Bucs Have $15.82 Million Available
March 16th, 2012
The teams of stats gremlins at ESPN have access to what seems like every number in sports. When it comes to numbers (largely boring to Joe), Joe trusts ESPN over other outlets that are prone to present guesswork as fact.
Per ESPN NFC South blogger Pat Yasinskas, the Bucs have $15.82 million to spend in 2012 before they would reach the salary cap.
Yasinskas revealed the data with Tom Krasniqi on WHBO-AM 1040 yesterday and made it clear it included Jeff Faine’s departure and the Dan Orlovsky signing.
Now assuming Ronde Barber re-signs, as Joe reported yesterday, he’d probably earn at least $4 million (he made $5 million last season). So that would leave the Bucs with just under $12 million in cap space. The Bucs would still have to sign their draft picks.
In that scenario, the Bucs still have free agency money to play with, but not an endless supply.
If demanding Curtis Lofton signs, that would come close to tapping out the Bucs for 2012, without cuts, trades or incarcerations.
March 16th, 2012 at 10:03 am
Joe,
Should be “but *not* an endless supply.”
March 16th, 2012 at 10:04 am
never thought I would say this but Okoye would be nice if they………… HAVE MONEY LEFT !
March 16th, 2012 at 10:09 am
Im pretty sure draft picks count against next years cap too … Something changes after June 1st. Not real sure though. The spending is for all purposes over.
I love ROnde Barber but the 4 million we are giving him would go a big way to getting a LB or RB the we *NEED* this season badly.
The Bucs have 3 premium draft picks. Top 100.
Key Needs
MLB, Starter needed
OLB, Starter needed
CB, Starter needed
RB, Starter quality back needed if LGB gets hurt.
Swing OT, Who backs up Donald Penn and Trueblood ?? Key need
Safety, Starter or #2 quality needed
The Bucs will be behind the 8 – Ball if they expect to fill all these needs in the draft and may end up having to reach.
March 16th, 2012 at 10:11 am
Vilma might be cut…he’ll face a suspension because of bounty gate, but I would still take him. Saints are bringing in a bunch of interviews to replace him.
March 16th, 2012 at 10:11 am
I think we want Lofton, But don’t need him. Are LB are good they had a bad season last year , But who didn’t on our team. I think better coaching and they will get back on track plus having an offseason.
March 16th, 2012 at 10:13 am
For every free agent or draft pick that gets signed, a player already on the roster has to be released. That continually creates more cap space.
March 16th, 2012 at 10:15 am
jvato24
The only adjustment I would make to your list is at RB. With this refurbished line, we don’t have to spend big or draft high on one…a mid-level guy can do it.
Personally, I say bring Faddy back for a year, get a RB next year. Or get Bush.
March 16th, 2012 at 10:17 am
Anyone know if it would free up space if we cut Trueblood? Don’t we have someone to step in, or couldwe draft a guy cheaper?
March 16th, 2012 at 10:18 am
I guess my ultimate point is … If the Bucs dont address some other needs … They will be depending on their 5th, 6th and 7th round picks to potentially play right away and maybe be starters on a few occasions.
RB and MLB worry me the most. Both positions require experience to play at a high level. For a RB atleast as far as keeping Freeman clean and maybe catching a few balls.
If Im Tampa I go get Mike Tolbert and David Hawthorne who is an underrated LB that Hits HARD and not far behind Lofton!!
March 16th, 2012 at 10:22 am
By my estimation, there’s another 15mil or so in cuts/trades starting with Winslow, Graham, others. The announcement that Ronde is returning was premature. He may still decide to retire. Not worried about cap space. There are 3or 4 high cap players that could easily be restructured if needed!
March 16th, 2012 at 10:28 am
Kujolw- sorry Buddy, but I gotta call B S on that one.
Every single NFL anaylist, critic, former players, and ball boys are all on record, agreeing with what everyone here already knew.
We have the worst LBers in the league.
It ain’t even close
Listening to Gil Brandt last night, on “NFL radio”, he was discussing the Bucs.
He said we still need 3 LBers.,and TWO more CBs. Also surprised me by saying he thought we still needed one more starting WR. – ??.
Guess he’s much less impressed with our young WR corp than I am!!
I think we have 4 young guys that will develop into good starters( Williams,Benn, Briscoe, Parker)
Apparently, Gil ain’t thinking that.
March 16th, 2012 at 10:29 am
Graham is already unrestricted. LGB and Madu are only RBs on the roster. If the Bucs dont target RB in FA besides LUMPKIN 🙁 .. I expect fully for the Bucs to go after Trent Richardson. I wouldnt be destroyed by it, but Im not blown away by him as he does not run very smooth. Just my opinion.
I actually feel Doug Martin is better. again .. IMO
March 16th, 2012 at 10:31 am
Guys,
I have a question. What if Matt Kalil drops to #5 and we can’t trade down. Would you pass on him and take someone else? He is a left tackle but some left tackles come in the league playing right. Just a thought…..
March 16th, 2012 at 10:34 am
Tampabay Times reported yesterday that the bucs have $20.2 Mil in cap left. So someone has done some voodoo mathematics here.
Who is right???
March 16th, 2012 at 10:35 am
Matt Kalil isn’t dropping past the Vikings at #3. They don’t have a LT.
March 16th, 2012 at 10:37 am
C’mon jJvato24, you know what I mean. Of course Graham is a UFA. If he signs elsewhere, cap space is freed. If the Bucs don’t re-sign him, consider it a cut! Either way, cap space is freed!
March 16th, 2012 at 10:39 am
Oh, we can Dre up some cap money by cutting the useless statue – Quincy Black!
Ideally, you would like to replace him, with someone who does something Quincy won’t.
Like, play football.
But if we can’t replace him, I believe the defense is better off playing 10 on 11. Just leave blacks spot empty, would be an improvement!
Last year, he was running away from RBs so fast, he’d actually end up blocking some of our guys, in his rush to escape!!
Or, for a thousand a game, I will start. Like Quincy, I also don’t want to get hurt. So I’m pretty much just gonna walk around- also like Quincy!
But I promise to try and stand in the way of the RBs!
Not try and tackle ‘me- just sorta stand around where they are trying to run to!
That alone would make me twice the LB Black is.
I’m a huge and cheap upgrade!
Use Quincy’s salary money to pay a Football player. It’s not doing that now!
March 16th, 2012 at 10:40 am
Sorry, didn’t mean to clobber your name. Typo and oversight!
March 16th, 2012 at 10:43 am
@Bucfromla. if Kalil drops to no.5 I would draft him and trade Penn for a line backer. Left tackles are hard to come by and Penn has a lot of value. Kalil would be your anchor left tackle for years.
March 16th, 2012 at 10:44 am
Lol @Capt.Tim Agreed Quincy is one of the worst if not the worst LB in the league!!
March 16th, 2012 at 10:45 am
Gotta have money left over to sign our draft picks. How much will we need? About 6-10 mil for all of them?
March 16th, 2012 at 10:45 am
@ Capt Tim, Since Billick thinks we shafted Morris and Morris was a big reason Black got an extension, maybe we could send Black to be with Morris.
March 16th, 2012 at 10:47 am
Capt Tim, I may be mistaken here, but I thought Black got 2yrs gauranteed. Trading him would be ideal or if we cut him and someone else picks him up, then we’re only on the hook for the offset.
March 16th, 2012 at 10:50 am
@joe ” incarcerations ” lmao…so if Talib go directly to jail.We don’t pay any of his salary?
March 16th, 2012 at 10:50 am
Why the switch from “BSPN” back to “ESPN”? Did you guys make up and now you are playing “nice”?
March 16th, 2012 at 10:54 am
Cam got 22 mil over 4 years as a #1 QB pick, where Clayborn at the end of the first got 8 over 4 years. So figrue a #5 pick will earn about 3 mil per year, 2nd rounder gets 1 mil per year, and everyone else gets close to the min, we should only need 6 mil max to sign our rookies this year.
March 16th, 2012 at 10:55 am
Joe here,
@Rob holiday – No, Joe didn’t kiss and make up to BSPN. Joe alternates BSPN and ESPN depending on his mood and the post.
@Raphael — Your typical NFL contract doesn’t require you pay a guy if he’s unavailable and in jail.
March 16th, 2012 at 10:59 am
I agree that cuts are going to free up cap space. I do believe they are still looking at getting Lofton but they are going to let him find out on his own that he ain’t worth 9 mil a year. They already made an offer so we’ll see if it turns out to be the best one he can get.
I agree that we absolutely need another LB and possibly 2. One veteran starter for sure. That’s where Lofton comes in. Move Foster to outside and then let Black, Hayward and Watson battle it out for the other LB spot. We will probably draft a LB somewhere.
I agree with Capt that our receivers are a lot more talented than they looked last year. I think V.J. will help free up Williams and Benn by drawing double coverage and we’ll see much more production from our WR’s. A strong running game will help the passing game too and I look for us to have one of the leagues best.
Can’t wait for OTA’s and the draft! Go Bucs!
March 16th, 2012 at 11:03 am
Cutting Quincy Black will not free cap space, he has guaranteed $$, Earnest Graham is not counting against cap, he is a free agent, the difference in money is, you still got Ronde that they have to account for since they put it out there, LGB is still gonna get more money, as a RFA, he has to take what Bucs offer or sit out and then still have so much for rookies, that won’t cost them much, because it is slotted. They already know what they are paying unless they accumulate more picks. Either way, let’s go get an experienced MLB, draft more defense, so when the offense does strike quickly, we will have depth on defense, LB, DT, safety. I also think the new coaching staff will develop players like safety devin Holland and receiver Ed Gant, still need to find a return guy, the only reason I am in favor of Lamichael James
March 16th, 2012 at 11:05 am
Don’t forget about Dakota Watson people. Black, Watson, Foster with a ex-LB head coach and all the new coaches these three will be better.
March 16th, 2012 at 11:06 am
Multiple other sites have us at 18 mil.blacks money is guaranteed.so we keep him.rookies will take 5-6 mill like last year.if we want tolbert,okoue and a lb we can no prob.
March 16th, 2012 at 11:08 am
Best Picture to date. Freeman and his 2 new best friends.
http://pic.twitter.com/y0JrCtSF
BTW Freeman’s shirt is priceless for this picture.
March 16th, 2012 at 11:13 am
@Northend Thank you.
March 16th, 2012 at 11:18 am
No Disrespect but anyone that mentions Quincy Black and Good together are completely Crazy and had some good sh*t on gamedays !!
March 16th, 2012 at 11:24 am
In addition to our linebacker issues, our young DL needs to come through also, both in run defense and sacks.
23 sacks aint gonna cut it.
16 good hard games from Mr. Gerald McCoy is a big requirement for our cause IMO.
March 16th, 2012 at 11:31 am
@ p41 daayum Nicks is one big mofo…
March 16th, 2012 at 11:32 am
If I was Cox I’d make Black relearn how to tackle. You can’t tackle without breaking down, hitting, wrapping and driving your legs. The dude ‘tackles’ like a zombie. He’s jus a pretty boy not a thumper. Never will be. No team in the NFL would trade for him.
March 16th, 2012 at 11:32 am
@941 not the u-boat p-41 ..oopsey
March 16th, 2012 at 11:41 am
Ronder Barber is a 37 year old Nickle Back, he should sign for cheap if he wants to win ball games. He is no longer in it for the money, he should come back for 2 million and allow the Bucs to pursue other players. I have faith Talib will be back, If Goodell let him play last year I think the evidence is good enough for Talib to get off. We 100% need a linebacker, even if it is Joe Mays or Erin Henderson, those two can both play the run and that is what we need. Add in a rookie, and we could be ok.
March 16th, 2012 at 11:41 am
Also, the longer free agency plays out the cheaper players get
March 16th, 2012 at 11:43 am
Sign one of the best MLB’s that ever played the game…London Fletcher.
March 16th, 2012 at 11:45 am
in the way jeff faine was cut, there are other guys who will be cut, despite the tiny depth on LBs and DB im sure quincy black, geno hayes and sean jones will be gone!!!!…. and to be fair, dominik has excelled in that area of numbers, i trust on him
March 16th, 2012 at 11:52 am
The Bucs went out and signed 2 former DEs, Daniel Te’o Neshiem, 6-3, 263 and Nick Reed, 6-1, 248 and gave them LB numbers, 50 and 53 respectively. I assume Dominik was involved in this. Can anyone explain what was the thinking at the time and are they still in the plans? Also what is a Front Seven coach? Does it have anything to do with 3-4 defenses?
March 16th, 2012 at 11:54 am
Totally agree on London Fletcher. He led the league in tackles, prob not very expensive, and could be the perfect transition and locker room leader for the young players.
London = Hardy Nickerson 2.0
March 16th, 2012 at 11:56 am
Capt.Tim
So we release Black and Hayes move Foster to OLB and Watson for Heys spot and pick up Lofton. Right lol
March 16th, 2012 at 12:04 pm
Hayes isnt a Bus anymore.
March 16th, 2012 at 12:04 pm
Actually hes not a Buc or a Bus.
March 16th, 2012 at 12:07 pm
Lmao^
March 16th, 2012 at 12:20 pm
@BFFLa, I’d draft Kalil in a heartbeat if he is still on the board. He would only make the line stronger for many years to come. And I believe, like some, in staying true to your board and drafting the best available, regardless of position, especially with high round picks. Drafting for need, all too often leads to reaches on players. Gaines Adams was a good example of a reach for need, when he was not the best available player. That punter they drafted was also a bad reach. The one exception is QB when you already have franchise Q, IMO>
March 16th, 2012 at 12:41 pm
The Raiders will release Kamerion Wimbley today also. That may have an indirect effect on us also. We prob won’t get him but it may cause someone else to slide to us.
March 16th, 2012 at 12:41 pm
Trade Black and Talib to Raheem. I don’t care for what. I’d call a couple of footballs a good deal for us. Throw in a few gift cards for the local Bar if we must. Anything to get” Quitter” and “grandma Shooter” outta town.
The skins got a safety that might trade.
Or a waterboy
Either way, I agree with Gil Brandt. We need a whole new Lb corn, and a couple more CBs.
We did great so far. But still have work. It’s a talented team- I still believe that. It is just horrible in a few areas.
Happily, I now have faith that the team will adress them. I just Hope Schiano starts his legacy here, by cleaning house of the bad character elements here, that sabatoged the entire team last year
I think he Wil. He’s isnt looking for CBs that hard, cause he’s happy with what he inherited!!
March 16th, 2012 at 12:53 pm
Talib should stay. Mabey having V.Jackson there will show Talib and T.Jackson how to become a professional because V.Jackson isn’t exactly a saint, but seems like he’s matured alot.Idk just a thought.
March 16th, 2012 at 12:54 pm
Joe:
They still have the franchise designation on Conner to pay out as well as the tender on Bennett, that will probably eat up about 5 million together, therefore, I imagine they have about 8 mill to play with. However, if it was really going to be an issue they would have taken the dallas/wash penalty cap number into this year rather than deferring it to next year
March 16th, 2012 at 1:49 pm
@ Sean
That is wrong, they already considered the tenders to Barth and Bennett , as well as the Zuttah extension when the cap went from $60 mill to the $45 mill range. So whatever the cap hit is now, it already includes these moves.
March 16th, 2012 at 1:56 pm
If Claiborn is gone at #5 I would like to see us trade down and get Kuechley.
March 16th, 2012 at 5:40 pm
Kujolw- when a guy hits a 58 year old woman’s car in the rear, then jumps out, runs around threatening to shoot her- to the point she’s scared to get out of her car!- you cant teach trash like that anything. Obviously, he hasn’t learned anything at all so far. That’s what prisons are for.
V Jackson had a couple DUIs. That isnt a violent crime- or anything like it. It’s just a case of poor judgement. A young multi millionaire, has a couple to many- it happens to good men everyday.
Absolutely no comparison to the stupid BullSh^% Taliban has done.
Threatening to shoot a 58 year old woman- really??
Why would anyone want a guy like this to be on a team yer kids cheer for. I don’t want one cent of my ticket money going in his pocket.
Hopefully, he’s gone real soon.
March 16th, 2012 at 5:53 pm
Well said I agree
March 16th, 2012 at 9:28 pm
Cool. I didn’t believe for a second that you were the kinda guy to condom that kinda stuff!
Hard core Bucs fans are better people than that! 🙂
March 16th, 2012 at 10:14 pm
Lol- or even” condone” that kinda stuff!
I guess its Friday night!!