Don’t Forget Jacquies Smith
March 3rd, 2016
Don’t jerk him around.
Lost in all the talk of re-signing Doug Martin and drafting Joey Bosa or Noah Spence or DeForest Buckner or Shaq Lawson or Vernon Haergraves or Mackensie Alexander is that the Bucs have a fairly important player on defense dangling out there unsigned.
That would be defensive end Jacquies Smith.
Of course, the Bucs have the hammer with Smith, an exclusive free agent. There’s no need to monkey around with the guy.
Is Smith a stud defensive end? No. Will he make folks forget about Reggie White? No. Is he productive? Yes.
And for a team like that Bucs with a shameful recent history with defensive ends, including letting a Pro Bowler walk away for no good reason, they cannot afford to yank Smith around with a prolonged contract hassle.
Smith, who turns 26 in a couple of weeks, has been consistent. He’s had 6.5 and 7 sacks, respectively, in his two seasons here. The latter number is surprising because Smith was hurt much of 2015 and only appeared in a dozen games.
Is Smith dominant? No. But he is productive. Look what he did to Drew Brees and the Saints last year in New Orleans. Without Smith getting pressure like he did, it’s doubtful the Bucs win that game.
Of course, the Bucs need to draft a defensive end. And they need to sign a free agent rusher just as badly.
March 3rd, 2016 at 11:33 am
If he resigns with Tampa, I hope he is in a backup role. He should be only be in on passing downs as a pass rush specialist and that is it!!! If he is in the starting lineup for the Bucs, they will be in trouble, again!!!!
March 3rd, 2016 at 11:35 am
Agreed. Any moves to draft or sign F/As should be in addition to this signing. The Bucs cannot afford to let talent walk out the door.
March 3rd, 2016 at 11:36 am
Absolutely sign him. He is a good rotational guy behind Mario Williams !! Snd a rookie
March 3rd, 2016 at 11:40 am
Lol this is the bucs they always let talent walk out the door. Hello!!!!!!!!!!
March 3rd, 2016 at 11:41 am
But they do need this guy. Hopefully they keep him.
Thanks joe. I’ll play nice I promise 👍
March 3rd, 2016 at 11:43 am
Sign Charles Johnson and Mario Williams…….
March 3rd, 2016 at 12:04 pm
Yeah, Charles Johnson might be a better idea than Williams even. Third year in a row signing a DE Johnson would be something special but Charles for sure will not be a ghost and/or sackless!
March 3rd, 2016 at 12:07 pm
Jacquies Smith has been absolutely solid for us since we signed him mid season 2 years ago. He’s provided very respectable numbers in the limited amount of time he’s played these past 2 seasons. I would prefer for us to use him in pass rush situations because he’s not that solid in the run game. He tends to get pushed around. But I would definitely like to see him resign with us and give us that depth at pass rusher. We’re already thin in the area of pass rushers. We can’t afford to let someone go who has actually been productive in limited action. He won’t break the bank and he’ll only help keep our other DEs fresh. Resign Jacq Smith!
March 3rd, 2016 at 12:33 pm
Jacquies Smith would be better off as an outside rush linebacker in a 3-4 style defense. He should try to get to Buffalo, Denver, Pittsburgh, or New England.
March 3rd, 2016 at 12:40 pm
Definitely keep J. Smith. How awesome would it be to get an opposing offense in third-and-long, Have M. Williams at one DE spot and a top-shelf pass-rushing draftee on the other end, with J. Smith lining up next to him as an inside rusher, with McCoy at the other interior position getting penetration and collapsing the pocket? How could an offense defend that personnel group in that situation? Third-and-long would be as good as third-and-done.
March 3rd, 2016 at 1:04 pm
Michael Albritton Says:
Sign Charles Johnson and Mario Williams…….
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AGREED….and just for good measure, draft Noah Spence.
March 3rd, 2016 at 1:23 pm
A bit injury prone and supposedly Smith has a limited number of moves. Maybe Hayes can coach him up?
Joe, do you have his stats for QB pressures, hits and tackles?
March 3rd, 2016 at 1:28 pm
I’d like to see us dump him, and Bring back Wallace Gilberry, Who’s also a free agent!
March 3rd, 2016 at 1:31 pm
I still have pretty high hopes and expectations for Jack Smith (or was it only Lovie who called him that?).
More likely Joe – instead of a 1 year minimum tender to bring him back since we have exclusive rights – wouldn’t it make more sense to come to terms on a 3-4 year deal that locks him in at a price that is advantageous to the Bucs? I bet Licht is thinking that way and is including J. Smith in his 3+ year plans.
Even good “role players” on the D-line make a pretty penny once they are available to the free market.
So what happens if you sign Smith to the 1 year tender for the $700k or whatever – and he blows up with 12 sacks in 2016. Then you don’t have his rights and will have to pay a lot to keep him because other teams will be throwing $10+M a year at him.
To me it makes a lot more sense to try to sign him to a 4 year $14M deal with some guarantees NOW and assume he will continue to improve. That’s probably what Licht is working on now – as you accuse him of “monkey(ing) around with the guy”.
March 3rd, 2016 at 1:48 pm
Sign as a situational pass rusher. He isn’t really a every down guy. I am all for signing whatever big name D-line FA’s out there. We need to change the culture in the locker room. We need veteran’s who are winners and accomplished. I am tired of McCoy and others leading this defense when they haven’t won anything as a pro. The more FA’s the better if you ask me. The draft is for developing and we may need a couple of years to develop the D talent we get in the draft. Meantime, they are watching and learning from veterans and Jac Smith could also be helped by that approach.
March 3rd, 2016 at 2:28 pm
When Smith is healthy, he’s a pretty effective pass rusher. Not so much against the run.
Would love to see what he can do in a full 16 games. And I totally agree Joe, still need to draft 1 and sign 1 more.
March 3rd, 2016 at 2:51 pm
Give me a break. Smith has had 7 sacks in 2 seasons. I would not tender a big contract to this guy. Man is injury prone. Keep at the minimum.
March 3rd, 2016 at 3:11 pm
Is Mario coming soon? Rex is such a greasy turd and I’m sure Williams has something to prove.
March 3rd, 2016 at 4:16 pm
Remember Jaques Smith was cut by Mike Smith in Atlanta
March 3rd, 2016 at 4:33 pm
I didn’t realize he was a restricted FA but Jacq is a guy that flies under the radar. He doesn’t have the double digit sack numbers that most fans look for but based on the number of games that he played he has a fairly decent number of QB pressures and 7 sacks in 12 games isn’t that bad. That would average out to about 9.33 sacks over a full 16 game season. I think it would be stupid to not re-sign him.
March 3rd, 2016 at 6:24 pm
My point exactly luv54, with all the free agent talent and draft prospects I could see Mike Smith cutting him in favor of a more rounded player.