Age Not A Factor With Mankins
August 26th, 2014
GM Jason Licht lauded new Bucs guard Logan Mankins for his locker room leadership.
Wow, Joe knew something was up this afternoon when Bucs media relations staff said general manager Jason Licht would have an impromptu press conference outside under the Florida sun.
While Licht is media friendly, he has kept arm’s length away from media for a while outside of the Carl Nicks news, which also was revealed under the Florida sun. But it was clear this was big news when the impromptu press conference was relocated inside One Buc Palace.
And it was. The Bucs solved their hole at guard by acquiring All-Pro Logan Mankins from the Patriots for tight end Tim Wright and an as yet unconfirmed draft pick, rumored to be a fourth-round pick.
Licht must think he got a steal because Joe knows he really, really liked Tim Wright, and said so at the NFL Scouting Combine this past winter.
A former employee of Bill Belicheat, Licht said the tape on Mankins shows no difference than when Licht was working in New England a few years ago. So age was not a factor in the trade, he said.
Licht also lauded how great of a locker room presence Mankins is from his experience in New England. Joe thought it was interesting how much Licht pushed Mankins’ leadership in the wake of the dalliance with sleazy Richie Incognito.
August 26th, 2014 at 2:27 pm
Great move!!
August 26th, 2014 at 2:28 pm
Well one things for sure…you can never have enough stand-up quality guys in your locker room. Leadership breeds winning!
August 26th, 2014 at 2:30 pm
some people are saying hes not what he used to be……. now we need another guard on the other side!
August 26th, 2014 at 2:30 pm
This is a great move. I liked Tim Wright but we were overloaded on tight ends. The Incognito talk may have been completely a bluff. I’m going to believe that.
August 26th, 2014 at 2:31 pm
why is everybody so happy about this trade we just gave away a young type in with a lot of potential for a 32 year old white version of Davin Joseph ex pro bowler in the downhill
August 26th, 2014 at 2:32 pm
Age is not a factor, until it is!
August 26th, 2014 at 2:32 pm
Sign Incognito and lets get to the regular season.
August 26th, 2014 at 2:37 pm
My friend up in Boston says that there is major concern about Mankins knees and losing a step. He said that he’s always been excellent at run blocking and decent in pass protection but has allowed several bonehead sacks the last two seasons.
Obviously this is a huge improvement over what we have currently, I’m just somewhat concerned over the financial commitment that we have for the next three seasons for someone that’s supposedly in decline.
I won’t even begin to question the value of leadership/character he has over Incognito but if it means anything Bleacher report ranked Incognito the 23rd best guard in the NFL and Mankins as the 18th best. Is comparable age and skill set but drastically different character qualities worth losing Tim Wright, a fourth rounder and approx $4million extra per season worth it? Who knows, time will certainly tell!
August 26th, 2014 at 2:37 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9V8cpRFYMXk
August 26th, 2014 at 2:37 pm
Tim Wright was struggling with the new Tedford offense from what I can tell. We desperately needed a good Guard and Mankins is better than good.
Maybe we will pick up Incognito & Mankins can pick on him!!!
August 26th, 2014 at 2:37 pm
what pablo said. the voice of reason and a 4th round pick. licht got his a$$ kicked on this one
August 26th, 2014 at 2:38 pm
His declining knees are a factor, however. Remember this is not the Jets or the Lions we just traded with, it’s New England. They aren’t getting rid of Mankins unless they feel they can easily replace him.
August 26th, 2014 at 2:38 pm
Agreed Luther. if not incognito. We need another good guard. Only have one right now. Maybe someone steps up but hasn’t happened yet. And I’m not sold on our tackles yet either
August 26th, 2014 at 2:38 pm
@pablo
He can probably play another 4 solid years. Guards tend to age well. Also, he is still infinitely better than what we have now at an older age
August 26th, 2014 at 2:38 pm
Pablo – I will answer your question. Because we were hurting badly on the Oline due to poor guard play. Instant upgrade. All Pro last year (5x’s total) We still have an up and comer with more dynamic upside at TE in ASJ, plus Meyers, plus blocker Stocker. I believe that should answer the question.
August 26th, 2014 at 2:38 pm
Love it!
August 26th, 2014 at 2:41 pm
Several bone head sacks last year??? I watched SEVERAL bonehead sacks last game!
August 26th, 2014 at 2:43 pm
Everyone is happy because how awful the Guards have been
August 26th, 2014 at 2:44 pm
You guys got to see the tape from pats vs patriots pre season. Logan sticks to his guy like he is glued to him. I have never seen anything like it before. He also gets way out in space on screens and pulling sweeps. Wow!!!
August 26th, 2014 at 2:44 pm
This guy made the pro bowl last year and didn’t miss a game all of sudden when we sign him he is old and stinks?? geez
August 26th, 2014 at 2:45 pm
Robert 9 is Mark Dominik
August 26th, 2014 at 2:47 pm
When did Tim Wright all of a sudden become Jimmy Graham
August 26th, 2014 at 2:48 pm
Some of you glass half empty Bozo’s will never be satisfied – all you want to do is look for the negative in what everyone does.
You must have been happy with an clueless staff last two years because complaining about L&L is not warranted.
August 26th, 2014 at 2:48 pm
pats fans say the guy is not what he used to be but still a good player. good attitude, really good run blocker but gave up 11 sacks last year.
i like to gauge players by what the former teams fans think of them..for example there were no cleveland fans that cared at all about losing Oneil Cousins. new england fans seem bummed to see him go but feel he made too much money and was getting up in age. i’ll take it. def upgrade.
August 26th, 2014 at 2:51 pm
Watch the tape people. Listening to fans is the dumbest thing In the world. This guy is a stud! Look out NFC south!
August 26th, 2014 at 2:52 pm
do you guys remember when Derrick Brooks made the Pro Bowl in 08 but he didn’t deserve it that’s the same thing that happened to Logan last year I’m on a Patriots forum board and we are discussing it Pro Bowl and All Pro is just a popularity contest this guy is on the decline we should have just gave Joseph a pay cut and kept zuttah
August 26th, 2014 at 2:53 pm
He’s missed how many games? Amazing to me how some people who just don’t get it, we filled our most glaring need with an All Pro for a 6-3 TE that can’t block and a 4th rounder. If he plays anywhere near his past seasons for 3-5 years it’s a steal even if Tim Wright is successful in NE. We want to win now and the Wright/Cousins combo is not equal to Mankins.
August 26th, 2014 at 2:54 pm
perfect example of why NE is a continual playoff team
August 26th, 2014 at 2:54 pm
PAtrick Bucs Someone finally speaking with some real sense.
August 26th, 2014 at 2:55 pm
@ak427er
couldn’t agree more, you’re one of the few realists that either A) aren’t down on their knees for every move the Bucs ever make or B) a contrarian that seems to discredit every move ever made (AHEM Bucsrealist)
August 26th, 2014 at 2:56 pm
Who cares if he isn’t all Pro he is better than what we have. Tim wight had one decent season now the guy is all world. The guy is a receiver not a TE. I would rather have just a solid starting guard than a number 2 TE which was what wright was hoping to be
August 26th, 2014 at 2:58 pm
Who knows how Mankins will turn out. But if you all would have found out we could have made this move 3 games into the year after we have given up 20 sacks everybody would have been crushing L and L for not making it
August 26th, 2014 at 3:02 pm
It was a good trade for both teams, and it has been reported that Doug Martin was seen, dancing an Irish Jig. Mankins is a pro bowl caliber guard at his best, and better then anything we had, at his worst.
McCown holds the ball a long time, and can make the O Line look bad sometimes.
Now, if we can also pick up Incognito cheap ……
August 26th, 2014 at 3:08 pm
Dear Bucs fans,
I ask because I’m genuinely interested. The Bucs gave up 43 sacks last year, or an average of just under 9 per lineman. Mankins gave up 11. I know in our team in particular Joseph gave up a disproportionately high amount. Mankins is a BEAST with run-blocking, he’s a phenomenal pulling guard. There’s lots of tape to support that. But he has always been a questionable pass-protector. How is this an improvement (consider his salary and what we had to give for him) over what we could have got for Incognito OR keeping Zuttah and Joseph (who St Louis press is gushing over his preseason performance)
I just don’t get it….please enlighten me
August 26th, 2014 at 3:11 pm
Anybody that don’t like this deal is a clueless football fan idiot. You expect perfect out comes in every situation where only the Bucs come out the only winner. I could care less what pats fans think also. We got a G that was going to start for the Pats this year that went to the Pro Bowl last 5 years in a row. Yeah he’s older, what the hell you want? You don’t suck and go to the Pro Bowl the last 5 years in a row ONLY because your popular with other NFL players.
August 26th, 2014 at 3:14 pm
Yeah lets keep our 4th rd pck and Tim Wright and win 4 games again.
August 26th, 2014 at 3:17 pm
How is it an improvement?! Do You know the guards we were about to start??? Those guys will be working at walmart in 9 months
August 26th, 2014 at 3:17 pm
Mankins is one of Top 3 guards in the league. Anyone disbursing that- haven’t watched him- or is a clueless idiot.
With his offseason regiment- he will play until 36 or 37 at a high level.
This was a tremendous acquisition for our GM!
Job well done.
To those of you who are concerned about the trade,
Relax! You are only worried, because you are clueless, and don’t know what’s going on.
It was an amazing trade for us. And the team is much better now, than it was this morning.
Wright wasn’t gonna get on the field, with ASJ coming into his own.
August 26th, 2014 at 3:19 pm
Don’t miss the fact that we also have young guards in Patrick O. & Kadeem Edwards, who would you rather they learn from, Mankins or Incognito.
August 26th, 2014 at 3:25 pm
I think the people that keep talking about clueless fans not knowing what they’re talking about are 60 yr old sombrero fans that are so accustomed to losing for decades upon decades that they lost touch with reality. The same people that cheered when Zuttah penn and Joseph got released for absolutely nothing yet were crying last two weeks bc of poor oline performance. I think some of you are stuck in old ways. It’s 2014 people WAKE UP!!!
August 26th, 2014 at 3:25 pm
And Mankins gets a $350,000+ raise out of the deal: no state income taxes in FL.
August 26th, 2014 at 3:35 pm
Courtesy of the Boston Globe:
OL: The Patriots’ offensive line is an experienced bunch led by left guard Logan Mankins and a pair of solid tackles in Sebastian Vollmer and Nate Solder.
The group, however, is coming off a bit of a down year, allowing 40 sacks, the most Brady has endured since his first year as a starter. Mankins looked uncharacteristically downright average and Nate Solder has not looked good in the preasons.
The interior was the weak link in 2013 and center Ryan Wendell along with right guard Dan Connolly must bounce back from poor efforts while Mankins has to prove his 2013 was an anomaly and not indicative of descent as a player.
New England used mid-round draft choices on Florida State center Bryan Stork, Stanford tackle Cameron Fleming and Florida guard Jon Halapio as insurance.
Belichik and Co has almost always known when enough is enough and let go of players (see Moss, Seymour, Tommy Kelly just this week) at the right time. What about paying a guy $6.5m for the next three years is any different than what we had in Zuttah/Joseph or even signing Incognito?? This is an almost unilateral move to where we were four months ago. I’m not even upset that it came via trade. I also recognize that it’s a HUGE improvement over Cousins, but at what cost? Will past performance really dictate his current health? No one knows better than the Patriots. Not to mention, Joe likes to remind us Wright was in the upper half of tightends last season with the leagues worst offense. He has YEARS to turn into a great player, how much does Mankins have in the tank? He’s missed 20% of his starts (15) in the last four seasons due to injury.
August 26th, 2014 at 3:44 pm
Yea bc sports writers who have never worn a jock strap know what their looking for. Again does anybody realize who are starters were going to be ?
August 26th, 2014 at 3:52 pm
Age is a factor with every NFL football player. How long will Mankins’ body hold up?
August 26th, 2014 at 3:54 pm
The pats probably would have cut him or his replacement and we could have got them for free.Pats screwed us again….
August 26th, 2014 at 4:05 pm
Probably could have gotten us a start from yesterdays guards too! You can’t hope for anything
August 26th, 2014 at 4:11 pm
“New England used mid-round draft choices on Florida State center Bryan Stork, Stanford tackle Cameron Fleming and Florida guard Jon Halapio as insurance.”
This we keep giving away our mid round picks for injured over the kill bums. See Darrell Revis
August 26th, 2014 at 6:22 pm
Luckily Dominick not here and L and L cleaned up his mess. Kareem brown, Jonathan wilhite, rich orhnerberger, Aaron Hernandez,josh Boyce these are the patriots 4th round draft picks since 2007. I would trade Tim
Wright and all of these guys for a true starting guard.
August 26th, 2014 at 8:07 pm
Boy some of the people on this site love to bitch!!! We just upgraded our line by a mile. If we get two good years out of Mankins its worth the trade. Its most likley Wright was going to be replaced in the line up by Jenkins anyway. So getting at the least, a above average guard for our line is a win all around. So stop bitching, smell the roses!!!!!!