE SHIP!!!!!
and if they fail 🙁
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9WmKxfOHg4
(video provided by Buc1987)
April 13th, 2016 at 9:26 am
Just a few questions….if we made the trade and took his salary for one year, would he walk after a year? Maybe…. And at that point, what compensation pick would he be worth if we didn’t sign other teams FA’s? Probably just as high as Glennon’s.
So here is the point….Would we rather have Mo for one year or Glennon, if we assume we wouldn’t have to cut anyone else for cap reasons? That is really the big question….. And would we refuse a player that could really help us just to get better for one year? And who says, that if he felt comfortable in Tampa, that we couldn’t resign him?
April 13th, 2016 at 9:37 am
That would be awesome Realist! 🙂
Every opposing team would be talking about sinking our ship.
Heck the game “Battleship” might even be revived.
April 13th, 2016 at 9:38 am
Reality says Bucs need talent, Wilk would cost the same as DE Ayers and 34 yr old CB Grimes, Reality also says Wilk produces more than McCoy as an interior DL. ALSO the salary cap is due to increase again next season and FAs will get even more than this years FAs
April 13th, 2016 at 9:42 am
For the just grab a DT in the draft crowd, good luck grabbing an all pro DT that produces 9 – 12 sacks per season, this guy is proven and is same age as McCoy and Lavonte and doesn’t need 3 years to develop
April 13th, 2016 at 9:48 am
Too bad all workers can’t have unions like the NFL players with pay raises through the roof.
April 13th, 2016 at 10:11 am
How about trading Glennon AND McCoy for Wilkerson? Certainly would put the “too expensive” label off the table.
Question is though, is Wilkerson’s value greater than McCoy’s and Glennon’s combined? And Joe says…..
April 13th, 2016 at 10:17 am
All of you are partially right with the salary cap – But remember the CAP keeps going up. Someone mentioned Vjax, is his contract hurting us now? no. Is MOs contract be hurting us later, maybe but we still don’t know how marpet and smith will turn out, maybe they wont get big deals after all. We can also stagger those guys because at the third year you can start giving them new deals. JW also has the 5th year option which provides cushion on a contract. You wanna win, beef up the trenches – just ask seattle, Denver, giants and crap Carolina last year. The trenches take you up there. Back-up QBs don’t. You can still make this happen and not be in salary hell.
April 13th, 2016 at 11:26 am
cap issue wont be a problem…signing big mo would make us a playoff contender…GO BUCS!!!
April 13th, 2016 at 11:30 am
I wanna offer a salute to Dallasbucc. So much intelligence inside that mind of yours. Kinda cool to read some of your logic without all the you know who bashing.
April 13th, 2016 at 11:32 am
And 813 you are right sir,we would be immediate contenders.
April 13th, 2016 at 11:32 am
The people saying the Cap isn’t an issue must realize we will likely have several guys coming down the pike that will need to new contracts…I wanted Mo, but not having to trade for him. We’ve already given the jets too much compensation for Revis..let’s not make the same mistake twice.
April 13th, 2016 at 11:39 am
mark2001: Wilkerson wouldn’t be interested in signing a one-year deal with anyone. That’s a “prove yourself” contract. Wilkerson has proven himself plenty, so a one-year offer would be taken by him and his agent as an insult. Licht (and every other GM knows that, so whatever team signs Mo to his next contract will be offering him a multi-year deal.
April 13th, 2016 at 11:44 am
They are only rumors if they are not TRUE…. No rumors going on here… Mo and a 2nd round pick to the Bucs for MG and the #9 pick…
All the “bridge players” will be gone in a year or two…. Salary Cap issues my butt!!!
One of the best DLines in the NFL for the next 5 years…. You bet your “butt”!!!
Only way this does not happen is if someone forgets the BIGGEST NEED FOR THIS TEAM!!!!!!! and it aint a potential bust #9 draft pick!!!!
Mo for 5 years is worth the #9 and MG
MG for the next 5 years in NY is worth a 2nd round pick and Mo!!!!!!
April 13th, 2016 at 12:04 pm
JAB- strange as it seems we actually agree on something
April 13th, 2016 at 12:51 pm
There has yet to be any evidence of fire behind the smoke. This is one of those purely speculative offseason threads that needs to die, but has been living on for a month. Started as a purely speculative “what if” by a New York reporter, and here we still are, generating clicks for JBF about something with zero reality.
April 13th, 2016 at 1:03 pm
We have a small window in which we can spend money to obtain talent and build a champion before we have to pay Jameis. Once that contract happens its on Jameis to carry us. In 2 years vjax and mccoy’s contracts will be off our books. McCoy won’t hold up after 2 more seasons and besides we’d have Mo. The dline could dominate the next 2 years and carry the team to the playoffs. If we don’t win a title before Jameis’ contract is up we won’t win one after. Now is the time.
April 13th, 2016 at 2:04 pm
Bucs should trade Mike Glennon to Jets for Mo Wilkerson straight up.
Then package Mo Wilkerson, Alteraun Verner, the #9 1st round pick and their 3rd round pick to the Browns for their #2 selection in the 1st round. Use that pick to get the CB Ramsey.
April 13th, 2016 at 2:35 pm
@ DB… LOL… that’s great we agree… However much it is like @salish is saying is besides the point… Its a legit option that should be if it is not being considered…
How much of a stretch is it to say that JL would not consider this trade… I think it is less likely he is not interested… If our pick rolls around on draft day and the guy we have as a top 10 talent is not there… What do you do???
The Jets want an upgrade at QB that’s why this “rumor” is not a “rumor”. Otherwise they would have signed the guy they already had… A QB with lots of upside still on his Rookie contract is a perfect situation… If he bombs out they dont have to sign him and they would have gotten something decent for Mo… Opposite is true for the Bucs….
This deal WILL happen IF they want to say they are contenders the next couple years… Or until all the replacement players for these “bridge players” have matured… By then we may need 2 more DT to go with our hopeful DE draftees…
April 13th, 2016 at 4:54 pm
Go get Dominique Easley! fo free