“I Don’t Know How They’d Be Able To Do It”
March 8th, 2023
Lamar Jackson and Bucs chatter.
The talk of the NFL today is how star Crows quarterback Lamar Jackson can be had so long as he can find a team to pay his ransom and part with two first round picks.
Several teams don’t need him as they have a quarterback. Several others don’t want him, likely spooked by his demand for guaranteed cash and injury history.
Are the Bucs interested? No one outside of One Buc Palace really knows. Last week at the combine, Joe learned Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht and Bucs coach Todd Bowles’ favorite word was “compete,” as if that is Kyle Trask’s new last name.
This just in: If a team knows who it’s quarterback is, that quarterback doesn’t “compete.”
The face of NFL Network, Rich Eisen, brought up the Bucs possibly going after Jackson on his weekday talk show. Eisen noted the Bucs have $35 million counting against their cap just because of Brady for this season, which would be a hazard in signing the former MVP.
“I don’t know how they’d be able to do it,” Eisen said of the Bucs signing Jackson.
The Bucs were included in a group of teams by Eisen producers as “TEAMS WHO TRULY NEED A QB.”
Eisen said as crazy-talented as Jackson is, there is no way he would give Jackson guaranteed cash due to his injury history.
Jackson was unable to finish the last two seasons because of injuries and has only played in 10 of the Crows’ last 22 games.
Lamar Jackson is free to shop for a new team after being non-exclusively franchise tagged by #RavensFlock — @richeisen ranked his possible landing spots:#NFL #NFLFreeAgency #NFLDraft @Lj_era8 pic.twitter.com/IqEmgOFMFe
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) March 8, 2023
March 8th, 2023 at 2:03 pm
I like LJ he can’t throw to WRs tho
March 8th, 2023 at 2:04 pm
We would need to bring Mike Clayton back to block lol
March 8th, 2023 at 2:06 pm
lamar as a buc would be a lot of fun…
the poler opposite of the goat…
the offense would be super interesting and reworked…
if you’d go after geno smith, why not go after the goat of that style of play…lamar
March 8th, 2023 at 2:06 pm
The Bucs could do it, the same way the Saints signed Carr, you just have a very very low salary in year one with all the hits on the backend – the same way the Bucs did with Brady last year (and why they’re paying for it this year).
With that said, the Ravens could easily match that offer, and I assume they would.
Also, if the agent and Jackson want as much money as possible, they likely want as much of it as possible up front. Not a bad idea in a Biden economy where inflation is out of control – you’re losing 7-8% a year by pushing things into the future, and that adds up quickly.
March 8th, 2023 at 2:09 pm
Everybody including Eissen know it won´t happen…..
Just filling holes when they got nothing to say……Prett much happens when you have a daily sports program, if we dont have news, we invent something to say…… Pretty common nowadays
March 8th, 2023 at 2:11 pm
Lamar is electric, when healthy! But that knife cuts both ways, so running QBs will forever hit ceilings at the end of their rookie contracts if they can’t prove to be durable passers as well as being athletes. On a rookie deal when they’re still cheap and healthy teams have a 4-5 year window to make it work but then the proposition gets dicey then on. It’s why Patrick Mahommes and even Daniel Jones got theirs, while Lamar, Fields, Tua and others perhaps will not.
March 8th, 2023 at 2:18 pm
LJ is much like watching Doink the clown wrestle in the 90s…
Entertaining to watch him run around and do wrestler things BUT NEVER going to win a world title!
March 8th, 2023 at 2:23 pm
@adam… we didn’t go after Geno Smith.
March 8th, 2023 at 2:26 pm
Tough sell. Marvelous player but… A player who is injury prone, question his toughness and dedication to the team, also cost a fortune. How is this going to help the team… Really.
This year play on the cheap. Payoff the superbowl, work on the cap pinch,
save some money, balance the Bucs check book. Get ready to be players in next years sweepstakes. Go Bucs.
March 8th, 2023 at 2:26 pm
No!
March 8th, 2023 at 2:40 pm
45-16 in his first 5 years in the NFL playing for a franchise, that in that span of time has lived in bottom third of the league in terms of cap money dedicated to the offensive side of the ball. Their GM, was just getting blasted in the media by one of his own players after the GM vaguely threw players HE DRAFTED under the bus. I also imagine, Lamar Jackson may have been a topic of discussion at the most recent owners meetings.
March 8th, 2023 at 3:03 pm
I like LJ but i dunno how we can sign him and build a competitive enough roster to win it all. If we were stocked with draft picks and in a better cap situation then sure but I feel like we’d mortgage the future to maybe be a playoff team with him.
Would always be exciting tho lol
March 8th, 2023 at 3:05 pm
Well said Dooley. Not sure he has even thrown to a receiver as talented as Evans or Godwin, much less have two of them to throw to. Dont care about the money issues, because without the quarterback you have no chance to begin with. He should be able to convert the third and shorts efficiently, and him extending plays for the 50/50 balls to Evans and Godwin will be exciting. Let BA get him fired up on throwing that 50/50 and saving some of the hits. I like championships, but putting it to the Saints, Panthers, and Dirty Birds every year is very attainable, and more than good enough for me. Please get it done Team Glazer.
March 8th, 2023 at 3:07 pm
Go fo it. Risk it or Biscuit !
March 8th, 2023 at 3:10 pm
Did the Bucs meet with Carr? – NO.
Did the Bucs meet with Geno Smith? – NO.
Did the Bucs meet with Rodgers? – NO.
Did the Bucs meet with Jimmy G? – NO.
Did the Bucs meet with Baker? – NO.
Will the Bucs meet with Lamar Jackson? – NO.
Name one available QB the Bucs have met with this off season. We will be lucky to get Gabbert or Carson Wentz or Mariota to back up Trask this season and if we do it will be for the vet minimum plus incentives…
March 8th, 2023 at 3:14 pm
Stop with this ridiculousness…….outright absurdity…….2 first round picks and a boatload of money……not a chance in Hades.
March 8th, 2023 at 3:28 pm
@ Rod
“The Bucs could do it, the same way the Saints signed Carr, you just have a very very low salary in year one with all the hits on the backend ”
So pay him $1.5M in 2023 then pay him $98.5M in 2024?
Sounds good to me… As long as Lamar Jackson doesn’t need any lineman, running backs, tight ends or wide receivers…
LOL.
I’m just messing around. I know what you are saying. Just add a few VOID years with $25M in each.
What could possibly go wrong.
Plus – when an NFL team gives a player ANY guaranteed money the owner must put that amount of guaranteed money into an escrow account…
Do you really expect the Glazer boys to put a quarter of a billion dollars CASH into an escrow account any time soon?
March 8th, 2023 at 3:29 pm
Lamar in a Bucs uniform would make us Dangerous. We get a QB and a RB all in one. And a run at another championship However, as we see, the cost of a championship is steep. That 35 mil Brady over the cap is no joke. Licht ain’t Goin after Lamar. That leaves us with a 7-10 season at best. Get ready. That train is ah comin.
March 8th, 2023 at 3:31 pm
So, speculation piled on top of speculation piled on top of speculation. Kernel of truth = ZERO.
Chum.
Baseless Speculation Industrial Complex.
March 8th, 2023 at 3:32 pm
And by the way, NO.
Not a strong passer. Questionable leader. Sat out a playoff game that he could have played in. Hell to the naugh. Typical entitled diva.
March 8th, 2023 at 3:33 pm
@Duane
To be clear, I think in our case it’s wrong time for the right opportunity. If we were sitting on the same/comparable draft capital as the Saints or Seahawks or NYG AND had actual wiggle room under the cap, I’d be all for Lamar Jackson, but in terms of spending Tampa is a struggle meal of canned jack mackerel in tomato sauce on a bed of white rice.
March 8th, 2023 at 3:34 pm
If the only thing we lacked was a QB then I’d jump at the chance, but we need to replace half the team. Lamar’s 40+ million salary would make him the only player on the team.
QBs now command 20% of a team’s cap.
March 8th, 2023 at 3:37 pm
Marine Buc:
Agree with your assessment. The Bucs have met with AR 15 and the Bucs have met with Hooker multiple times. Based on meetings they appear to be interested in going after a rookie QB and not a high-priced veteran.
March 8th, 2023 at 3:38 pm
I’m actually on the side of sticking with cheap QBs until we draft and develop our own franchise QB. I don’t even care if it takes until the day I die. Sick of seeing these entitled pricks making more money in one year than I’ll see in a lifetime. Ph0ueck that sh!t.
March 8th, 2023 at 3:40 pm
NFL should be capping individual player salaries at no more than 10% of team cap. Better for the game, better for the majority of players, less offensive to fans.
March 8th, 2023 at 3:47 pm
@ ocala
I would prefer Hooker in the 2nd round over AR-15 in the 1st round…
March 8th, 2023 at 3:51 pm
70% completion rate in the SEC is pretty impressive.
AR-15 will make a fine tight end in the NFL someday…
March 8th, 2023 at 3:51 pm
Marine Buc – Yeah, exactly, just add a bunch of void years, same as with Brady. Again, it’s not going to happen, but that’s how they could try to make it happen. Of course, Baltimore would easily match any offer like that. That’s going to be part of the issue with Lamar getting a new deal, any reasonable contract that teams can afford will be matched, so no one is going to want to waste time trying to do a deal. The Bengals, Steelers and Browns are all set at QB, and I don’t know if anyone else cares enough about tanking the Ravens salary cap to bother to make some big offer that would screw over the Ravens.
March 8th, 2023 at 3:58 pm
Post-combine I’ve seen mock drafts (SI for example) where AR15 is now going #1 overall. So anyone concerned about the Bucs getting him, that’s not going to be an issue.
But the Bucs should just stick with Trask and see what they have. The Bucs have a billion holes on defense, and they should be trying to restock there as the offense should be OK for 2023. Then if Trask stinks, you do what you did in 2015, get your QB and some new offensive lineman (Winston, Donavan, Marpet and Kwon Alexander as a bonus).
I don’t see the need to take another QB this year as you have your project QB with “1st round skills” already on the roster.
March 8th, 2023 at 4:28 pm
Marine Buc
I get your point but the Bucs cant meet with most of those QBs because they would be tampering……until now.
March 8th, 2023 at 4:46 pm
Figure out a way licht!! Make it happen I would LOVE to have him. He would be the best or second best QB in the nfc
March 8th, 2023 at 4:48 pm
Rbs have very short careers. Too much abuse
Running QBs dont last long.
Thats why Tom Brady, Arron Rodgers, etc. are the best in the league.
A fantastic Qb that plays 8 games a year is useless.
Get a Qb that passes, and RBs who run.
March 8th, 2023 at 4:48 pm
Just to flat out say “no” you don’t want him is WILD
March 8th, 2023 at 4:48 pm
@ TBBF
I’m not sure about Geno, Baker and Jimmy G. – I thought they were URFAs.
But you are correct – Rodgers and Jackson are only recently meeting with other teams…
Regardless – prepare yourself for Gabbert or Wentz or Mariota to be backing up K. Trask and receiving the vet minimum plus incentives.
The Bucs don’t have a choice.
The cap situation is worse than most fans want to believe…
March 8th, 2023 at 4:51 pm
@ Bandit
It’s not that I do not want Lamar Jackson.
I am saying it is impossible for the Bucs to do anything this off season except salivate and dream of what could have been…
Our salary cap situation is worse than most Buc fans want to believe or admit.
March 8th, 2023 at 5:21 pm
Maybe Licht has something cooking
If not then we’re likely looking at another wasted season and a new coaching staff in 2024 — with a shot at Caleb of course
March 8th, 2023 at 5:25 pm
Gabbert is a complete waste that hasn’t done anything good in his career other than sending Kaepernick to the bench.
Wentz, meanwhile, has done something in his career, and has every tool. His issue, if you believe the media, is leadership and not being a good locker room guy. But on the Bucs, with a veteran offense that has won a lot of games, that wouldn’t be an issue. All they’d need Wentz to do is to make make throws, and that much he can do.
Of course the issue with Wentz is that Bowles thinks it’s 1972 and all you need is a game manager to win games. So in that regard, Wentz has way too much upside for Bowles. If you want to try to think of what Bowles might do, you need to think, what is the most boring, dull, uninteresting QB available? To me, that would be Joe Flacco. That’s who Bowles is going to target.
March 8th, 2023 at 5:34 pm
No thank you. Too much money.
Not too long ago QBs were paid too much and diminishing returns killed teams. Then after some rule changes it became hard to over-pay for a QB. Now the NFL is back to paying too much for QB’s and Lamar is the most extreme example.
March 8th, 2023 at 5:36 pm
Quinton Flowers was better than Lamar in college, and he’s a free agent. I say we just sign him.
March 8th, 2023 at 5:37 pm
Carson Wentz lmao man I threw up in my mouth a little. I would rather mayfield than him
March 8th, 2023 at 5:42 pm
@ Rod
“If you want to try to think of what Bowles might do, you need to think, what is the most boring, dull, uninteresting QB available?”
LOL!
That is a funny take but probably true…
Joe Flacco huh?
I guess I could see that happening. Cheap base salary plus incentives.
I hope Trask could win that QB battle… It would look very good for Trask otherwise.
March 8th, 2023 at 5:43 pm
***It would NOT look very good for Trask otherwise.
March 8th, 2023 at 5:45 pm
Marine Buc … ‘Did the Bucs meet with Rodgers? – NO.
Will the Bucs meet with Lamar Jackson? – NO.’
Wait a minute. Just yesterday you convinced me that we were getting both of them. NOW I find out the Bucs haven’t even met with them? JL better get on the stick obviously. He’s having trouble keeping up with you.
March 8th, 2023 at 5:52 pm
Rod Munch … ‘Yeah, exactly, just add a bunch of void years, same as with Brady.’
Yup, and that’s exactly what got us into the mess that we’re in today. It wasn’t JUST Brady though; it was all those ‘weapons’ and ‘protection’ we paid for to keep him upright. The situation we’re in today was caused by our foolishness in 2022, not in 2021 or 2020. New Orleans pulled the same shenanigans & got in just as deep a hole. Sean Payton saw the writing on the wall & high-tailed it for the broadcasting booth then to Denver. BA saw the writing on the wall & high-tailed it for the golf course. Smart moves on both their parts. Not so much for Dennis Allen or Todd Bowles though.
March 8th, 2023 at 6:01 pm
We got more holes to fill than just qb. Id we mortgages everything just to fit him under the cap then we wouldnt have much of a team around him and we’d be short draft picks to build around him. By the time we fielded a competitive roster as a whole in a few years he may very well be broken down form his style of play. We are no longer in the win now window
March 8th, 2023 at 6:02 pm
I love the “jackwagons” who who so cleverly find ways to inject national politics and social commentary into seemingly normal discussions about our Buccaneers at this site. 😋 They just can’t restrain themselves for very long.
Here is another that is even more “in your face”. Thank you D. Trump/J. Biden for drafting Jameis Winston and giving us five years of frustration. Thank you Biden/Trump for bringing Tom Brady to us to replace Winston for a few years. You as president of the USA were/are responsible for everything that has either gone wrong or was great in my life in the past eight years! 🤣 😎
P.S. Somehow, I am sure that a human being does not sit and eyeball each response made to the various articles for 24 hours per day. I don’t doubt that this one will be caught by the “algorithm” and go straight into “moderation”. Welcome to 2023! It beats the heck out of 1984.
Oh, by the way, I am expecting us to pick up two of the cheaper but still relatively young QBs such as Mason Rudolph and Jacoby Brissett for example. 🏈 🤠
March 8th, 2023 at 6:12 pm
Many years and after the Bowles calamity the Bucs will be Baaaack.
March 8th, 2023 at 6:18 pm
What are we whining about, today? I don’t want to be off topic.
March 8th, 2023 at 6:38 pm
Well said D Rules. I agree. Be that as it may, I want Lamar and I will happily pay the kings ransome of 2 1st round picks. All day, every day. Like you were saying, the problem is that would be a heckuva contract to add onto our already deep cap hell. We just can’t keep kicking the can.
March 8th, 2023 at 6:41 pm
it’s pretty clear lamar was not playing as much to protect himself due to the fact he had no long term contract, and the relationship there broke down…
he and the ravens are pretty much on the outs…
someone can swoop him up and he will have another 5 solid seasons…unless he gets tua’d or something
March 8th, 2023 at 6:42 pm
the idea is to keep kicking the can down the road until we are all dead, and the league is defunct…
now let’s rock on !!
March 8th, 2023 at 6:51 pm
I’m down Adam. F it. Let’s do this.
March 8th, 2023 at 7:00 pm
I’d buy tickets. No sure we’d be in the top 5 in the NFC, but we’d be fun to watchz
March 8th, 2023 at 7:03 pm
Do whatever it takes to make it happen.Trade away the first round picks.If we get Lamar and take a step back next year so be it at least we have a Qb to build around .
March 8th, 2023 at 7:06 pm
Defense Rules Says:
March 8th, 2023 at 5:52 pm
Rod Munch … ‘Yeah, exactly, just add a bunch of void years, same as with Brady.’
Yup, and that’s exactly what got us into the mess that we’re in today.
——–
What mess? The Bucs won a SB, and have been in the playoffs for three straight years. I’ll deal with that mess.
We all knew the deal when they brought everyone back in 2021, that you were going to face cap hell in the future. I have zero issues with that. I just hope the Bucs don’t do some half-a– measure this year and just fully pull off the bandaid, so next year the team is fully ready to go.
But for Lamar – of course you get him if you had any chance of actually doing so. But any deal the Bucs could put together would be matched by the Ravens. Also the issue is what would the Bucs even do with Lamar? Do we even trust Bowles to use a quarterback like Lamar properly? He’s repeatedly said all he wants is, basically, a game manager. Would he do what Schiano did with Josh Freeman and just put braces on his knees so he can’t run and would be forced to stay in the pocket? Probably.
March 8th, 2023 at 7:19 pm
What mess Rod? The mess we’re in right now. We’re waaay over the salary CAP still (MINUS $48 mil with Donovan off the books), have only a week or so to get under it, and THEN we’ll still have to find a way to sign a bunch of FAs AND draft picks. To me, that’s Webster’s definition of a mess.
And again, it wasn’t 2020 & 2021 that resulted in this mess. It was the FA signings we did last year to support one more go at the brass ring that did us in. Brady, Fournette, Gage, Jensen & Mason (all signed last year) all by themselves account for OVER $80 mil in 2023 CAP hits. Expensive price tag for an 8-10 season. BA just figured that out before everyone else did.
March 8th, 2023 at 7:25 pm
Yeah, who knows with Todd if he had Lamar but Todd would be wise to let Canales have his opportunity to run the offense without limitation. Todd has proven he belongs nowhere near an offense. He could either be wiser this time or be unemployed next January. With that said, if the Bucs offer a resonable amount, I sincerely doubt the Ravens match. That relationship is fractured. The birds take their 2 1sts and run and we get the most exciting QB in the game. Freeman was hardly faster than Brady. LMAO Rod.
March 8th, 2023 at 7:25 pm
There’s a reson he was slapped with the NON exclusive tag.
March 8th, 2023 at 7:52 pm
@ DR
“Wait a minute.”
LOL!!!
This is getting very interesting… It’s May 8th – and all the Bucs have done is cut 3 former starters and are still currently $40M over the cap.
JL has 6 more days to make his moves.
What do you think is the next move?
March 8th, 2023 at 7:58 pm
Perhaps trading D. White? $11M off the cap.
Or – making a few more cuts like Succop or Mason?
Perhaps a few restructures with Evans, Vea, Davis and Godwin?
We still have @ $42M to cut after releasing Smith, Brate and Fournette.
March 8th, 2023 at 8:26 pm
The Ravens are praying someone gives them two 1st’s for their headache.
If this dude was smart enough to hire an agent he’d already have $150+ in the bank. Instead he’s going to play on one year deals for the next two injury riddled seasons and be able to say he did it his way at the end of it.
Congratulations moron, you’re playing yourself.
March 8th, 2023 at 8:48 pm
I think Jameis might be worth a look. At least to compete with Trask. Good healthy competition and Jameis probably land $10 million on a 1 year deal.
March 8th, 2023 at 8:59 pm
if handled properly, you can actually stay 50 mil over the cap basically every year like it’s nothing…
imagine you are zero over the cap every year…
same thing…just don’t let it get too out of hand
just stay 50 mil over the cap every year and just keep kicking the can, cutting the necessary players, and adding the necessary players into the mix…and hoping the cap goes up a bit…
it’s a juggling act…that’s all it is…
bring it up and down like a seesaw…
people talk about greenberg being the mastermind behind all this…what about the other teams who constantly remain competitive and are always over the cap…they must have a master capologist as well…
the bill never really has to totally come due…it’s not like a restaurant at 11 pm where they say “pay and go” because we are closing…
if handled correctly by a master capologist you can remain in the red with all the voidable stuff for like 5-10 years into your future…
yeah and eventually at some point when an abundance of talent and a wave of crap hits, you buckle and TANK…
i don’t see us being at that point tho…
if they’re going to tank right now, management might have gotten word from up top that they are done spending for a while, and told them to “prepare to suck for a while – and we won’t hold you solely responsible”…
so as a die hard fan all i can do is sit back, and quietly see how it plays out – and see how they prepare to battle in the nfc south…
heck, the saints are making moves – and seeming do not fret any cap handcuffs
March 8th, 2023 at 9:02 pm
and seemingly do not fret any cap handcuffs***
March 8th, 2023 at 9:03 pm
No way. We are way over the cap and he wants to be the highest paid with 150 mil guaranteed. We can’t kick the can far enough down the road to afford him.
March 8th, 2023 at 9:05 pm
It would make things very interesting and exciting. I would pay to see it.
March 8th, 2023 at 9:17 pm
Marine Buc … ‘What do you think is the next move?’
All the actions you mentioned are viable possibilities. Releasing Fournette saved us $3.5 mil, and releasing Brate saved us 1.9 mil, so that got us down to $42.6 mil over. Cutting Mason would save us $5.3 mil, and cutting Succop would save us $3.8 mil, getting us down to a mere $33.5 mil over the CAP.
If we restructure Godwin’s contract to say $10 mil this year, we’d save another $13.8 mil, getting us down to $19.7 mil over.
If we then restructure Evans’ contract to say $10 mil this year and give him a couple extra years, we’d save another $13.7 mil, getting us down to $6 mil over the CAP.
If we then restructure Davis’ contract to say $10 mil this year, and give him a couple extra years, we’d save another $8.2 mil, putting us $2.2 mil under the CAP.
That meets the 17 March requirement to be under the CAP by that date, so at least we wouldn’t face any penalties.
If we then restructure Vea’s contract to say $10 mil this year, and give him a couple extra years, we’d save another $5.7 mil, putting us $7.9 mil under the CAP.
One more move I’d be in favor of is redoing Jensen’s contract IF that’s what he wants. Ryan’s as tough as nails, and we desperately need his leadership & attitude to set the tone for these youngsters we’ll have on the OLine. If we restructure his contract to say $10 mil this year, we’d save another $5 mil, putting us $13 mil under the CAP.
Using an approach like that, then all 5 of them (Godwin, Evans, Davis, Vea & Jensen) would have 2023 CAP hits of $10 mil each. However, we would’ve deferred $46.4 mil to future years for just the 5 of them. But at least it’d meet the NFL salary CAP deadline AND give us a little breathing room to sign a few FAs relatively early-on (when pickins are good) & our draft class.
We’d still have to do some more ‘adjustments’ but this is all the result of screwing the pooch last year. Many folks thought that we could clear this mess up in 2023, but that’s not even remotely close to reality. We’re at the bottom of the well looking up, and there’s just one little tiny pinhole of daylight visible. It’s gonna take several years to dig out.
March 8th, 2023 at 9:44 pm
@Marinebuc.
The only guy that the Bucs could have met with was Derek Carr.
The rest are not free agents and according to league rules cannot be contacted until March 13th. 2 days before the new league year.
March 8th, 2023 at 9:45 pm
D.R.
I’m curious as to just what the “penalties” are? Giving up draft picks is bad. Getting penalized financially is no big deal. Do the penalties have teeth?
March 8th, 2023 at 9:50 pm
Sign Winston to back up Trask on the cheap or prove it friendly contract.
I Would be 100% ok with Winston coming back way before Wentz, Marcus or Matt Ryan
March 8th, 2023 at 10:26 pm
@ DR
I like that plan. At least we can get under the cap by March 15th and then go from there…
It’s going to be slim pickings.
All the more reason for Licht to trade down in the first round.
March 8th, 2023 at 10:30 pm
@ Geno
Jimmy G and Baker-Mayfield aren’t free agents?
You sure about that?
I know Rodgers and Jackson are.
But regardless- we can’t afford any of them…
That is the gist of my comment.
March 8th, 2023 at 10:50 pm
a spash qb move and we’re back in bizzz ! 🙂
March 8th, 2023 at 10:51 pm
splash*
March 8th, 2023 at 10:53 pm
are you ready for some football
or
are you ready for some foosball
March 9th, 2023 at 12:45 am
News flash – the Bucs could be exempt from the salary cap, sign all the very best free agents. Gotta amember who is the head coich.
This could be a team of All pros and all pro backups and under this coich still finish 5-12 or worse.
Nevvamind it will be so fun. Go Bucs.
March 9th, 2023 at 1:07 am
Defense Rules – You’re completely wrong. The ‘mess’ was caused by bringing back everyone in 2021, something I fully supported and still do. Last season with very little cap room, you had to still field a team after losing a bunch of top players in Suh, Gronk, Cappa, Jensen, Marpet. The team was fully in, and clearly didn’t realize that Bowles would be such an incredible dud as a head coach. In any case, you keep the window open for as long as possible, and the Bucs did just that.
That’s why it’s not a mess. They knew the outcome of going all in.
But don’t tell me, you, with all your brilliant personel takes like Chris Conte and Ryan Smith are good NFL starters, you’re going to explain to Licht how he shouldn’t have brought in guys last year and just told Brady to go suck on a egg because we’re worried about the cap in 2023. LOL!
March 9th, 2023 at 1:16 am
Defense Rules — BTW, what do you mean by ‘restructure’ Godwin and Davis contracts? So just push the entire cap hit on to next year? That’s $30m cap hit each next year, that’s not a good solution.
Obviously if you can extend them, great, but why would any player sign an extension right before the cap explodes? For Godwin, in paricular, you’re probably looking at $26-28m/yr on an extension, for Davis, it’s probably more like $22m/yr.
You can create money with Vita getting a restructure. You can likely extend Evans for a couple of years for $20m.
Finally, the Bucs can designate all their cuts as post-June 1st cuts, which gets them a lot more back on the cap, but take a hit next year. If you’re rebuilding anyways, you’ll have a cheap QB, so pushing some stuff off to next year isn’t the end of the world, but you don’t want to be in a situation where you then need to push stuff off again to 2025.
March 9th, 2023 at 1:58 am
If practice squad Trask is still the only QB by the draft, they will draft one in the first three rounds.
March 9th, 2023 at 5:28 am
Rod … ‘what do you mean by ‘restructure’ Godwin and Davis contracts? So just push the entire cap hit on to next year? That’s $30m cap hit each next year, that’s not a good solution.’
Our FIRST priority right now is to get UNDER the salary CAP by March 17th. Bucs have relatively limited ways to do that. As I wrote Rod, we COULD ‘restructure’ Godwin’s & Davis; contracts down to a $10 mil CAP hit THIS YEAR, which means sliding the rest to 2024 (and beyond IF we choose to do that). For Godwin we’d have to move $13.8 mil to future years and for Davis that’d be $8.2 mil ($22 mil for the 2 of them).
Is that ideal? Of course not, but we don’t have unlimited options. We COULD renegotiate their contracts for additional years, but there’s no guarantee either wants to do that at this point. Working with Godwin, Evans, Davis, Vea & Jensen are really the only options that i can see at this point. Releasing ALL FIVE OF THEM doesn’t even save enough to get under the CAP, not to mention that we’d then have to replace them.
And yes Rod, to me that’s the very definition of a MESS. We’re the NUMBER 32 TEAM in the entire NFL in terms of worst salary CAP situation. Our defense has been gutted. We have no ‘franchise QB’ under contract. Our options to get under the salary CAP by 17 March (mandated by the NFL or some substantial penalties kick in) are incredibly limited. Yes we won a SB … in 2020 … and had another good year IMO in 2021. But ‘going all-in’ to get Brady back in 2022 meant selling the farm and was a major mistake. And BA knew it by March 31st, well after free agency had already started. You can blame it on Bowles all you want, but he inherited one helluva mess and is now tasked with picking up the pieces.
March 9th, 2023 at 6:08 am
StPete … As I understand it, if we’re not under the salary CAP by March 17th, the penalties are $5 mil PER INFRACTION and the potential loss of draft picks. How many INFRACTIONS we’d have is anybody’s guess (and Goodell is pretty well known for taking a hard line on certain things). Obviously the Bucs aren’t gonna put themselves in that position.
March 9th, 2023 at 8:42 am
@ Rod
“Finally, the Bucs can designate all their cuts as post-June 1st cuts, which gets them a lot more back on the cap,”
I believe the Bucs need to get under the cap by March 15th. Therefore the cuts we make will need to be made before March 15th not June 1st…
March 9th, 2023 at 2:55 pm
[Joe isn’t doing anything different than when he launched this site in 2008. A national sports talk show hosted by the face of the NFL Network discussed Lamar Jackson and the Bucs. So Joe wrote about it. Did you fire off an angry email to Eisen bellyaching how he had the nerve to suggest the Bucs might get Jackson? Have you heard Jason Licht or Todd Bowles come out and say they’re not interested? Guessing you also were p!ssed at Joe when he reported rumors the Bucs were interested in Brady in 2020? — Joe]
Looking forward to more Sean Sullivan draft podcasts.
March 9th, 2023 at 4:52 pm
The Ravens will match any offers for Lamar Jackson