Evan Smith Released
August 10th, 2019
No longer with Bucs.
It seems the Bucs have parted ways with a veteran offensive lineman.
Per Greg Auman of The Athletic, Evan Smith was turned loose by the Bucs. Last night in the team’s first preseason game Smith has a bad time. Bucs coach Bucco Bruce Arians singled out the reserve offensive linemen today for poor play.
Smith, 33, was due to make $2 million this season. Joe is guessing that money can be used to buy one and perhaps two reserve offensive linemen when cuts are made early next month.
Smith was signed by Tampa Bay as a free agent in 2014 as part of Lovie Smith’s basement brigade.
August 10th, 2019 at 6:44 pm
When they cut Cairo santos . Add 1 mil to the pot.
3 mil can get something.
Our non starter oline looked gaudy
One bad injury to a key guy ( won’t mention name cause don’t want to jinx)
But Bucs will be in trouble.
They need to go 2 oline and 2 Dline next year in 1st 4 rounds of draft.
August 10th, 2019 at 6:46 pm
Too bad for Evan Smith. He was a reliable and versatile player for a few years but age and the grind of the game obviously have caught up with him. Good God he was horrible last night.
August 10th, 2019 at 6:46 pm
I can’t put a big defense for Smith, and he’s hot and cold at best on a lacking OL. But one question I do have is if the Bucs didn’t need $2M in cap space, would they have cut him now. That said, I think it’s Ndog who talks about the pricey OL often in return for their protection and run blocking. So it’s not unreasonable to believe the Bucs don’t believe they can probably get two for his price.
N. Suh will not have Evan Milhouse Smith to stomp on anymore.
August 10th, 2019 at 6:47 pm
Kind of sucks but, you can’t be a veteran reserve and not be able to perform. Wish him the best. Dudes got a ring and has probably made plenty of money. Hopefully we can find a young guy to develop at guard/center. Go Bucs!
August 10th, 2019 at 6:58 pm
Good news. He should have been cut in 2017.
August 10th, 2019 at 7:00 pm
Thank you, Coach Arians! Actual accountability for poor play. If this doesn’t make Benenoch turn up his game, nothing will.
August 10th, 2019 at 7:01 pm
Bruce and I are of the same generation…and for those that don’t get it, the message has been sent to the rest of the O linemen as well.
August 10th, 2019 at 7:03 pm
Good riddance! Now let’s call out other LSmith/Koetter left overs i.g., Ryan Smith, Benenoch,Devante Bond, Isaiah Johnson. Last night Steelers receivers embarrassed us with Ryan Smith’s poor tackling, same thing happened with he n Isaiah Johnson last year when the Bears n Panthers embarrassed us on long pass plays. And, for the record, put William Gholston n Justin Evans on notice. Accountability n Availability is paramount. What has Gholston done for us lately n where is Waldo? Out with the old in with the new. BA is not full of BS.
August 10th, 2019 at 7:05 pm
Maybe they need the cash to sign someone?
August 10th, 2019 at 7:06 pm
Smith earned it last night. He was bad…
August 10th, 2019 at 7:09 pm
@mark2001: Yup. Smith was made an example: no one is exempt from accountability.
I wonder if Smith gets picked up somewhere?
August 10th, 2019 at 7:13 pm
33 end of the football road… gotta feel for the guy gave all he had in a brutal sport… he should feel proud
August 10th, 2019 at 7:15 pm
ABOUT FING TIME!!!! What took so long. This guy should have been sent packing years ago. Thank god we have a competent HC in charge now.
August 10th, 2019 at 7:25 pm
The arrest was very bad but wonder if Bucs’ try to scoop Darius Philon
August 10th, 2019 at 7:26 pm
55…there is a difference between firing someone that still has game, coming off injury, that is well liked. It could be considered capricious or somewhat unfair. But after that game he had..as Cobra said..and considering his age and 1.4 mil cap saving…it sends a clear message. Weak play will not be tolerated… and you will be shown the door…no matter who you are.
August 10th, 2019 at 7:34 pm
They must have someone in mind to fill this spot (multiple spots?). We got no depth at all.
Who’s it gonna be?
August 10th, 2019 at 7:43 pm
Gettinthebucs Says:
August 10th, 2019 at 6:47 pm
Kind of sucks but, you can’t be a veteran reserve and not be able to perform.
—————-
For some reason, GMC, just popped into my head (who I always lked but thnk he stayed about two years too long…)
August 10th, 2019 at 7:48 pm
2 million cap savings
A bargain due to versatility and his experience in the league… IF Smith was even decent. Which he wasn’t last night – against a bunch of youngsters trying to make in it the NFL for the first time….
EDS may well be done in the NFL. Either that or he’s still hurt and they don’t care or want to wait to see if he gets any better…
Our depth at OL is not good – that’s for sure – so the coaches eval of his play must have been REALLY bad for him to get cut the next day like that. Either that or they have their eye on another OL player and needed those resources to go after said unknown “upgrade”…
August 10th, 2019 at 7:48 pm
Wondering if Evan Smith ever really recovered from last year’s injury. He wasn’t great in years past, but he was serviceable. Not so last night.
Right now with everyone signed, Spotrac indicates that we’ve got $1.4 mil salary Cap space, plus another $1.4 mil after releasing Evan Smith (his $2.0 mil salary minus about $.6 mil for next man in the chain). Assuming that Gay beats out Santos, that’d add another $.8 mil for a total of $3.6 mil. IF the Bucs decide JPP won’t be coming back anytime soon & opt to keep him on NFI but not pay him, that’d add another $7.4 mil for this year … $11.0 mil space. Could buy a couple of good veteran OLinemen when the cuts occur over this next month.
August 10th, 2019 at 8:06 pm
I like BA’s timing on this…….he could have cut Smith later but chose a poor performance to make the cut……sends a huge message……no guarantee?…..no play good?…..no job!!!
There will be plenty of backup Olinemen like EDS available in the coming weeks…..our roster is not complete.
Last night we passed on several opportunities for the kickers……a short FG where we went for it on 4th & 1 and 3 xtra points…..
Our punter and kickoff man looked quite ample….
Our kickoff returners (all of them) looked poor……all simply ran it straight up the middle….had no blocks and even with the holding couldn’t get past the 20.
Just let it go in the endzone and take it on the 25…..better than the 10.
August 10th, 2019 at 8:07 pm
Should cut that LT Boozer. He was horrible last night.
August 10th, 2019 at 8:13 pm
1.4 in Cap Space (if we sign someone under 600K).
August 10th, 2019 at 8:20 pm
Cool we finally got rid of him 3 years too late lol.
August 10th, 2019 at 8:30 pm
It seems. Huh? Is it unsubstantiated?
As Chris Cuomo would say- Come on!
August 10th, 2019 at 8:31 pm
As Cris Carter would say-“ CMON MAN!”
Except when he dropped that TD for the Fins.
August 10th, 2019 at 8:37 pm
Two years too late.
August 10th, 2019 at 8:37 pm
Hope this sends the message loud and clear to everyone else. Smith was the sacrificial lamb on this one to let everyone know they mean business if you cant do the job you cant play here.
How could a veteran play so badly against backups no less.
August 10th, 2019 at 8:42 pm
I’ve been to enough Bucs games to report that for every level there are plenty of turnstiles outside of the field. Having one more on the field does not improve the team or security for the stadium.
August 10th, 2019 at 9:03 pm
Evan Smith was so bad last year that he was the one responsible for Benenoch playing so many minutes. Should have cut Smith last year and kept Sweezy, as yours truly said at the time.
August 10th, 2019 at 9:04 pm
Race – There was nothing sacrificial about it, Evan Smith was just a terrible player and has been for years.
August 10th, 2019 at 9:06 pm
Pickgrin,
The cap space only increased 1.4 million… Smith was due to make 2 million this year but only top 51 salaries count against the cap. Therefore, the next highest cap hit in our 93 man roster was around 600K (estimated). So now the 600K cap hit counts because it is in the top 51 while we save 2 million. (2M – 0.6M = 1.4M).
August 10th, 2019 at 9:07 pm
Apologize, 90 man roster*
August 10th, 2019 at 9:11 pm
The churning at the bottom is going to be another fun story to watch for the remainder of this off season and the first few weeks of the real season. There will be stories within stories that will tell us how BA as the real leader, Licht as GM and all of the rest of the staff perform this year.
There are so many things that will have to come together for us first of all to actually come out with a winning season. Second, if they accomplish that the next question will be will we have a true “playoff ready” team at that point?
In the meantime I am hoping this regime has plans to shore up our many weaknesses and fill holes where we lack depth. Time will tell, sooner than later.
In BA I trust!
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Go Bucs!!!
August 10th, 2019 at 9:18 pm
Not really surprised.
August 10th, 2019 at 9:34 pm
I am still expecting Gholston to stick. I say this for two reasons.
First, he has a built a decent reputation as a good run stopper during his career. Second, just because he is listed as the starter on our preliminary depth chart. Of course this is possibly meaningless for the real season.
Also I am continuing to watch if he actually adds some weight. He is currently listed as 281 pound, not different then last year I believe. (Whereas Allen is listed at 327 which I think represents a decent weight gain. He is shown as backing up Vea.)
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Go Bucs!!!
August 10th, 2019 at 9:51 pm
Trent Williams trade?
August 10th, 2019 at 10:05 pm
Maybe we sign mason foster for a minimum
August 10th, 2019 at 10:15 pm
Bruce brings quite a contrast to Dirk. Last year Evan Smith was taking snaps and a guy we relyed on. Now with Bruce, Smith aren’t even good enough to hold a backups position. 2M is a good price for a much experienced veteran who you can rely on. You only cut that guy if his play isn’t up to snuff. Gotta love that kind of accountability.
August 10th, 2019 at 10:16 pm
Accountability sheet strikes again!! Finally!!!
August 10th, 2019 at 10:19 pm
Bird
My thinking is aligned with yours to a large degree.
I was thinking our first two picks should be OT and DT or conversely DT and OT, you know, however things shake out. We’ve got to look to Dot and Suh’s longer term replacements, like yesterday already!
Now as to the first four picks being 2 OL and 2 DL, Hmmmmmm. Why not!
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Go Bucs!!!
Man, if JPP really makes it back. …
August 10th, 2019 at 10:29 pm
I’m sure the fact that Suh and Smith were sharing the same locker room didn’t help considering Suh stepped on him several years ago.
August 10th, 2019 at 10:30 pm
Lowercaseg…….Maybe we try but Foster has the freedom to choose which team he signs with and he will likely want to sign somewhere that he can be a starter. Highly unlikely he chooses Tampa to ride the bench. I’m sure his goals are bigger then that.
August 10th, 2019 at 10:35 pm
Per Greg Auman/TheAthletic
@gregauman
·Bucs are signing former Washington defensive lineman Shane Bowman, who they worked out Thursday. Was with the Jaguars earlier this summer. Reunited with Vita Vea in Tampa.
August 10th, 2019 at 10:57 pm
The writing was on the wall. Thanks for everything Evan. Good Luck Man!
August 10th, 2019 at 11:37 pm
ManDogVan_v2?
August 10th, 2019 at 11:46 pm
99.97.92.55.47.40.28.20.7 Says:
August 10th, 2019 at 11:37 pm
ManDogVan_v2?
– A good thought as he played his heart out. That said…he’s @ 230lbs. these days. He’s a great dude living a cool life.
August 10th, 2019 at 11:50 pm
He is just the first of …I don’t know how many that will be gone because of inadequate play!!GO BUCS GO FAMOUS GO SUHY GONE E SMITH!!
August 10th, 2019 at 11:58 pm
No disrespect to either of them. I’d be ManDogVan_v2 if I could swing it.
August 11th, 2019 at 1:39 am
This is exactly what should have happened. I’m actually in shock. I said after that game last night that the Bucs should kick him to the curb. I can’t believe it actually happened. That never happens.
August 11th, 2019 at 10:32 am
If accurate, best of luck and thanks for giving the team all you had. Go Bucs!
August 11th, 2019 at 11:20 am
It is compassionate respect for a veteran to be released early in the pre-season because it gives him a shot to catch on somewhere else.
Hat tip to BA and Licht. Respect.
August 11th, 2019 at 11:59 am
Evan Smith has a lot of bad tape
August 11th, 2019 at 3:32 pm
Evan I think its time to hang up the cleats. You had a good run.