Trading Jackson Has Consequences
October 21st, 2014
The swirling Vincent Jackson trade chatter is quite intriguing.
Would the Bucs really keep V-Drops Jackson and his eight-figure salary next year — for a wide receiver who appears to be on the decline?
Joe hardly thinks so. That doesn’t seem to fit the expressed “value” interest of general manager Jason Licht.
And one must assume Mike Evans was drafted No. 7 overall because he’s a true No. 1 receiver. If not, then the Bucs missed in the draft. But if they didn’t miss, then a $10 million, No. 2 receiver (Jackson in 2015) is not money well spent. Throw in that Evans and Jackson are similar types of receivers, and Jackson’s future is suspect in Tampa.
But is Jackson worth trading before the trade deadline, Tuesday, Oct. 28?
That depends on the offer, of course, But trading Jackson would come with consequences.
First, losing Jackson would be a terrible idea if the team is trying to see what it really has in Mike Glennon. A Jackson trade would virtually guarantee double coverage for Evans through the rest of this season, leaving September street-dweller Louis Murphy as the No. 2 receiver, with rookie Robert Herron at No. 3 — in an offense with no running game or identity. That’s not an ideal scenario in which to evaluate a quarterback.
Second, given that Evans has come along so well to date, one must assume some of that is because of the example set by Jackson. Glennon talked about that on his radio show last week. Taking Jackson out of the mix now likely would hurt the rookie. It’s not like the Bucs have a very experienced wide receivers coach Evans can lean on.
Again, it all would come down to the offer on the table for Jackson. Lovie and Licht should have seen enough of Jackson already to know if they want him back next season. If not, then they have to be open to dealing him.
October 21st, 2014 at 11:04 am
No, keep Jackson at least for the balance of the season. Any offer won’t be enough to offset his present value to the team.
October 21st, 2014 at 11:05 am
We sure look like a ‘value’ team. We get our players at the Dollar Tree.
October 21st, 2014 at 11:06 am
If someone offers a 2nd round pick or even a 3rd you pretty much have to do it. Love VJax but this team is deeply, deeply flawed and needs a lot of help to contend for anything (except the division title in the utterly, unspeakably awful NFC South.)
October 21st, 2014 at 11:14 am
Trading Jackson would be more appealing if the current regime had a better track record of turning resources like cap space and draft picks into assets for the team. Unfortunately, Lovie doesn’t have a good track record of evaluating talent. The team is probably better off keeping a known commodity, albeit at a rather high cost, for several reasons.
October 21st, 2014 at 11:20 am
Didn’t Percy Harvin only garner a 6th.-rd. pick?? Bolden also?
October 21st, 2014 at 11:21 am
their too stupid or they would trade him while he has value if
October 21st, 2014 at 11:23 am
Great stuff
Now with Jackson on the block
what does that do to the game this week then
Will Vikings defense try and double him up now
Will Lovie try and boost his trade value with a lot of throws
will they use him more as a decoy and see what Evans can really do
This could add some nice drama for this game
October 21st, 2014 at 11:31 am
They need to draft better. Having more picks doesn’t do anything if they can’t nail the picks they make. Our track record on the draft is reprehensible. We have virtually nobody drafted before 2012 on this team right now. It’s disgusting.
October 21st, 2014 at 11:31 am
Yea, I’m going to the beach instead of watching Bucs games for a few weekends. I seriously can’t stand to even listen to Shlubby Smit talk any more. Weak weak energy man
October 21st, 2014 at 11:32 am
And we’ve already given away a 4th rounder in 2015 for Mankins. So if they get that back for Jackson – it means we essentially gave our top two receivers in 2013 away for a washed up guard. Licht should be fired for that.
October 21st, 2014 at 11:38 am
Don’t think it will happen. Just won’t get much value, I don’t think he gets better than a 4th, and I wouldn’t do it for less than a 2nd. Unless there’s a plan for signing a (proven) pass rusher next off season it would be dumb to give him away for 4th or 5th and do nothing with the cap space.
October 21st, 2014 at 11:43 am
Talib with all his baggage nabbed a fourth-rounder at the trade deadline. VJAX is a difference maker for the right team. He should command better than that.
October 21st, 2014 at 11:45 am
And we’ve already given away a 4th rounder in 2015 for Mankins. So if they get that back for Jackson – it means we essentially gave our top two receivers in 2013 away for a washed up guard. Licht should be fired for that.
winner winner chicken dinner
I hated the mankins trade
October 21st, 2014 at 11:50 am
Or since we’re 2 games out of the division lead maybe we keep vjax and see what happens. Why not just wait and if they want to trade him trade him in the off-season what’s the difference. Dumb to trade him now imo.
October 21st, 2014 at 11:54 am
I say spend every extra dollar in the trenches….that includes the best line coaches…having an old slow pass dropping receiver for that amount of money is a suckers choice…..
October 21st, 2014 at 12:03 pm
I say take him off the trading block. You think our offense has been inept thus, wait till you take away Vincent Jackson. Plus its going hinder Evans and Glennon in the long run. Just keep him until the end of the season then make a decision.
October 21st, 2014 at 12:13 pm
We already cut the best player on our team so why not get rid of another good player. I thought the idea was to get more good players not less but with Lovie running things I don’t see that happening. The personal on this team is worst than when Lovie took over.
October 21st, 2014 at 12:31 pm
Yeah let’s trade him for some mid round draft pick that we’ll waste anyway. First they gave away Mike Williams, now they want to unload Jackson?
Trading Jackson is NOT going to help us.
Ask yourself this:
Is the 3rd or 4th rounder we MIGHT get for V-Jax going to be as good/productive as V-Jax still is?
If the answer is no, then don’t trade him.
October 21st, 2014 at 1:01 pm
The way this organization drafts and free agent picks it is probably not a good idea to get rid of one of the handful of successful moves over the last 7 years.
October 21st, 2014 at 1:15 pm
Here’s the thing – I can’t even figure out why this is being discussed? If You’re 1-9, but still only 2 games out first place, and ONE game out of second…and Percy Harvin just established a trade value far below what anyone would consider a ‘good’ deal….
…help me understand why this is a relevant topic?
Yeah, the NFC South has taken the place of the AFC West. That means that it’s entirely possible a 7-9 division leader could reach the playoff’s
I mean, I know we’re coming of the buy week….but could someone start pre-reading #moronjoe’s posts before he sends out these panic bl-articles? Seriously, whatever credibility you have is diminished by such a defeatist attitude. This is Philidelphia whacky – I don’t care how many sports-writing awards he’s been given.
October 21st, 2014 at 1:16 pm
The trade would hurt more than it helped. Another “rockstar” overpaid FA. Keep him until you can replace him. Robert Herron? No…
October 21st, 2014 at 1:39 pm
I said this yesterday… We will not receive anything in a trade that can equal what he is worth to this team currently, even if he would be overpaid next season.
His leadership and skillset are worth more to us this season than a 6th round pick in the next draft (that’s all they got for Harvin).
Keep him around to continue mentoring the young receivers, and allow for a full evaluation of Glennon. Then you can figure out in the offseason if you want to trade him, draft a QB, etc…
October 21st, 2014 at 1:42 pm
You cannot base VJax trade value on what Seattle got for Harvin. Seattle is lucky any team gave them anything, it was a badly held secret that they were about to cut him if they couldn’t get anything in return, remember what they paid for him in picks and cash, they got literally nothing nearing equal value. He was and is a locker room cancer, no matter how talented the player, GMs today aren’t willing to pay top dollar for cancers who can possible disrupt established team chemistry, look who he went to, a team that is going nowhere fast, the Jets paid next to nothing and are hoping he can help them before he blows up their locker room in the interim.
October 21st, 2014 at 1:45 pm
Boldin traded to 49ers also was for a 6th round pick. Harvin was just a more recent example.
October 21st, 2014 at 1:47 pm
Joe, I did not even need to read this article based on your headline. This is really funny. It sure makes the rest of your comment ludicrous.–Joe
Give him some respect as a pro bowler that has been nothing but a class act and a mentor since he’s been in Tampa, which the team desperately lacks. Yes he is playing with a broken wrist for a few games without missing any games which cld factor the drop balls but your input is uncalled for.
By the way it would be better if you writers identify yourselves by your real name at the end of each articles for compliments or criticism instead of camouflaging under “joe”
Nobody’s camouflaging. The writers here are not operating for self-promotion or to absorb compliments or criticism. Names on stories would run counter to that.–Joe
October 21st, 2014 at 2:10 pm
“Another “rockstar” overpaid FA. ”
——-
Surely you really aren’t this stupid? The guy has had 2 huge years for us. He hasn’t missed a game, and he is unquestionably the best WR we have ever had in Tampa. He’s already way up on the all-time receiving list for our team in less than 2.5 years. He’s not having a great year this year, but i ask you this: Who is? Do you think all of our players have gotten too old, or maybe they aren’t being put in the position by the coaches to do well? You don’t have an entire team do worse unless there are some major flaws in coaching.
If we do get rid of Jackson, you just wait and see what he does somewhere else. Then all the people saying to get rid of him will be screaming how stupid we were to get rid of him. That’s how it always seems to work. If anybody can tell me that we are a better team by getting rid of our best offensive player, then I’m all ears. By getting rid of him, we are quitting on this season, and hoping we can do something we almost never do – make a good draft pick. So let’s say we get a 3rd for him. Realistically, how many years would it take for that 3rd round pick to make us better than when we have Vincent Jackson? My guess is over 3 years. So excuse me not wanting to get worse now (which doesn’t seem possible, but it actually is), so that we can MAYBE be in better shape 3 years down the road.
October 21st, 2014 at 2:46 pm
Does anyone still not think that the game has passed Lovie By.
Fire Lovie Smith. He is going to get fired anyway. Why not do it sooner than later.
October 21st, 2014 at 2:48 pm
for a guy that keeps putting up the kind of numbers he has since he got in even with all the drops, I think it’s safe to say the quarterback position is more of a problem than he is. if we get rid of vjacks it would be purely a money thing which I don’t understand unless they are planning on giving McCoy the house. it’s not like they are positioning themselves to go after some big name free agent unless its SUH.
October 21st, 2014 at 2:50 pm
Is trading Jackson seriously going to make or break this season?? C’mon. This season is toast. We need to be looking to the future and if McCown is not the QB of the future then surely Jackson is not the WR of the future. Get some value out of him now and use the draft pick to shore up the O-line or trade bait to trade up and fill a position of need if a player is available. Jackson has no future for any team so getting rid of him if we have a decent offer makes perfect sense.
October 21st, 2014 at 2:51 pm
“Fire Lovie Smith. He is going to get fired anyway. Why not do it sooner than later.”
—
Because no decent coach will even consider this job if we do that. We would be worse than the Raiders for firing a respected coach 6 games into his first season, while only 2 games out of first place (and a real opportunity to pull to within one game after Sunday). You aren’t successful just firing people year after year when things go bad. Name me one successful franchise in any sport that has done well doing that.
October 21st, 2014 at 2:57 pm
@Bobby,
What do you consider the future? Are you seriously worried about several years down the road? Jackson put up big numbers as soon as last year, and had 150 yards receiving only one game removed. Why do you assume he’s done? Why can’t he have 3 or 4 more good years? Do I really need to give you a list of receivers older than him that are still performing at a high level? He hasn’t missed a game in his time in Tampa, he has crap for an OC, and a well below average QB protected by an well below crappy offensive line, with absolutely no running game.
How stupid are you going to feel if he goes to NE for a 3rd round pick, and he proceeds to tear it up (because you know he will)? What if we take that pick and get another Myron Lewis (because you know we will)? How does that make us better?
October 21st, 2014 at 2:59 pm
again – ludicrous to question trading your number one receiver when you’re only 2 games out of first place…
…especially if the trade value has ALREADY been established (wether you think it reasonable or not)…and too low to be of any significant benefit this year OR net.
October 21st, 2014 at 3:14 pm
Gotta admit, there are a lot more smart people against this move than what I thought. The only reason to get rid of Jackson is because you think we are overpaying him. There’s no other reason, certainly not for a mid-round pick that we’ll just throw away anyway. I don’t give a damn about the Glazers saving money, or if they are getting their money’s worth out of Jackson. All I know is we have a much better chance to win with him than without him. There’s not anybody even that stupid to suggest otherwise. We are still FAR under the cap, and if we get rid of Jackson, we’ll just be further under the cap. Do you really think we are going to take that extra money and get some wonderful, season-saving free agent? Is that what you want?
October 21st, 2014 at 3:18 pm
I’m more worried about mcclown starting this week.
October 21st, 2014 at 3:27 pm
^^ LOL, yeah, we all should be.
October 21st, 2014 at 3:41 pm
Robert9 notes if we trade away Jackson we will have traded away our two top receivers from 2013.
What he so cleverly or is to stupid to know or mention is that the other receiver he is referring to, Mike Williams, is languishing week after week on the Bills’ inactive list.
Last heard from, his agent was insisting on a trade and the Bills said fine, go find someone who wants to take both his attitude and salary cap. So far, no takers.
Seems like once Williams got his big guaranteed contract, he turned into the same selfish it’s all about me player tag that he earned in college which dropped him in the draft.
Get a grip Robert9 and take the other half of that Prozac.
October 21st, 2014 at 3:46 pm
Buccfan37 Says:
October 21st, 2014 at 11:04 am
No, keep Jackson at least for the balance of the season. Any offer won’t be enough to offset his present value to the team.
—————-
Present value? Bro, the season is over. We can lose games by 30 points or more with or without him. He doesn’t get separation, he hasn’t caught the ball well in over a year, and he’s only getting worse.
Here are the repercussions. We move on without Jackson and we develop the guys behind him plus get whatever some stupid team is willing to give us for a WR that doesn’t catch all that well and has a bloated contract. That sounds good to me.
If we don’t trade him, there is about a 75% chance he is cut or his contract restructured next season. Very unlikely he will be back with his current deal… same for Dashon “I’ve Struck” Goldson “And Now I Suck”
October 21st, 2014 at 3:55 pm
V Jax is a total class act, so let’s trade him, and let him finish his career with a contender.
One problem no one seems to mention is we lack team speed, on offense.
Not having to respect our speed, teams are stacking the box against us at will, and jamming our receivers at the line.
Sorry, but V Jax is as slow as molasses, and getting even slower.
Plus, he is very expensive, so it might make sense to let him go, IF the deal is right.
October 21st, 2014 at 3:56 pm
Somebody give HawaiianBuc a sedative…he can’t handle all this talk of not paying McCoy and getting rid of Vjax…
October 21st, 2014 at 4:09 pm
Yeah, I have a problem because I don’t want to get rid of two of our very few good players. What’s wrong with me? Meanwhile, you still have a love affair with Glennon, and continue to make excuses for him.
October 21st, 2014 at 4:34 pm
What is this, BASEBALL?!
This talk is ridiculous – what, we can’t afford him? We’re a small market NFL team now/again? We’re going to get a conditional 1st round pick?
Why in the world would you get rid of a player like that on a team like this. Give me a single reason why losing him for (what, a third rounder at best) is going to help this team now or in the future?
Your sure Evans is a #1 receiver?
Better yet, are you sure he can play 16 games? You’re confident you can find a #2 in the draft in the 3rd rd? You already traded away one receiver for pennies in the offseason…
Or what he’s too much money?! So that what, we can sign McCoy to an overpaid QB contract? Sure, that’s fine, I can give you at least 4 guys making nearly as much that will free up that money just fine come December.
He is literally, our sole playmaker on offense. The only other person that stands out in my mind this year is Louis Murphy…. LOUIS MURPHY
Seriously Licht, keep trading away the little talent we have and you’re going to see a Matt Millen-like parade down MLK, that’s if anyone’s left that cares by that point…
Unless we’re talking 1st round, this is a stupid convo. You never get enough juice for the squeeze
… and especially if you’re talking about how the Bucs have drafted/developed talent lately, we should really be talking about which FA WR is going to replace him
October 21st, 2014 at 4:47 pm
We will be winning with Glennon, just wait and see. Don’t be impatient. Or I’m down with McCown, that fleet footed mucho experienced now healed backup who is itching to show his worth. Either or, the result is all that matters. Go Bucs backup QB’s!
October 21st, 2014 at 5:04 pm
Losing Jackson would be a mistake! If he is on the decline then you try and renegotiate his contract to something more team friendly. No matter what he makes this offense better.
October 21st, 2014 at 5:24 pm
Bottom line, it really doesn’t matter.
October 21st, 2014 at 6:02 pm
@buctebow
Exactly right!!! It does not matter.
I remember that I was against getting rid of Revis and now V-Jax trade rumors. It does not matter though because we suck regardless of who we trade, who we draft, or who we hire as coaches. We suck as an entire organization that is a disgrace to our city. The Bucs are like a shit stain on white briefs that just never completely goes away after many washings. The Bucs are just shitty. It sucks to have been such a fan for so long and to finally be to the point where I just do not care anymore. First was passion then anger and finally apathy. Thanks a lot YUCKS!!! Thanks a lot Glazers. Do us a favor if you ever cared anything about the city you live in and just sell the team so we can maybe be relevant again.
October 21st, 2014 at 6:07 pm
HawaiianBuc says
“he has crap for an OC, and a well below average QB protected by an well below crappy offensive line, with absolutely no running game.”
Is this what you mean by excuses? Hypocritical much?
October 21st, 2014 at 6:12 pm
The same excuses can be applied to Glennon…
“he has crap for an OC, well below crappy offensive line, with absolutely no running game.”
Oh that’s right I forgot your excuses are the only legitimate ones…when it comes to Glennon those are called dumb excuses by the likes you. What EVAH!
October 21st, 2014 at 6:15 pm
Vjax, Mcclown, and a third rounder for Manziel.
October 21st, 2014 at 7:41 pm
Who said I wasn’t giving that excuse for Glennon too? I believe I made that pretty clear in my post. One clear difference, however, is that Jackson is a proven NFL star. Glennon, not so much. But yes, Glennon has not gotten a fair shake at all.
October 21st, 2014 at 8:01 pm
“Meanwhile, you still have a love affair with Glennon, and continue to make excuses for him.”
Sound familiar?
October 21st, 2014 at 8:11 pm
We should have taken johnny football with our pick , the bucs passed on Rodgers too. We are dumbasses
October 21st, 2014 at 8:16 pm
And? Don’t see your point. Just because you make an excuse doesn’t mean it’s not legit. You are Mr. tough guy wanting results, blah blah blah, yet you’re the biggest pansy when it comes to your boys (Freeman, Schiano, and now Glennon). Fact is, none of those guys probably got a fair shake. However, guys like McCoy, Revis, and Jackson have proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that they can play. This is known throughout the league. If Glennon, Jackson, McCoy, and Revis were all cut today, I promise you Glennon would be the least sought after one, even though he plays the most important decision. You defend your guys, I’ll defend mine. My guys have eaten pineapple, yours is eating Sonny’s BBQ.
October 21st, 2014 at 8:17 pm
*most important position
October 21st, 2014 at 8:37 pm
I don’t think Evans is tough enough to avoid getting injured.
October 21st, 2014 at 9:51 pm
Trade VJax……? Wtf is everybody smokn? (Waky tabaccky) yeah thats smart. Trade away the only reason WE GOT A WIN in 2014 . The guy has been pro bowl quality receiver 3years with mediocre qb’s . Stick him with any qb in the NFC SOUTH and he’s mr pro bowl and 2top it off. The man would embarrass the Bucs twice a year.
October 21st, 2014 at 9:51 pm
Trade VJax……? Wtf is everybody smokn? (Waky tabaccky) yeah thats smart. Trade away the only reason WE GOT A WIN in 2014 . The guy has been pro bowl quality receiver 3years with mediocre qb’s . Stick him with any qb in the NFC SOUTH and he’s mr pro bowl and 2top it off. The man would embarrass the Bucs twice a year.
October 21st, 2014 at 11:41 pm
HawaiianBuc …HA!
You’re still my favorite poster on JBF!
October 22nd, 2014 at 1:28 am
Again a voice of reason out of Hawaii saves this sheer ignorance. Getting rid of Jackson would be stupid unless a deal is too good to pass up and that isn’t happening. VJax is amazing. Having a bit of a down year early on but we aren’t even half way through the year and I’ll bet anybody he has at least 5 TD’s and a 1000 yards. Here we are trying to save money as we are under the cap and really only have a McCoy contract to hammer out. The value of V Jax is very much in line with his salary and who says a restructure isn’t possible at year end.
October 22nd, 2014 at 10:40 am
Here’s an idea keep VJax and trade Doug Martin.
October 23rd, 2014 at 12:04 pm
Israel, I like your idea, except for one troubling fact: the only thing worth less than an aging #1 WR with a recent case of the drops, is a RB that’s seemingly lost his mojo…
In keeping with @Mike10’s NOT BASEBALL analogy:
We’re 2 games out of first with 10 to play – you don’t trade your best WR if you’re in that scenario.
It’s entirely possible that this division will send an 8-8 or 7-9 team to the playoff’s – that means, as ugly as it is – it’s not yet closing time…
The last, best, hope for a trade that truly could have benefitted both teams – was dealing VJax to Seattle for a certain superfast DE that used to be employed as a backup here, that the previous mastermind let get away without so much as a phone call…if Lovie couldn’t move VJax for Bennet – it probably means VJax is worth much more to us than to Seattle. Take that anyway you want.
VJax is worth FAR more to us than he is to ANY trade partner.
And besides, we’re still only 2 games out of first (ICYMI – EVERY team in our division, NOT on a buy, LOST last weekend)…