Dot Connecting
March 22nd, 2021
Is there math to add up here?
Joe isn’t sure if this is a good thing or not.
Bucs furniture-tossing, bicycle-throwing receiver Antonio Brown and Playoff Lenny are still unsigned free agents. Of course, the Bucs would like to have them back. Brown scored a touchdown in the Super Bowl. So too did Playoff Lenny. In fact, he scored a touchdown in each Bucs postseason game. That’s special.
Well, J.C. Cornell, founder of The Draft Network, who has a direct contact with a Bucs shot-caller, offered interesting information last night by way of Twitter.
Antonio Brown and Leonard Fournette have been working out together at AB’s gym. Both still free agents and on the Bucs radar.
— JC Cornell (@CornellNFL) March 21, 2021
Seems those two have developed a bond. Is that bond, along with the long shadow of park-violating, home-invading, NFLPA-ignoring, down-forgetting, handshake-stiffing, jet-ski-losing, biscuit-baking, tequila-shooting, waffle-grilling, trophy-throwing Bucs Super Bowl-winning quarterback Tom Brady, enough to keep them all together for the upcoming football season?
And could that team be the Bucs? Joe sure is crossing his fingers.
March 22nd, 2021 at 1:06 am
You can find RB’s just about anywhere, but you can’t sign just any WR to come in and be your #1 guy on the cheap, if needed. That’s why getting AB back should be something the Bucs are trying to do. No idea on what kind of money he wants, but if it’s remotely affordable, the Bucs should get it done. Again, go back to last year, that Chicago game, when Godwin is out and Evans is playing on one leg, the offense grinded to a halt. Evans and Godwin were hurt for nearly the entire year last year, and the year before that they both missed important games down the strech and would have been out of the playoffs. You can not count on Scotty Miller being able to start if one of those guys is hurt, you need a legit 3rd option in the NFL today. Maybe Tyler Johnson ends up being that guy down the road, but I wouldn’t want to bet the season on it.
As for Fournette, he obviously hasn’t gotten a big contract deal from anyone else. If the Bucs can get him on the cheap – or better a multiyear deal on the cheap, they should do so since Rojo only has a year left on his rookie deal.
March 22nd, 2021 at 3:30 am
Tyler Johnson played well and RoJo has power but come on it would be good news to hear these guys are back. Is Evans going to get extended? Godwin? Why not lock this team for 2-3 years. Fournette is top 5 talent and Antonio is elite. These guys are just fun to watch and the best part is that while they are Bucs they won’t hurt us. I don’t want them in Seattle
March 22nd, 2021 at 4:16 am
Both, have and probably will, at some point, cause turmoil when things aren’t going their way. These 2 helped win a championship but they are the biggest red flags in dismantling the obvious top character built in this team. Let them walk. Not needed anymore.
March 22nd, 2021 at 5:16 am
Brown & Fournette both contributed a bunch to our SB run. Both seem to enjoy being Bucs. And both have had ‘issues’ in recent years that will probably make most (if not all) teams wary of signing them to any substantial deals.
I’d vote to wait on signing either of them. If one or both get deals from other teams, then great for them. If not though, Bucs could use one or both of them back for another SB run this year, at a favorable price of course. In any event, our priority has to be re-signing Suh next. And oh ya, at least 1 backup QB (right now we’ve got none).
March 22nd, 2021 at 6:33 am
+1 defense rules
Rod, I think your concerns and observations are valid, especially considering 18% of our salary cap is tied up in Evan’s and Godwin for 2021. Insurance is highly necessary given all these facts.
Apparently the Bucs and AB are farther apart than we’d like to hope or else they would have announced something by now. Bc it’s a no brainer if he comes cheap like last year, but the risk starts to outweigh the reward the higher the $s go. Especially with ABs civil suit looming in December.
Insuring with someone other than AB might become necessary. TY Hilton, Fitzgerald, Sammy Watkins and a handful of others are still out there.
March 22nd, 2021 at 7:27 am
Licht needs to free-up some more money before we sign anyone…..that’s what we are waiting for…..
March 22nd, 2021 at 7:48 am
What mr brady wants mr brady gets put some respect on his name biggens
March 22nd, 2021 at 7:51 am
Let Fournette walk. Brown returns.
March 22nd, 2021 at 8:26 am
I say whatever Brady wants. If he wants AB and Lenny then sign them. If he wants to let them go…let them go. Just keep Brady happy.
March 22nd, 2021 at 8:36 am
“Me and playoff Lenny gonna work this out,” Brown said. He didn’t give a timetable on “when” that might happen though.
Sound like we are waiting for the price to settle and maybe doing a little restructuring.
Ran into this… kind of goes along with the rest.
March 22nd, 2021 at 10:20 am
4Net was content to play the backup for one year, but 2? IDK.
March 22nd, 2021 at 10:54 am
both will be back…but i wouldnt just wait…get a deal done..after suh that is!!!
GO BUCS!!!!
March 22nd, 2021 at 4:28 pm
i think that licht and the boys have an understanding and there just waiting for some other deals to get reworked but these guy’s will get done including suh that’s why you haven’t heard about these guys visiting anywhere else and we will sign a few other free agents its just a waiting game anyway ab lives with Brady can’t do that and play elsewhere
March 22nd, 2021 at 7:13 pm
Yeah, it’s just a matter of time before they get deals done, but it’s definitely leaning in that direction.
March 22nd, 2021 at 11:57 pm
Nice to see they look to be working on returning. I say the offensive line ( Smith & Marpet) should restructure for Lenny and AB to return if they haven’t done so already. If those two guys do the restructures then AB & Lenny should return.
March 23rd, 2021 at 12:38 am
It seems to me that Brady has AB under control, for the most part. His sitting after being cut twice still stings and he possibly fears that could happen again somewhere else. Fournette faced the NFL reality will play with Tampa next year. I have to disagree with most other commenters regarding Suh. I watched him closely this past season and don’t believe he has enough left to start for the Bucs next year. He was absolutely not dominating and I can’t remember him being double teamed. Vita is back and perhaps the time has come to give more playing time to a younger player and Suh stays, make him situational.