Donald Penn Is Coming Back
February 26th, 2010
The biggest concern Joe had this offseason is that somehow the Bucs would let arguably their best player, left tackle Donald Penn, slip away.
Not happening.
Good guy Stephen Holder, of the St. Petersburg Times, reports the Bucs have contacted Penn’s agent and, in Holder’s words, will “place the highest possible restricted free agent tender” on Penn.
That means it’s highly unlikely Penn will play elsewhere.
Penn was hoping for a lesser tender that might have enticed another team to present an offer because the draft pick compensation would have been lower. Under that scenario, Arceneaux said, the Bucs could have opted to match or let him walk while receiving something in return.
Instead, “He’s being punished two years in a row,” Arceneaux said, referring to the fact Penn played under the same agent tender last season, though for slightly less money.
“You’re saying he’s worth a 1 and a 3 but they won’t pay him,” Arceneaux added. “So, basically, they agree with me that he’s a valuable player.”
Hey, Arceneaux, don’t gripe at the Bucs. Gripe at the NFLPA. They signed the current labor contract, not Bucs general manager Mark Dominik.
Nice job, Dominik!
Update: The Mad Twitterer claims (via his Twitter feed of course) that Jeremy Trueblood received a second round tender.
Update II: Holder reports, again via Twitter, the Bucs have slapped linebacker Barrett Ruud with highest possible tender. Joe believes somewhere, his good friend Justin Pawlowski is celebrating this news with a cold Caybrew.
February 26th, 2010 at 2:58 pm
Nice job Dominik? Sure he saved the Glazers some money, but he’s pretty much guaranteed that Penn will skip OTA’s — again. That’s not cool for a team that really needs to get it’s act together. I wonder if Morris was thinking about then when he made his “light years” comment?
February 26th, 2010 at 3:03 pm
Let’s face it. Dominik’s player selection ability is suspect, but not terrible. And his financial savvy is showing. I think we have the second coming of Rich McKay here.
Bruce “I’m the biggest schmuck since Maccaca” Allen spent like mad and got us nothing but broken down has-been’s. Dominik’s job is to operate within the confines of the owner’s wishes and the current labor deal. Penn mus do the same.
February 26th, 2010 at 3:10 pm
…and when it comes time for Penn to become a UFA, he’s going to bolt.
The Bucs were in salary cap hell long before Allen came along. Who signed Simeon Rice? We were in salary cap hell back then. Allen got us out of salary cap hell.
February 26th, 2010 at 4:12 pm
Yeah, I recall us throwing massive contracts to Raider cast-offs once Bruce and Jon got their chance with the checkbook.
February 26th, 2010 at 4:45 pm
LaughingCat, What ex-Raiders (BTW coaches do sign players they know and/or are familar with their schemes) got HUGE contracts? Todd Steussie and Charlie Garner were the only big contract signings that didn’t pan out for Allen back then. Garner was a Raider. Todd was not. Do you mean Ricky Dudely or Tim Brown? They were cheap I assure you.
February 26th, 2010 at 4:52 pm
I hope Penn’s agent is just being a typical douche bag lawyer and Penn doesn’t feel like he’s getting punished. He’ll be paid 2.8 million dollars this year. That is pretty damn good, esp[ecially for an undrafted free agent. If he starts crying and skips OTAs, we need to trade him.
February 26th, 2010 at 5:03 pm
OAR:
Tim Brown, Charlie Garner, Doug Jolley, and Phillip Buchanon spring to mind. I believe we also signed an offensive lineman that played in Oakland under gruden. I just can’t think of his name.
February 26th, 2010 at 5:31 pm
Jdouble, Garner and the O-lineman (even Steussie) were the only “big” contracts (and they were even when we didnt have much cap space), as for the rest they were cheap. That is my point, not all of the ex-Raiders(again had no problem with the signings for familiarity, etc) Allen signed had “Huge” contracts. That is all.
February 26th, 2010 at 5:44 pm
All I have to say is, we won a Superbowl before Allen got his hands on teh team. Now we are in good cap shape, yes because of Allen, but it wasnt always that way. But we constantly had average talent, at best, on our team when Allen was here.
I’m not defending Dominik. But Allen was nothing more than a cap-ologist. He SUCKED as a GM. Made me want to shower after each time he was on TV/radio.
February 26th, 2010 at 5:50 pm
LaughingCat:
LOL!
February 26th, 2010 at 6:13 pm
They released Josh Bidwell as well, guess he was finished. We need a decent punter!
February 26th, 2010 at 6:50 pm
So with that trender, if Trueblood gets signed by another team we get a 2nd rounder? Considering the OL depth this year and the amount of penalties he accumulates, I feel like we’d be better off if someone signed him!!
Perhaps Dominik is bating the hook…..
February 26th, 2010 at 9:34 pm
Penn might’ve gotten that long-term deal he wants if he’d laid off the fried chicken during the season the past two years.
It makes financial sense to tender these guys if you can at this point in time (he said Nixonesquely). If they have complaints, the players should take it up with the union, which OKed this if a CBA wasn’t in effect.
February 26th, 2010 at 9:52 pm
Why don’t we act professionally and reward players who actually produce for us , instead of trying to nickel and dime them and screw them out of the market value they earned??
Players remember this crap ….
February 26th, 2010 at 10:32 pm
The NFLPA was agreed to by the NFL players. The Bucs are following the rules of the NFLPA. He’s getting 3 million this year. For an undrafted free agent, that’s pretty swell. After skipping OTAs and being a fat ass all year, I don’t think he deserves a contract anyways. He played prettyy good, but if he’s only gonna give as much effort as he has to, then they’ll only pay him what they have to.
If he shows upto OTAs this year, stays in shape, and plays well…I’m sure he’ll get his long term contract. If he skips OTAs again, then F*** him. Trade him and get a new tackle.
February 27th, 2010 at 8:58 am
JDouble …If he can play as well as he does while being a fat ass , what do you care??
Obviously it’s a good playing weight for him , and he can handle it. If he lost the gut , for all we know , he might be too light and get pushed around inside.
If it ain’t broke , don’t fix it.
February 27th, 2010 at 10:04 am
It’s not just about his gut. If he comes to OTAs and shows the effort and works hard with the rest of the team….and still has a gut, then no biggie. Skipping OTAs is the problem, being out of shape just added to it. If you want a huge contract, you need to show you deserve it. Skipping OTAs and being out of shape doesn’t scream “Sign me to a six year deal with $20 million garuanteed!!!”