Bruce Carter Done?
March 6th, 2016
Is the Bruce Carter era finished? (Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com.)
If the following comes true, then let speculation begin on who will play strongside linebacker for the Bucs this fall.
It seems the Bucs are done with Bruce Carter. That’s the word from Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, who Twittered that Carter will be gone tomorrow, avoiding the Bucs paying a $750,000 roster bonus and a $3.5 million salary.
If Logan Mankins does indeed retire — no, Joe has no idea what his decision will be — then that means if you combine Carter and Mankins’ salaries, the Bucs will have added about $10 million dollars to their available salary cap dollars.
If Carter and Mankins leave, and the Bucs still don’t re-sign Doug Martin, that tells Joe the Bucs really didn’t want Martin.
March 6th, 2016 at 4:29 pm
4 million is a lot for a part time player. Though it does mean they’ll probably need to find a starting SLB and swing backup either in free agency or the draft.
March 6th, 2016 at 4:32 pm
Joe, Martin’s probably better off moving on now. The Bucs too.
If if he finds the market lukewarm, and we do get him back, what’s his incentive to play hard?
The Bucs would need heavy incentives in the contract to keep him motivated. it’s 50-50 we get the back we need in the Bucs eyes.
March 6th, 2016 at 4:41 pm
This isn’t a surprise…..I suspect we have our eye on several possible replacements.
March 6th, 2016 at 4:53 pm
Carter is definitely over paid. And yet I figured that because he has speed and experience and is versatile enough to play all 3 LB positions reasonably well – that we would hang onto him for at least another year since we already have so many other holes to fill already and $ is a not a big concern for this year.
Can we find someone else to play about as well as Carter who is younger and cheaper and might have more upside? Probably. It won’t upset me if they release Bruce Carter – let’s put it that way. But it would surprise me just a bit.
March 6th, 2016 at 4:57 pm
meh…. I was excited about him but what I did see was underwhelming…
March 6th, 2016 at 5:00 pm
Why does it seem that everyone has given up on a Doug Martin deal?…..Both sides are doing exactly what they should be doing. There is no way the Bucs were going to pay him franchise money for 1 year…..that was 2 year money.Martin should test the market and the Bucs should let him……it’s not over yet.
Not over with Carter either….the way you get players to accept pay cuts is you have to be willing to let them go.
March 6th, 2016 at 5:00 pm
I looked at his contract and there is no penalty for the Bucs to cut Carter now. After June 1st, his $750k roster bonus and $3.5M 2016 salary all become guaranteed.
Glad to see that Licht set this contract up well for the Bucs benefit. We can part with Carter at any point prior to June 1st with no penalty each year of the contract.
March 6th, 2016 at 5:04 pm
Malloy, agree, underwhelming and not just because he was overshadowed by Qwan. At least he was serviceable, unlike some of the other FA picks.
March 6th, 2016 at 5:07 pm
Bunch of henny pennys TBBF. The Martin contract negotiation is going exactly as I expected. Doug will test the market for a couple/few days – see that the Bucs offer has been in the range of fair all along – and will make his choice and have a new multi-year contract signed within the next few days. And I’d say its about an 85% chance he remains a Buccaneer.
March 6th, 2016 at 5:07 pm
I think aside from his contract, he was brought in as a tampa 2 LBer, and that’s not the current coaching staffs vision. Perhaps they are looking for different traits in a SLB.
March 6th, 2016 at 5:10 pm
And they freed up $7m+ last week from rolled over cash.
That will give us around $67m.
The Bucs may be “saying” they won’t spend big…but they really don’t have a choice.
March 6th, 2016 at 5:10 pm
Pickgrin, as Malloy said, underwhelming. But if we can bring him back at a fair rate, I’m in. Although he’s a cover two guy, he can run.
Everybody is confused as to what Mike Smith is looking for as much as what Lovie was asking these guys to do.
P.S. and hint…Witherspoon is available.
March 6th, 2016 at 5:13 pm
To me, its truly surprising Buc fans don’t think another team will give Martin the salary he wants. Its thinking like this, which has caused the Bucs to lose many a good player to other teams. A lot of you are confident after Martin test the waters, He’ll be back. But I’m not so sure at all. We shall see.
March 6th, 2016 at 5:14 pm
I haven’t really heard much about our free agency outlook or our targets, but with all this free $ I expect a large spending spree. Just my 2 cents
March 6th, 2016 at 5:18 pm
Screw muscle slacker,he will get his check and commence to loafing.Let some other team have him,hes a head case
March 6th, 2016 at 5:24 pm
There’s a great possibility the Niner’s, maybe Dallas, want Martin more.
March 6th, 2016 at 5:31 pm
I liked Bruce Carter in the few games that I saw him fill in for Kwon while he was suspended but not at his current salary. If they can keep Verner and blame his lack of production on the former coaches, I don’t see why Bruce Carter shouldn’t get another year to prove himself. Carter looked fine playing in Dallas before coming to Tampa.
March 6th, 2016 at 5:34 pm
Hardy Nickerson belongs in the Ring of Honor…But I guess when a 5 time pro bowler 4 time all pro for the Bucs finds out he no longer has his coaching job via social media…Jason Licht and the front office don’t care…someone fill them in on what #56 meant to that young defense that would become one of the best D’s of all time….off topic had to get that off my chest.
March 6th, 2016 at 5:41 pm
No problem letting The Bruce go. He was overpaid. Plus the SLB doesn’t play every snap so we could find another LB in the draft or FA. Who knows maybe we already have someone on the team, but I’m thinking later rounds.
March 6th, 2016 at 5:54 pm
This just hit me, with all this free $ and ASJ being soft as toilet paper, we may be working a trade for Martelus Bennett. Could be a really good move?
March 6th, 2016 at 6:03 pm
Hopefully this means we’re going after SLB Nigel Bradham
March 6th, 2016 at 6:42 pm
Logan Mankins: $7,000,000
Bruce Carter: $4,250,000
Vincent Jackson: $12,209,778 (Extension Candidate)
In theory we could replace – Mankins & Carter with…
G/T Alex Boone (28)
OLB Nigel Bradham (26)
Use the extra $9,777,778 from the extension/signing bonus – for Vincent Jackson. May be an additional wide receiver or two…
Roddy White (34)
Travis Benjamin (26)
Win – Win. Get a push on money saved & spent. Upgrade a few positions, round out another. But the kicker here – is that you still tons of freakin’ cap space.
U could Do whatever U Like
March 6th, 2016 at 6:51 pm
im all for taking Myles Jack in first round now, kid is a stud, and you can tell he has a true passion for the sport and loves it. Hard to find player like him who truly love football
March 6th, 2016 at 8:30 pm
No thanks on Jack, if you want a injured LB take Jaylon Smith in the 2nd round
March 6th, 2016 at 9:34 pm
If you were a running back and Dallas, with that o-line and the big time market of “America’s Team,” would you resign with the lowly Bucs. Probably not. And make no mistake, losing the 2nd leading rusher in the league who was a 1st round pick a few years ago is not a good thing at all. Some of you guys amaze me with your thinking! Losing him would be horrible!
March 6th, 2016 at 9:38 pm
Inwould like to see us sign Bruce Irvin…him, David and Alexander!
March 7th, 2016 at 8:47 am
Not very happy with this decision, I think Bruce deserved a shot at the Sam job. He was a very solid starter when given the chance last season, and we have boat loads of money that were not gonna come close to spending so why cut a talented starting LB and create another hole to fill on this defense? Don’t u think they have enough holes already?? Doesn’t make much sense to me. Another former BUC we will watch have a great season with another team while his replacement does not. -“THAT’S BUCS FOOTBALL RIGHT THERE!!!”