Aaron Stinnie Versus Alex Cappa
March 2nd, 2021
Alex Cappa
The Bucs have decisions to make in free agency and they far beyond their big-name group known as the Big 8.
At right guard, 26-year-old Alex Cappa, a Bucs third-round pick in 2018, has blossomed into a quality starter. But Cappa, 26, has had just one major flaw since he entered the starting lineup on opening day of the 2019 season: injuries.
He broke his arm in 2019 and missed last season’s Super Bowl run because of a broken ankle in the regular-season finale. Joe is a big fan of Cappa, but it’s at least fair for the Bucs to wonder if he’s injury-prone.
Just one year older than Cappa and with less mileage on his legs is Aaron Stinnie, who replaced Cappa in the playoffs and had a hell of a four-game run.
Stinnie is a restricted free agent and the Bucs could slap a one-year, second-round tender on him for 2021. That would lock in Stinnie to about $3.5 million deal, a hearty raise.
Joe has heard general manager Jason Licht speak pridefully about the 2019 Stinnie signing and development. And Licht should be damn proud. So Joe is wondering how the Bucs approach their right guard situation.
Do they try and sign Stinnie to a modest two-year deal and skip the tender? If Cappa returns to start and performs well next season, the final year of his rookie contract, then he’s going to be looking at a $10 million payday in 2022. And it’s highly unlikely the Bucs would be able to afford him. So it may be smart to have Stinnie locked in now for 2022 and let those two compete for a starting gig in 2021.
Or maybe the Bucs draft a guard/center in Round 1 or 2 this season and groom him to be the 2022 center or right guard, while they let Stinnie walk now?
March 2nd, 2021 at 8:44 am
keep em both/ TB protection is #1 priority
March 2nd, 2021 at 8:46 am
We definitely need to draft a C/OG.
Jensen is good but the price tag is too high.
March 2nd, 2021 at 8:57 am
i like the idea of signing stinnie to a 2year deal while also keeping cappa and drafting a C/G….
i would love for us to keep our home grown talent….cappa developed into a good starter….i say lock him down if the money works out…
GO BUCS!!!!
March 2nd, 2021 at 8:59 am
Aren’t tags and tenders restricted to one per team per year? If they tender Stinnie, they lose leverage on Shaq and Godwin.
March 2nd, 2021 at 9:05 am
Don’t care who starts
March 2nd, 2021 at 9:05 am
Agree with Robert
March 2nd, 2021 at 9:06 am
Embrace these fantastic problems. 2nd Rd tender it is for Stinnie
March 2nd, 2021 at 9:13 am
sign him to a 3 year deal, let Cappa walk — not worth the $$ some team will throw at him
March 2nd, 2021 at 9:18 am
1st of all, cappa got hurt in the playoffs. 2nd thats why players should get as much cash as they can NOW. You have joe talking about moving on from cappa who is still on a rookie deal for a maybe 5 times starter and a poster saying cut jensen because his price tag is too high yet many of u weirdos blast players for not taking “home town discounts” to play here. Gtfooh. To Godwin, shaq, lvd, fournette etc GET AS MUCH GUARANTEED MONEY AS YOU CAN GET because these yahoos/goobers/so called fans only want you until they have no more use for you and can care less about how much money you have remaining on your contract but in the meantime shut up and dribble. These goobers dont really care that every snap could be your last as long as they are entertained so take less money because 10 mil should be plenty these yahoos say. They do not care that CTE is real and these athletes may kill themselves in 5 years. Thats why you secure that bag NOW. That way if the unthinkable happens ala Seau or Vjax, or even an unforseen tradgedy ala kobe your family is well taken care of AFTER you are gone. And yes 17 mil per year is way better than 12 mil per year regardless what some of you yahoos think. Im talking to the “how much do you need to feed your family?” goobers.
March 2nd, 2021 at 9:20 am
@blogtalk – The only restriction is using either the Franchise tag or transition tag on one player. Teams can us a 1st, 2nd, round originally drafted, or no compensation tender on RFA. Putting a tender on Stinnie would not impact Shaq, Godwin or anyone else that could be franchise tagged.
March 2nd, 2021 at 9:24 am
Stinnie proved his worth in the biggest games of the year. Coming straight off the bench to play well and not be someone who brought the line down, but kept things running smooth. That is huge, some guys would crack under the pressure of the playoffs but not Stinnie. So you got to sign him, Cappa has played well too. Hope both stay. GO BUCS!!!!
March 2nd, 2021 at 9:34 am
Lol!
Amazing how many posters wanna let great players go, because of someone else’s money!!!
They just won the Superbowl, and will be massive favorites to win the next one!!
Figure it out, and sign’em all Jason!
Jason licht is a cap genius.
The Glazer family is loaded.
This is a chance to win a couple SuperBows in a row.
Good teams find ways to circumvent the cap every single year.
Just find a way and sign’em.
I know its that time of year- and money is what the issues are.
But I’ll be glad when we can stop being accountants, and start talking football again! Lol
March 2nd, 2021 at 9:34 am
100% agree with Robert…Keep both!!!!
March 2nd, 2021 at 9:35 am
The problem with Cappa wasn’t the injuries….it was the team doctors not letting him play with them.
You gotta keep this guy…….keep your homegrown players….don’t dump on them….it sends a terrible message.
I’m not sure Brady will be happy with replacing Jensen.
As far as Stinnie…..he will be more expensive to keep….so, what do you want….a backup guard or Succop?
We may have to let him go.
March 2nd, 2021 at 9:44 am
First of all Cappa is still on his rookie contract. No brainer but to keep him. Secondly, some team is going to overpay to have Stinnie. Let me walk as the Bucs can find an older 1 year player for less to play as a backup.
March 2nd, 2021 at 9:45 am
I’m here and watch me get an extension. Hair extensions that is ….😬 and don’t worry about how much money players cost. Glazers aren’t spending your money, are they? JFC
March 2nd, 2021 at 9:52 am
Easy decision:
Both.
Cappa is one nasty dude.
March 2nd, 2021 at 10:05 am
I wouldn’t worry about cappa being injury prone. A broken arm and ankle are kinda freak injuries and have nothing to do with soft tissue. When I say injury prone things like hammies, quads, and torn muscles come to mind, not broken bones. MARK MY WORDS, you will not be as healthy on the line next year, so you’ll need quality backups. The pats who are notoriously cheep paid marcus cannon (a swing tackle) well. His versatility helped them win championships.
March 2nd, 2021 at 10:06 am
You absolutely have to tender Stinnie. We need interior line depth and he proved to be excellent, so you bring him back for at least another year and let him and Cappa duel it out for the starting position and go from there.
March 2nd, 2021 at 10:16 am
Keep both and let Smith go, frees up cap space and work one or the other at left tackle. They are guards so used to moving left or right. Draft a security blanket.
March 2nd, 2021 at 10:29 am
LISTNFRMAFAR makes me feel like a genius GM.
March 2nd, 2021 at 10:30 am
Uh no. Why spend that kind of money on Stinnie? No one is going to sign him and surrender a second rounder, and signing Stinnie for $3.5 million is overpaying.
I like what Stinnie contributed during the playoffs. But make no mistake, Tampa Bay could use an upgrade at RG, and this draft is deep in quality interior offensive linemen. In fact, I like Jensen, but I’m not sure if the Bucs can keep Jensen at $10 million per season beyond the 2021 campaign. I think Licht should draft a C this year, and see if the draftee is capable of replacing Jensen.
March 2nd, 2021 at 10:53 am
Thats hilarious
Webster is calling other people weirdos and yahoos
He was the poster that wrote dear jameis letters
😂
Talk about weirdo.
“Dear jameis. Get out of this god forsaken town.
Ps your bum is so tight”
—-
Yah. Thats webster 😂
March 2nd, 2021 at 11:30 am
Again, another group of comments saying that we can find players for less money at positions like center for less money.
Who are those specific players and what is the all seeing strategy to get those players?
March 2nd, 2021 at 11:32 am
@ bird
U are 100% correct i told jameis in year 2 to leave this town. Because this hick town wanted to blame ONE man for 40+ years of garbage play. ONE black man. Just like some on this thread dont want to give leftwich a black man his credit for calling the offense. Yea i call goober when i see it.
March 2nd, 2021 at 11:36 am
@ bird
U are 100% correct i told jameis in year 2 to leave this town. Because this hick town wanted to blame ONE man for 40+ years of garbage play. ONE black man. Just like some on this thread dont want to give leftwich a black man his credit for calling the offense. Yea i call goober when i see it. Btw u bird brains are the one who still bring up winston
March 2nd, 2021 at 11:37 am
I wouldn’t call a guy injury prone for broken bones. Those are freak occurrences. To me, injury prone is having frequent strains, sprains, and pulled muscles. Those are often due to things that can be controlled to an extent.
March 2nd, 2021 at 12:09 pm
Webster
Do you hang out with oneil. Or are you the same person? Maybe big hog.
Get bent We learned something more about you today
Thanks for sharing.
Such a shame to watch you accuse other people of the person you actually are…
Now we know what your qb requirement is
And tampa is a hick town now? 😂
Go away
Pretty sure any buc fan would love to have russel wilson , deshaun watson , patrick mahommes or kyler murray as the leader of the bucs
Keep up your doom and gloom
It makes me happy that you are so miserable
And hey. If jameis is successful in new orleans or somewhere else i will admit that i was wrong thinking he was just an average qb. At least i wont be a coward and hide and go under other poster names to make a point like you.
😂
March 2nd, 2021 at 12:22 pm
@geno711
That’s why you draft geno711. This isn’t rocket science.
You draft to both improve performance and avoid gaping roster holes due to cap issues and free agency. There are no certainties in the draft, so that’s why it’s a good idea to try drafting a guy a year before he’s ready to be a starter. That way he can learn the system, and whether he’s really starter material.
Of course the alternative is eventually letting Vea, JPP, White and other players walk because the Bucs won’t have any cap space left. Or are you simply telling us to ignore the draft because there are no sure fire players. I guess I see your point, and I don’t think anyone out there will agree with it.
March 2nd, 2021 at 12:41 pm
Ryan Jensen has become one of the best centers in the game.
Agree geno711. He is the leader of one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. No reason to mess with that. Find a way J Licht. GO BUCS!!!!
March 2nd, 2021 at 2:12 pm
Bird,
Just when I thought I couldn’t possibly like you any more……
You go and take down little webster the race-ist.
Not bad ……. for a white guy!
March 2nd, 2021 at 2:37 pm
I still want Winston out of time after 36 turnovers even if he were a white guy.
I suppose in webster’s eyes that makes me rayssis.
March 2nd, 2021 at 7:06 pm
I am so freaking happy that we have these problems vs wondering who we are picking in the top 5 to turn our franchise around.
March 3rd, 2021 at 11:42 am
Keep Stinnie. Marpet and Cappa both missed tome with injuries. If Jensen went down, Marpet could still slide to center and Stinnie replace Marpet. He is a great depth piece at the very least and possible quality starter.
March 4th, 2021 at 12:36 pm
@webster,
LOL, not a single player thinks, “Hmmm, how can I NOT make the max deal this year?” Who are you preaching to? Everyone knows players should go for max deals, but some fans just want to balance the team by not over paying for a few that sets the team back in the long run. Outside of QB, DE, & maybe CB, there’s not one player that can hold an organization to ransom, unless the GM is the village idiot. While I also agree that players should go after max deals, that isn’t in their hands depending on the market, the situation of the team, and GM unless they’re a bonafide star in their prime.
And btw, nobody put a gun to their head to play the game. So, the CTE angle as to why they should get a 17M deal vs 12M is ludicrous. They get what the market says they’ll get, whether it’s here or somewhere else. Most of the time, winning teams dictate terms, losing teams over pay. And I hate the “I gotta put food on the table” hyperbole. It needs to be shot and put to rest. Nobody’s crying for their family. Most of these dudes flex and squander more money than they save. Sorry but not sorry.
March 4th, 2021 at 12:59 pm
Look at LeVeon Bell. He thought he was special, held out, lost his mojo, became a shell of himself in the process. I think he realizes now what a great situation Pittsburgh was and what a stout OL they had. He derailed his career. He was literally the darling of the NFL as far as RBs go. But, he chose to flex in front of a circus funny mirror and thought he was bigger than the game.
Now he’s a footnote on a Chief’s roster. Why? Cuz he didn’t understand the market for RBs.
March 8th, 2021 at 4:54 pm
Cappa never missed a single game or practice in 8 years. He played baseball and football for 4 years in HS, and 4 years of football in college, winning Defensive lineman of the year all 4 years. Never a single injury. These 2 injuries are the first he has ever had, and particularly the broken ankle could have happened to anyone when both Marpet and Washington’s Jon Allen landed sideways on his leg. I say let him continue to reach his full potential, and do keep Stinnie, who did not disappoint.