Stop The Cap
January 19th, 2023
“Mr. Glazer, let me show you what’s behind Doors No. 1, 2, 3 and 4.”
Lots of chatter out there about how the Buccaneers have the second-worst salary cap situation entering the 2023 season.
Some of it is legitimate. Most of it is silliness.
Yes, the Bucs are way over the cap entering next season courtesy of kicking the can down the road with deferred money and back-end loading of contracts so enough cap room was available to build the 2020, 2021 and 2022 teams.
The Bucs rung up the Team Glazer credit card big-time, and it was the smart move. But there’s always room to extend the line of credit.
The official Buccaneers capologist, lawyer turned scout turned “The Real GM,” Mike Greenberg, said only 4 1/2 months ago that when he’s asked by team officials about signing big-money players, “The answer’s always, yes.” And that wasn’t Greenberg boasting at the Team Glazer holiday party (why is Joe never invited?), Greenberg was spouting that on the national Pat McAfee Show.
The Bucs are fantastic when it comes to manipulating the salary cap, and the cap is projected to rise more than ever for next season thanks to fat TV contracts. That cap total is unclear, but the Bucs are prepared for nearly every scenario — years in advance.
Think about it. Imagine if Tom Brady’s agent came to the Bucs at the November bye week and said Tom wants back in for 2023 at $30 million plus incentives. The Bucs would have screamed hallelujah immediately and triggered a plan to carve out the money needed to keep Brady and the desired roster pieces together.
Joe is sure Jason Licht and Greenberg are confident about which expensive pieces they can unload via trade to clear cap room and build draft capital, and which guys are ripe for a contract restructuring or a creative re-signing.
Not everything is possible, but the Bucs have a lot of desirable talent, which means contract extensions, restructuring and trades are on the table. They also have expensive guys that may be targeted for cheaper replacements in Donovan Smith and Ryan Succop, among others.
Of course, if Tom Brady isn’t willing to return, the Bucs might prefer to get younger and cheaper this season while they retool for an eventual new head coach and a top-tier quarterback or quarterback prospects.
Yes, Joe referenced a new head coach down the road.
Remember, Bucco Bruce Arians thought Todd Bowles would come up short without Tom Brady — and Bowles lost with Tom Brady. So Joe would understand if the Bucs’ brass decided it was time to remodel the house for the next tenant.
Still, if Tampa Bay wants to keep the all-in-for-Brady debt train moving forward, they can find the money.
January 19th, 2023 at 6:21 am
Joe….
Give it up Bro. Brady is GONE! Unless no one else wants him.
Hell He might retire before plays for The BOWELS of Leftover Sandwich.
Those 2 remind me of Gilligan and the Skipper.
January 19th, 2023 at 6:31 am
Don’t disrespect the skipper and Gilligan like that bucsbeast! Those two are in a class of their own.
January 19th, 2023 at 6:31 am
So you’re saying…..
There’s a chance?????
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
January 19th, 2023 at 6:33 am
Brady knows there’s nothing more he can do here….he won’t stick around for a rebuilding season…….
We all he’ll be playing someplace else this coming season…..that’s definitely a no brainer.
January 19th, 2023 at 6:39 am
Yes Joe the cap is real especially when the Bucs have their own free agents and are 50 million over the projected cap (AFTER the large increase in cap space) your example of greenburg finding a way to fit Brady under cap for 30 mil if he told Bucs in November he wanted to play shows how much you don’t understand….. Brady coming back to the Bucs frees up cap space and doesn’t add space. Brady coming back makes it easier not harder to fit his number.
Bottom line the Bucs have huge cap numbers in 2023 for players not even under contract
Brady 35 mil
L David 8 mil
Hicks 6 ml
Julio 3.5 mil
Any of those players come back and they can lower the hit to cap but right now that’s 53 mil to players not on roster (if Brady goes to another team nothing they can do with Brady’s number)
And yea, dean, bunting, edwards, hicks, Brady, gohlston, and many others are not under contract
If Brady comes back the Bucs can just kick a even larger can down the road, if he doesn’t – yea they will get younger because they have too
January 19th, 2023 at 6:50 am
None of these scenarios mean anything if u still have a HC that is as clueless and incompetent as Todd Bowles.
January 19th, 2023 at 6:59 am
@ Buctank
I agree. If Brady returns we have the ability to kick the cap can down the road for one more season and the Bucs restructure contracts and reload.
If Brady does not return it will be time for a rebuild.
January 19th, 2023 at 7:02 am
The new YouTube streaming won’t raise the cap as much as some of you are hoping…
It is basically an additional $500M per season ($2 B – $1.5 B = $500M).
$500M/2 = $250M
$250M/32 = $7.8M per team…
This amount will pay for the Bucs draft picks and that is about it.
January 19th, 2023 at 7:07 am
The cap is real for all teams except the Slimy Saints.
January 19th, 2023 at 7:14 am
There is nothing fantastic about shoving money down the road. Its fine if your putting a superbowl contentor on the field but if your shoving money down the road and putting out a crappy team your digging yourself a hole you may never get out of.
January 19th, 2023 at 7:16 am
@ Mr. Editor
The Saints had a slew of large contracts to restructure.
The Bucs currently only have 5 or 6 contracts to restructure in order to gain cap.
D. Smith
C. Godwin
M. Evans
C. Davis
S. Barrett
V. Vea
R. Gage
I estimate we could pull @ $35M – $40M from these contracts. We could also cut Brate and Succup to save a little more.
This is going to be an interesting off season for sure.
January 19th, 2023 at 7:39 am
Smith needs to be traded or released if they extend his contract they are idiots. This guy went from an average left tackle to one of the worst in the nfl.
January 19th, 2023 at 7:47 am
Ya there is “nothing more he can do here” because everything has to be absolutely PERFECT around him for him to play well. That is not anywhere feasible or realistic. The WAY he was throwing balls away, the WAY he was fitting them was embarassing. Leftwich needs to be shi-canned but it ain’t all on him. There are/were plays to be made. With Mahomes or Allen Tampa goes 13-4, because they will step in to those throws and don’t care to get hit after the ball leaves their hand. ORRR they’re able to by an extra few seconds with their athletic ability. I have zero interest in riding this debt train, desperately hanging on to false hope, signing more old/slow free agents, going 9-8 and going through this whole mind numbing “will he retire” conversation for months on end. It’s tiring, it’s a fools errand. Hey it’s sells luxury boxes and ad space tho! Eye roll.
January 19th, 2023 at 7:50 am
I would like to see the following offloaded if possible:
Durable Dependable Donnie
Tom Brady
Mike Evans
Vita Vea
Carlton Davis
Sean Murphy Bunting
Devin White
Hakeem Nicks
Julio Jones
Did I miss anyone?
January 19th, 2023 at 8:00 am
Joe, if your team glazer why not just kick Bowles to the curb and pay the saints for Sean Payton. Yes, Payton is a better head coach. –Joe We already know Bowles can’t develop a quarterback or have a good offense. I like Bowles but some coaches are better as coordinators than head coaches. Plus if you have Payton, maybe Brady comes back if not then you have someone who could groom a qb. The majority of Super Bowl winning coaches come from the offensive side
January 19th, 2023 at 8:01 am
If the Bucs can manipulate the cap and work their magic like in years past then they should at least have a conversation with Lamar Jackson.
January 19th, 2023 at 8:14 am
@ Dooosh
Hicks, Jones, Brady and Bunting are all free agents. So your wish will probably be granted with those guys…
I agree on D. Smith. He was pretty lackluster this season.
Evans, White and Davis are probably going to stay put for one more season…
January 19th, 2023 at 8:25 am
Whatever happens, Bucs need to invest heavily in the Offensive Line, through the draft and FA. We need a new starting LT, LG and a backup RT that can swing to LT as well. Secondarily, we need a DT to replace Hicks.
January 19th, 2023 at 8:28 am
I’ll be 75 soon, I don’t know how many rebuilds I have left.
January 19th, 2023 at 8:45 am
Bucsbeast … Nailed it.
SB~LV … Good news. It’s a reload not a rebuild. You’re safe. Sure.
DooshLaRue … Because of dead CAP, I kinda doubt that D Smith, Evans, Vea, White or Davis can be moved. They’re all here for another year at least, hopefully playing much better than they did in 2022. And restructuring their contracts just kicks the can even further down the road. I’d prefer to see us take our hits in 2023 so that we’ve got a lot more flexibility in 2024 & beyond.
January 19th, 2023 at 8:46 am
This is the point about the cap. Once the official offseason begins, GMs and staff have flexibility.
I’m not worried about the cap. Teams always seam to find a way.
January 19th, 2023 at 8:49 am
Everything hinges on Tom Brady and unless the Glazers have a a heads up ALREADY from Tom the franchise will be without a chair when the music stops and then do what they always have done, desperately scramble over coaching scraps
January 19th, 2023 at 8:53 am
Joe says:
Remember, Bucco Bruce Arians thought Todd Bowles would come up short without Tom Brady — and Bowles lost with Tom Brady.
Joe, please elaborate. What did Bruce actually say?
January 19th, 2023 at 8:59 am
Paraphrasing, but you can likely find it on YouTube when Arians spoke when he announced he was retiring: Arians felt Bowles would not be successful (initially) without a quarterback (what coach would?) and he didn’t want to hand over the Bucs to Bowles without a quarterback. Once Brady announced he would unretire, Arians thought the timing was perfect for Bowles to take over with Brady the quarterback.
January 19th, 2023 at 8:59 am
yeah just keep pushing all cap debts forward until we are all dead, so none of us even remember it or can bare witness to it…
leave it all for the babies in diapers for when they grow up…
like a global warming issue lol…
soldier forward and let tommy b lead the gravy train…
#NoCappaAndNoCap
January 19th, 2023 at 9:00 am
We haven’t been 50 million over the cap in quite some time, I think anyone who thinks we are not about to lose talent is delusional. The rebuild is here and will be dramatic. Anticipate a top 7 pick.
January 19th, 2023 at 9:04 am
They are going to get Harbaugh and Lamar Jackson… this’ll be fun.
January 19th, 2023 at 9:08 am
The Greenberg interview on the McAfeee show is excellent and insightful, he is a very valuable piece of the franchise and I hope he stays in Tampa for ever
January 19th, 2023 at 9:15 am
@ DR
You are probably correct – however – cutting D. Smith will save us @ $17.9M in salary but will cost us @ $8M is dead cap space.
So almost a $10M savings to release one of the worst starting LTs in the NFL…
The only problem I have is replacing D. Smith. LT would probably have to be our 1st or 2nd round pick unless Goedeke could slide out and play LT (which I highly doubt)…
It’s always fun to talk about cutting bad overpaid players (Brate, Succup, Smith) but then you have to replace them.
January 19th, 2023 at 9:24 am
Thanks for clarifying, Joe. I appreciate Arians for the Super Bowl, but he certainly hasn’t been good for the Bucs in 2022. I see no point in keeping Arians in any role other than HC.
January 19th, 2023 at 9:30 am
Spotrac has the Bucs as the worst in the league with a -$55.5M 2023 projected cap.
Greenberg has a lot of work to do as eventually this is going to catch up and we’ll have to run a lean couple of years.
January 19th, 2023 at 9:43 am
Succop is way overrated. Brady is in decline and will have few if any suitors. Watch the tape. He has no mobility and his accuracy has declined.
January 19th, 2023 at 9:45 am
Bet we could get that Dallas kicker for cheap
January 19th, 2023 at 9:48 am
I all in to do whatever it takes to field a winner again!!! This losing stuff I just hate!!!!! Start by firing the coaching staff!!!
January 19th, 2023 at 9:56 am
Face it Joe the window is closed. Could this year’s team have been a contender with better playcalling, a healthy offensive line, and maybe another WR who stretches the field? Maybe. But this year’s team won’t and can’t be back. Even if we let players like Julio, Brate, SMB, and Gholston walk, there’s no financial way we can keep the guys we need like Lavonte, Nacho, Stinnie, Dean, Logan Ryan, Edwards, and Hicks. Brady knows that. The best case scenario is actually that Brady walks and gets a big money contract and we let some of these other players walk and get a haul of compensatory picks in 2024. We could hopefully franchise Jamel Dean and get something back for him and do a very quick youth movement and hopefully open up enough cap space in the future so we can get contracts done with Wirfs and Winfield Jr. Taking one more big swing at this and mortgaging our salary cap for years out means we are going to let our stud players walk in the future when we are many players away from winning now.
January 19th, 2023 at 10:26 am
When I first glanced at the title I thought it read, stop the crap. I thought it would be about needing to clean house. I was wrong and disappointed.
January 19th, 2023 at 10:37 am
Rip the band aid off. They need to just forget about winning next season and set up for 2024. Otherwise, we’ll be a middling team for 5 years without any young core and just spinning our wheels.
January 19th, 2023 at 11:05 am
Joe consistently refers to cap concerns as silliness. Yeah, the Bucs are good at creatively manipulating contracts to stay within the cap, but let’s not diminish the seriousness of the situation this year — it’s going to be painful to get within the cap this year. We’re going to have to cut some guys, let some free agents walk (like Dean), and extensively rework numerous contracts. We are 43 million over with only 37 players under contract for 2023! This isn’t silliness. It’s going to be the toughest offseason yet for Licht and Greenberg.
January 19th, 2023 at 11:41 am
Definition of insanity keep doing the crap (the has basically failed every where he has been) and somehow think that a different environment is going to change that!
January 19th, 2023 at 12:09 pm
Yes there are questions about LT and whether Wirfs could move over or the Bucs find someone else. Bottom line the OL is not in that bad of shape.
Two good RB’s…Two GREAT WR’S…
The team has some talent but here is what worries me. I totally respect the talent of Jamel Dean and SMB but not their ability. Tony Dungy’s most critical ability…availABILITY. I just can’t see mortaging much for these two. Perhaps larger ONE year deals at a time if they really expect money. Dean has a LONG history of injury dating back to his collegiate days and SMB has not been durable as a Buc. Again I like them but dumping big long term money…no way.
January 19th, 2023 at 12:42 pm
BOMB 2023!
Seriously. Reload the OL in the draft. Go 2-15 (2xSaints victories) next year. Draft Caleb Williams. We’re right back in the mix for the next 8-10 years.
Play the long game.
January 19th, 2023 at 1:26 pm
So, basically, any office of coordinator coming here is going to be groomed to be the next head coach. Because why would an offensive coordinator want to stay for one year (which is as long as Todd Bowles is going to last) unless he knew he was getting the head coach of gig.
January 19th, 2023 at 6:47 pm
I heard from a pretty reliable source that Brady is moving to Miami .
I will explain . Im an uber driver and i recently picked up a pitcher for the pittsburg pirates . He told me he is best friends with Tom Bradys manager . He said that Bradys manager told him he is moving to Miami at the end of the season. This was about 6 weeks ago .
We shall see .
January 19th, 2023 at 9:11 pm
Ryan Succop was so good the first half of the year…but I’m afraid his time here is done.
January 19th, 2023 at 9:50 pm
@Michael-
Brady already has a home in Miami and his kids live there. Why would he not move there? I think he can afford to rent a place in Tampa if he were to play another year here. I never thought he was a full time Tampa resident anyway.
January 20th, 2023 at 4:30 am
Sigh
This team is not competing next year. With or without Brady. Just rip the bandaid off so we can have an exciting 2024 season instead of prolonging the agony…
January 20th, 2023 at 3:26 pm
Rebuild time we won a SB be happy now it’s reality by Brady time was nice but we need major youth. Starts with good coach. Good pics and we’ll be fine in 2-3 years
January 20th, 2023 at 9:23 pm
Let’s not forget the defense. There was not a man within 10 yards of each cowboy receiver. As far as I’m concerned defensive coaches should go too