Receiver Is A Back Burner Concern For Bucs
February 26th, 2023
Bucs days done?
The combine commences Tuesday (Joe’s not talking about that damn indoor track practice TV show people wet themselves over), and the folks at NFL.com are doing a variety of team-by-team position breakdowns to help fans figure out who their favorite teams will target in free agency and the draft.
(The free agency dinner bell rings two weeks from Wednesday, March 15.)
Kevin Patra last week looked at wide receivers and says that may not be a position AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht will give much thought.
The Bucs have a host of free agent questions heading into the offseason, but their top three wideouts all return in 2023. Evans and Godwin each missed two games in 2022 — and even so, Evans is coming off his ninth consecutive 1,000-yard season, and Godwin posted 1,023 yards. Gage had a disappointing Tampa debut, missing four contests and generating 426 yards and five scores, but he still makes for a solid third fiddle to Evans and Godwin. Adding youth and speed in the draft would help with depth, but it isn’t a front-burner issue in 2023.
Joe doesn’t know what to think of Russell Gage. Is he going to be an All-Pro hot tub dude again this fall? No matter how you slice it, he was a major disappointment.
Yeah, yeah. Gage was hurt. Joe gets it. Do you think he got a $30 million contract of Team Glazer loot for three years to average less than four catches a game?
If Gage can stay healthy and produce, few teams have a better Nos. 1-3 group of receivers.
Joe could see the Bucs drafting one, maybe two receivers on the third day of the draft. Scotty Miller would be a surprise to return, partially because he is no longer on his rookie contract.
Since his spectacular catch against the Packers in the 2020 NFC Championship game (No. 3 play in Bucs history?), Joe can only think of one big catch by Miller. That came against Seattle in Munich and even then, Miller damn near dropped it despite being wide@ss open down the middle near the goal line.
In 2020, Miller had 23 first-down catches, including the postseason. He has just 12 since.
February 26th, 2023 at 1:55 am
Scotty gets beat up and bullied downfield. He should be vet minimum..
February 26th, 2023 at 3:21 am
Probably get one on the 6th round just as good or better.
February 26th, 2023 at 5:45 am
It’s time to move on from Scotty Miller. He had his 1 hit wonder play in the 2020 season playoff game against Packers. Last year he dropped a for sure td in his breadbasket in the endzone against the Rams. Luckily we won the game. In a later game against the Seahawks, he was wide open near the endzone on a busted play by the defense in which he didn’t have to but with no defenders near him, he jumped up in the air and juggled the pass that he almost dropped. He’s a straight line speed guy who gets rattled by a defenders shadow n is afraid of contact. I believe we can improve by putting the speedy, sure handed, and fearless Deven Thompkins in that position. In the several games he played in the past season, he’s showed more promise than Darden n Miller put together.
February 26th, 2023 at 6:58 am
Shouldn’t waste a single pick on WR. O Line, D line and DB
February 26th, 2023 at 7:20 am
Russell Gage was pretty solid when you suggested him as trade bait…..
I think Thompkins will make #4 or 5 WR but we should draft a WR who can help on ST.
February 26th, 2023 at 7:23 am
They will need blocking WR for the new offense. Maybe they should hire Michael Clayton the Blocking icon as WR Coach.
February 26th, 2023 at 7:24 am
I actually think Scotty and several other receivers we’ve had are better than we realize. I think Brady loses trust and refuses to target them. Look at Justin Watson, he had a nice season with KC.
February 26th, 2023 at 7:35 am
The Breshad perrimans of the world, the Scotty Millers, it’s time to end all that. Julio Jones – bye. Great college receivers basically grow on trees nowadays. In fact, before the Bucs hired Canales I saw a few prelim mocks having the Bucs selecting Jaxon Smith -Ngima who would walk in the door instantly having wayyyyy more upside than Russell Gage on a bloated contract. Also – Mike Evans is not Davante adams or Justin Jefferson in that he does not have a diverse route tree, where you can basically manufacture touches for your number one. Besides the Carolina game – we’re there really desperation issues? IS he losing a step? Godwin is an elite number 2 but he’s not a true number 1. This ain’t 2019-2020 anymore. We are not dynamic in any one area talent wise. The Bucs are kinda slow, and that showed up every bit as much as the non innovative play design and play calling this yr. Beyond that, our little issue of having no pass rush and no franchise quarterback. It reminds me of this lame “body positivity” mentality people have in 2023. Be positive all you want, you’re still fat, and you’re still unhealthy.
February 26th, 2023 at 8:24 am
Give Gage another season.
February 26th, 2023 at 9:09 am
Gage definitely staying. People still think that Licht and the Bucs weren’t aware of what our cap situation would be and we signed him a $30M deal. He was injured from camp through the regular season.
Should really slow down on best wr trio if they go with Trask…but we shall see.
February 26th, 2023 at 9:43 am
Need a 4th receiver that can get open quickly, can run good routes and is fast and shifty. None of the 1-3 WR’s are quick. Thompkins is much better than Miller and far less expensive.
February 26th, 2023 at 10:01 am
One question to ask is – how many receivers are the Bucs going to keep on their 53 man roster this season?
Last season we kept 7 WRs. Some years they only keep 6… It depends on who is handling the kick return duties.
If we keep 7 again next season we might need Miller to return on a cheap one year vet minimum deal. We currently have 4 (including Thompkins). We would still need 3 more receivers and Miller isn’t great (sometimes he isn’t even good) but he is still better than what we have on the practice squad and he plays special teams…
February 26th, 2023 at 10:18 am
Losing Miller at the very least will means we will need new gunner on punt team. The 2022 offense wasn’t in a position to consistently use Miller the way he was used in prior iterations of the offense. Really let’s you know when BA would say “that was last years team, this is a new team” holds a little bit of weight.
February 26th, 2023 at 10:45 am
Might as well keep Scotty next year, it’s gonna be a waste and he doesn’t count much against the cap
February 26th, 2023 at 11:10 am
They’ve already indicated this is going to be a run-first Offense. That’s fine. It can be done. But not with the OL they have, save for Wirfs and Jensen. And not with Fournette. He’s an attitude problem. White can be a good runner but they will need more. They need to find a RB in the 2nd or 3rd round. Or a FA who will play for less than Fournette.
So, keep CG and ME and RG. The rest can be journeymen.
February 26th, 2023 at 11:12 am
Can’t imagine we’ll keep 7 receivers again with the student-body-right/left offense we’re about to have– so we have:
1. Evans
2. Godwin
3. Gage
4. Thompkins (returner also)
5. Perriman?
6. Miller? Johnson? Geiger?
February 26th, 2023 at 11:13 am
Yeah I’d not draft for receivers. Id keep Scooter on the cheap. He’s capable at WR and capable in ST. We know what he is, and that’s good enough. Thompkins turn to shine though.
February 26th, 2023 at 11:26 am
I agree with those who believe six is a better number than seven for WR’s.
Given the injury history of 2 of the top 3 WR’s another WR stashed on the practice squad should provide enough depth. He’ll have to be cheap however since PS player salaries also count against the cap.
February 26th, 2023 at 11:53 am
Hmm, we only paid Perriman $1.1 million last year, if he can stay healthy, worth it
February 26th, 2023 at 11:58 am
Scotty Miller got 133 snaps on Special Teams last season. His impact? Grand total of ONE tackle. Not impressed because unless I’ve been misled the purpose of being on S/Ts is to tackle the guy wearing a different uniform than yours who happens to be running with the football.
Scotty also suited up for 15 games last season & got 258 snaps there (24%). Was targeted 40 times & caught 23 of those for 57.5% catch rate & 185 yards, 0 TDs & 8 first downs. Again, not impressed, especially since only 33 of his 185 yards receiving were Yards After the Catch. I know that he ONLY made $965,000 last year for ‘doing what he do’, but personally I’d rather see us go with a bigger WR to take his place who can at least block someone. Wonder if Michael Clayton is still available.
February 26th, 2023 at 12:08 pm
Marine Buc … ‘One question to ask is – how many receivers are the Bucs going to keep on their 53 man roster this season?’
I’d guess 6 WRs this year, but take that question a step further. ‘What’s the optimum distribution of talent for the Bucs for this coming season?’
Here’s my guess based on our history:
OFFENSE: 26
o QB: 3
o RB: 4
o WR: 6
o TE: 4
o OLine: 9
DEFENSE: 24
o DLine: 6
o OLB: 4
o ILB: 4
o CB: 5
o S: 5
SPECIAL TEAMS: 3
o K: 1
o P: 1
o LS: 1
February 26th, 2023 at 12:14 pm
The he last thing we need is to create a need at receiver. Wonder if we’ll see the more traditional slot guy instead Of Godwin. Miller should thrive
February 26th, 2023 at 12:32 pm
Miller would be worth resigning. He’s worth maybe slightly more than the vet minimum to be a gunner and a gadget player on offense. Maybe Canales can find a way to use his talents better than BL did.
February 26th, 2023 at 12:35 pm
Marine Buc … As I relooked at that question (‘What’s the optimum distribution of talent for the Bucs for this coming season?’) decided to take a look at who we currently have under contract for 2023. Based on players who were on the team last season & are still under contract, here’s what I think our current situation looks like:
OFFENSE: 26
o QB: 3 (Trask plus 2)
o RB: 4 (Fournette, White, Vaughn plus 1)
o WR: 6 (Evans, Godwin, Gage, Thompkins, plus 2)
o TE: 4 (Otton, Kieft, Brate plus 1)
o OLine: 9 (D Smith, Hainsey, Jensen, Mason, Wirfs, Goedeke, Walton plus 2)
DEFENSE: 24
o DLine: 6 (Vea, Hall plus 4)
o OLB: 4 (Shaq, JTS plus 2)
o ILB: 4 (White, Britt plus 2)
o CB: 6 (Davis, McCollum plus 4)
o S: 4 (Winfield plus 3)
SPECIAL TEAMS: 3
o K: 1 (Succop)
o P: 1 (Camarda)
o LS: 1 (Triner)
Based solely on who we already have under contract for 2023 (who were on the team last season), we’ll need to fill 23 holes in our 53-man roster. Several of those however are prime candidates for trading or releasing due to salary CAP concerns, so more holes will likely open up that need to be filled.
Our draft class SHOULD fill at least 6 of those holes, leaving 17 (or more) yet to be filled. Our own 25 FAs from last season … 22 UFAs, 2 RFAs & 1 ERFA … provides an excellent starting point for filling those remaining 17 holes. Obviously a LOT will depend on how well they performed last season, their health status AND their projected cost to re-sign.
Bottom line: It’s NOT as dire as some would have us believe, but it is a definite challenge, especially on defense. But of course that’s BEFORE we start trimming to get the salary CAP down to a manageable level. No way any of us can know how much we’ll have to trim until we know which FAs we’ll sign or re-sign.
February 26th, 2023 at 12:41 pm
Xavier Smith, could replace Scottie. Ran a 4.38 in HBCU combine, highly productive at FAMU and Steve Smith loves this guy (yes I am a Rattle r who watched him produce)
February 26th, 2023 at 12:56 pm
See if you can get Grayson back and dump Scotty, Gage, and whoever else.
Right now there are holes everywhere else that need filled.
Closer to the season find a couple if UDFAs to fill up the practice squad with receivers.
February 26th, 2023 at 1:20 pm
Perriman was a wasted roster spot.
Thompkins is limited by his shrimpiness.
Need some speed and explosion there and at RB.
February 26th, 2023 at 1:22 pm
I really liked Grayson, last I saw he was on Colts practice squad. He is nearly as old as Evans tho
February 26th, 2023 at 3:07 pm
Todd Bowels is a terrible head coach, he needs to stick to being a defensive coordinator so he can stop ruining teams offenses
February 26th, 2023 at 3:09 pm
We should have made Byron Leftwich our head coach
February 26th, 2023 at 3:40 pm
“I don’t care about all the fancy numbers at the combine. I just want to know, if they can catch a football” .. Vic Fangio, Denver Broncos HC
February 26th, 2023 at 4:00 pm
I blame coaching, for worn out, old, slow, often injured, football players.
February 26th, 2023 at 4:08 pm
The Beer Whisperer … ‘I blame coaching, for worn out, old, slow, often injured, football players.’
Huh?
February 26th, 2023 at 4:10 pm
Bucs won the lottery bringing Brady in. But the o-line got so bad, he retired.
February 26th, 2023 at 4:16 pm
It’s called sarcasm, Defense Rules.
Maybe, went above your head? I’m not sure.
I’ll ask your approval next time.
February 26th, 2023 at 4:23 pm
Craig … ‘See if you can get Grayson back ‘.
I always liked Cyril Grayson, and couldn’t figure out why the Bucs cut him just before the season began. Of course, we did have to make room for Darden, so there’s that.
Grayson was with the Bucs for 3 years (2019-2021) and caught 10 of the 12 balls thrown to him in 2021 for 212 yards. That’s an insane 21.2 yards per catch, and a 83.3% catch percentage. That year got 2 TDs & 8 first downs, with 0 fumbles. In his 3 years with us, he caught 68.8% of the balls thrown his way (not bad compared to Perriman’s 49.7% career catch percentage). Caught on with the Browns Practice Squad on Nov 8, 2022 but was released a week later (just by happenstance Bucs played the Browns on Nov 27, 2022 … pure coincidence obviously). Looks like he’s available now. I’d be in favor of bringing him to camp & see what he’s got.
February 26th, 2023 at 4:32 pm
@ DR
Nice breakdown.
Looking at the defensive side is a little scary…
(2) CBs and we need 6? Yikes.
(2) DL and we need 6? Yikes
(1) healthy OLB and we need 4? Yikes
(1) Safety and we need 4? Yikes
All I can say is Jason Licht better get his posterior moving and clearing some major cap space…
This is also why I wanted to move back in the draft… We need more picks than we currently have.
Not to mention if the Bucs do decide to cut Brate, Fournette, D. Smith or Succop – they will need to be replaced…Personally – I would go to each of them and ask them to take a pay cut and rework their deals. All four players were overpaid last season.
February 26th, 2023 at 4:35 pm
@ DR
Cyril Grayson couldn’t stay healthy – bottom line.
He was a track star from LSU. Didn’t play college ball.
Track stars are a dime a dozen… Football players with track star speed are valuable…
February 26th, 2023 at 4:37 pm
The Beer Whisperer … Oh I did get it; thought it was cute actually. The ‘Huh?’ was just to get more who might’ve missed it thinking about it because ‘lower 2022 talent level’ seems to have passed quite a few by. It’s a lot easier to blame coaching than it is to admit that MAYBE our talent level went down quite a bit after the 2021 season when Gronk, Marpet, Brown, Suh, JPP plus several others departed, and several key players got injured early.
Appreciate the snarky response. (THAT’S sarcasm in case you’re wondering)
February 26th, 2023 at 4:59 pm
@ DR
I believe we kept (7) last season – but it really depends on who is returning kicks. Thompkins is probably going to be returning kicks next season so they might carry (7) WRs again in 2023. I guess it depends on our new OC and the type of offense we will be running.
Seattle only carried (6) WRs on their 53 man roster in 2022 so you are probably correct. However – Deejay Dallas (a RB) was their main punt returner in 2022.
– Evans
– Godwin
– Gage
– Jones
– Perriman
– Miller
– Darden/Thompkins
Long story short – if we are going to carry (7) WRs again on the 53 MR then we might want to consider bringing Miller back on a cheap one year vet minimum deal and let him compete with a 6th or 7th round pick for the final spot.
February 26th, 2023 at 5:01 pm
Marine Buc … For some reason, Spotrac now shows the Bucs as being MINUS $57.0 mil on the salary CAP. Of course, that’s the Top-51 number, which is what we have to be concerned about to avoid penalties come opening day.
Gut feel is that we’ll actually have to free up considerably MORE than that, since when we sign or re-sign someone, the bottom guy of that Top-51 drops off. Right now the bottom guys are making $750,000 so if say we sign a backup QB for $3.0 mil, we’d have to clear up the $57.0 mil first, THEN an additional $2,250,000 for the QB. The real bottom line is that every hole we fill is gonna cost MORE than what the lowest guys are making ($750,000).
Sure wouldn’t want to be Mike Greenberg right about now.
February 26th, 2023 at 5:02 pm
@ DR
– Evans
– Godwin
– Gage
– Thompkins
– Miller
– 5th round pick
– J Jones? or another cheap FA who isn’t always injured?
February 26th, 2023 at 5:10 pm
@ DR
“Sure wouldn’t want to be Mike Greenberg right about now.”
I’m starting to think he overestimated the salary cap increase for the 2023 season.
Also Tom Brady retiring and having to dish out his entire $35M hit all at once.
If they restructure every contract they have they will have @ $45M to work with – BUT do you really want to restructure guys like S. Barrett, Evans, Jenson, Smith?
I am so interested because I can’t wait to see how they pull this off… LOL!
February 26th, 2023 at 6:16 pm
Troy Ackman has said many times your passing game is only as good as your 3rd receiver.
February 26th, 2023 at 6:21 pm
D.R.
“Bottom line: It’s NOT as dire as some would have us believe, but it is a definite challenge, especially on defense.”
Amen brother! At last someone has expressed something I totally agree with.
It’s the first time since Rita Moreno left. LOL Wonder what happened to her?
I enjoy the hyperbole of sports blogs as much as anyone but sometimes it does get out of hand here. She was a nice counterbalance. Someone suggested she was actually Joe. I’m not sure I can buy that. She posted more like you with rational reasonable takes.
February 26th, 2023 at 6:29 pm
Marine Buc … ‘I can’t wait to see how they pull this off’.
Me too. Greenberg would be the 2nd coming of David Copperfield in my eyes if he pulls this off. Smoke & mirrors.
February 26th, 2023 at 6:35 pm
St Pete … Maybe Rita’s just taking some time off to make 80 for Brady Part 2.
February 26th, 2023 at 6:37 pm
All I know is if you’re QB cannot get ball out in 2.5 seconds, does it really matter who and how many receivers there are?
February 26th, 2023 at 7:26 pm
Scotty will probably end up on the chiefs or bills and resurrect his career
February 26th, 2023 at 7:33 pm
Does anyone know if Joe is ok? Or is he just up here in Montana for the weekend enjoying all this fresh powder?
February 26th, 2023 at 8:18 pm
As far as I am concerned, the first four picks (in no particular order except the wide receiver, should not be round 1) should be offensive line, defensive line, DB or LB, and a wide receiver. They need a young fast speedy wide receiver.
February 26th, 2023 at 8:22 pm
Westernbuc
“Resurrect his career?“. What career? When did he ever do anything on a consistent basis? He had a couple big catches in playoff games, but he can’t run routes, he’s not speedy and quick for a slot receiver, all he can do is run straight on the outside. They should’ve tossed him last year and kept the two young speedy receivers.
February 26th, 2023 at 8:32 pm
Scotty and brate are transitioning into pickelball
February 26th, 2023 at 9:47 pm
Thompkins > Miller…he runs better routes and catches the ball with his hands, better YAC
February 26th, 2023 at 9:49 pm
Apparently so is Justin Watson….,he played in the Super Bowl while Miller played punt team
February 26th, 2023 at 9:52 pm
I can see Miller returning. He won’t be cashing in with free agency, and he’d return for cheap.
I’m not sure who Licht will draft, but WR would be the last position I would draft this year…unless they get rid of out top WRs for cap reasons.
Wouldn’t that be a surprise…Bucs trade Evans AND Godwin to save cap.
February 26th, 2023 at 10:07 pm
What is this sudden love for Justin Watson? People act like he was an All-Pro or something. He was a bit player with the Bucs (when he was healthy) and he’s a bit player with the Chiefs.
Brady soured on him because he didn’t always come back for the ball which led to pick-sixes. Now he’s Chris Godwin or something???
What next, people are going to start crying for Tanner Hudson?
February 26th, 2023 at 10:07 pm
(Ahem) new OC likes him (currently).
February 26th, 2023 at 10:11 pm
OKAY! So Joe IS Ok!
You deserve a day off Joes!!
February 26th, 2023 at 10:21 pm
Joe Says:
February 26th, 2023 at 10:07 pm
It would be worth it for the nickname alone:
T-Hud, or THUD…
Need more players like that.
February 26th, 2023 at 10:23 pm
BuxfaninTX Says:
February 26th, 2023 at 9:49 pm
He was a passenger on a Superbowl team. Caught 15 passes all year. But sure, what a loss it was not to have him. 🤣🤣🤣
February 26th, 2023 at 10:26 pm
NEfan Says:
February 26th, 2023 at 6:37 pm
*your