Bucs Have Millions Of Reasons To Sign Antoine Winfield To A New Deal
May 3rd, 2024
Ain’t going anywhere.
Color Joe bored and disinterested in the contract talks with Tampa Bay’s franchised-tagged safety, All-Pro Antoine Winfield.
At worst, the Bucs have Winfield for at least one more year. The Bucs could even tag him again next spring, which would keep Winfield around through 2025.
Yes, it would be expensive but it’s sure better than the alternative, assuming Winfield keeps up his stellar play.
For Joe, sweating Winfield’s contract is like debating who the Bucs should draft in 2026. Should the Bucs tank for Arch Manning or trade up for Adepoju Adebawore?
(Nope, “this Joe” will never change. It’s always about the quarterback and the edge rusher. Always.)
To say folks are getting way ahead of things stressing about Winfield is an understatement.
Albert Breer of SI.com thinks it is a borderline lock the Bucs figure out some way to sign Winfield. There are too many signs that tell him that the Bucs want a deal done.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers value Antoine Winfield Jr. so much that they used the tag on him, rather than on Mike Evans or Baker Mayfield. That tells me the Bucs love him enough to get a deal done, plus get the $17.123 million lump sum the franchise tag inflicted on them off their books.
And that last element is huge, boys and girls. That $17 million locked up on the salary cap could, if Winfield gets signed and the contract is salary cap-friendly, help the Bucs buy or trade for another player.
Tell Joe the Bucs couldn’t use another cornerback or inside linebacker or a physical tight end.
May 3rd, 2024 at 8:17 am
Yes, QBs and Edge Rushers are premium positions, but so is Left Tackle. Extending Wirfs has to be the priority first.
May 3rd, 2024 at 8:21 am
Adepoju Adebawore would be a great pick
May 3rd, 2024 at 8:37 am
I wonder if JL has thought about this…
May 3rd, 2024 at 8:56 am
Yeah really no need to worry with the track record this FO has. We don’t overpay and don’t let homegrown studs leave for the most part outside of an unavoidable post SB talent purge with guys like Alex Cappa.
Look at Mike Evans vs what AJ Brown & even Calvin Ridley made, or Baker vs Cousins. We got great deals.
May 3rd, 2024 at 9:08 am
To not get the deal done as quickly as possible would be a huge and insane blunder.
May 3rd, 2024 at 9:11 am
We gave a lot of very expensive players…..let’s hope some of these draft picks eventually help us with the cap down the road…..that’s how it’s supposed to work.
May 3rd, 2024 at 9:32 am
In Licht I trust!
LFG!!!
May 3rd, 2024 at 9:43 am
Monster defensive tackles are more valuable than edge rusher. Look at the Super Bowl winners from 2019 forward, Chiefs, Bucs, Rams, Chiefs, Chiefs. Chris Jones, Vita Vea being dominant in the playoffs, Aaron Donald.
Interestingly, also look at the top 5 all-time sack leaders (typically edge rushers) and see how many Super Bowl wins they have…
May 3rd, 2024 at 10:14 am
Same could be said about Wirfs new contract. We currently have @ $18.4M tied up with Wirfs 5th year deal…
Get them both done please.
May 3rd, 2024 at 10:34 am
Getting a deal done with Winfield is critical for creating much needed cap space. According to Over the Cap, Tampa is dead last in the league with $390,599 in cap space.
We all know that Licht and his magical cap krewe can wave their magic pens and create more cap space but the 17 mil tag for Winfield looms large.
The one position that still needs addressing is LB. David and Winfield led the defense in tackles with 134 and 122 respectively. After that is the now departed D. White with 83 (thankfully gone hoping the Krewe can sign a TEAM player).
The D needs a LB who can take up the slack in the tackling department.
May 3rd, 2024 at 10:42 am
Can they get through this season as is? If so, then they have leverage. They only need to sign one. The other can be tagged next year. If Winfield is signed, they could tag Wirfs twice.
At the same time, locking these guys down now would reduce their anxiety and allow them to play worry free.
This is where Licht’s experience and inside knowledge is key.
May 3rd, 2024 at 10:57 am
Jason and his team are among the best. Proven fact.
They’ll do what’s right.
May 3rd, 2024 at 1:57 pm
Baller
May 3rd, 2024 at 3:34 pm
I still don’t understand why they didn’t lock him up on a very long term deal the 1st day they were able to do so, every game he plays, he gets more expensive to keep.
May 3rd, 2024 at 4:15 pm
He was the only one who made any sense to “Franchise” at the particular number, PERIOD. I mean, what else were they going to do Franchise BAKER for what $45-$50MIL or MIKE for about $25MIL+??? NO. I Don’t Think So.
May 3rd, 2024 at 5:23 pm
It’s just a matter of time IMO.
There probably isn’t a single head coach in the league who values the safety position more than Todd Bowles does.
May 4th, 2024 at 12:34 pm
Rod Munch, we didn’t resign him right away because we were broke. Kinda like the Broncos this year, we were up shlitz creek without a paddle cap wise. Now we need to resign him to save money this year. $300k won’t sign another waterboy. Probably need to resign Wirfs as well, but he’s astronomically more expensive. Takes money to save money.