The Sweezy Mystery
January 4th, 2017
“Jason, who is this guy to my left?”
A great unknown for the Bucs heading into the offseason is the status of guard J.R. Sweezy.
Perhaps unnecessarily (as we found out after the play of guard Kevin Pamphile), the Bucs inked Sweezy in March to a five-year, $32.5 million contract of which $14.5 million had guarantees, per Rotoworld.com. (Again, per Rotoworld, the Bucs are on the hook for $2.5 million in 2017 and if Sweezy makes the roster, another $2.5 for a roster bonus. After the 2017 season, Sweezy’s salary bumps up considerably but is not guaranteed)
Sweezy needed back surgery and the guy never even practiced once for the Bucs. Not once! His helmet was a floppy hat.
Earlier this week during his State of the Bucs address, Dirk Koetter discussed the Sweezy situation and what the future holds.
“Yeah, that is a question that I can’t answer,” Koetter said. “The thing about J.R. is, we did our evaluation based on his time in Seattle and we were very excited about what we bringing into the mix here. He had an unfortunate injury that none of us control. The result of that surgery, for whatever reason, he hasn’t come back, he hasn’t come back from that injury. I’m not a doctor, but what I do know is, we haven’t seen him on the field.
“So at this point, it’s been over a year since he’s played and we really don’t know what we have because until we see him on the field healthy, that’s an unknown. I think if it ever comes to that point where we have a healthy J.R. Sweezy on the field and he’s the player he was that we thought we were getting when we were looking at the Seattle tape, then I think he just adds another one to the depth I already talked about at O-line. But, do we ever get to that point? I do not know that.”
If Sweezy ever does return — Joe has serious doubts about an offensive lineman returning with a bum back — then that makes the status of Joe Hawley returning a bit dicey.
Joe just has a hunch if Sweezy is able to return and to play near the level of what he did in Seattle, Sweezy would likely be your right guard and Ali Marpet would be flipped to center.
Remember, the weekend the Bucs drafted Marpet in 2015, Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht said Marpet could play center.
January 4th, 2017 at 9:05 am
Would like LG Leary from the cowboys, but doubt it’ll happen.
January 4th, 2017 at 9:09 am
I can’t help but think that if Sweezy were in there our Run game would have been much better. Better run game has to count for At Least one more win. One more win woulda been Playoffs. Just speculating.
January 4th, 2017 at 9:35 am
IR Sneezy, another homerun by JLF BFF and biz partner GM. Imagine the pitchforks if that went down with Dominik? Imagine if AguaOh,no went down the same way on Dominik’s watch? How about McCown, Amfomy Collins and Michael Johnson?
How about 2-14?
January 4th, 2017 at 9:39 am
When did that injury occur if he never even had a practice with the team? That seems like fraud.
January 4th, 2017 at 9:53 am
Seems like Sweezy conned the Bucs to ink a giant contract all the while knowing he had a back problem.
January 4th, 2017 at 9:54 am
The Sweezey Swindle will go down as one of the great heists of our time…
January 4th, 2017 at 9:55 am
@rojas…I would love that too….
something just doesn’t seem right about the sweezy injury….was he hurt in seattle?…was he hurt in the offseason working out on his own?….why hold on to him the whole year if your still uncertain if he’ll be available next year?…..GO BUCS!!!!
January 4th, 2017 at 9:57 am
Definitely off topic, but wouldn’t Wade Phillips kick butt as a replacement for Mike Smith!! I know it won’t happen, but OMG that would be awesome.
January 4th, 2017 at 10:16 am
JJ Watt is attempting to come back from a 2nd back surgery. Gronk a 3rd back surgery. Also, Akeem Spence had back surgery I believe two years ago. Found an article from Fox News in 2011 stating 36 starting lineman required surgery for a herniated disk and 33 returned to being a starter.
Now certainly this is an older article. I am assuming advances have been made in this particular surgical procedure. For Sweezy, I’m in wait and see mode. Get him into the offseason program and see what happens.
January 4th, 2017 at 10:21 am
Waterboy – The back injury allegedly occurred sometime after Sweezy was signed by the Bucs.
In a short interview Monday with Auman of TBT, Sweezy did not sound like a man who was content to get paid for not playing…
calling 2016 – “the hardest season I’ve ever been a part of.”
“These guys are laying it on the line and winning ball games, and you just want to help,” he said. “It was very tough, but I think it’s made me grow a lot.”
As for 2017:
“I’m taking it one day at a time. I’m very confident that I will be ready but, that being said, again, just one day at a time, just getting better. … I’m just looking forward to next season and continuing to get better every day.”
January 4th, 2017 at 10:23 am
Again which is why I gave licht 2 bionic elbows out of 5, definitely would like to see sweezy return but between licht and the docs somebody dropped the ball
January 4th, 2017 at 11:06 am
Is it just me, but every picture of sweezy, he has that dumb smirk on his face…
He has that stupid Steve Duemig look
January 4th, 2017 at 11:23 am
LOL! Bucs were fleeced on this one. He will never play football again. Mark the tape. Let’s find a Free Agent guard to replace him. He was only going to be depth anyway as Phamphile will outplay him in camp. Dude with a bad back who hasn;t played football in a year…c’mon….it’s over! Cut him and move on!
January 4th, 2017 at 11:38 am
Can’t have “what ifs” and “hopes and prayers” on the o-line. There’s too big of an investment trying to throw the ball from behind them. At this point, if Sweezy isn’t healthy enough to do anything, then they already know their answer and need to come to an injury settlement.
He shouldn’t factor into the future plans pertaining to this offseason. Build off of the guys that you know can suit up for OTA’s.
January 4th, 2017 at 11:47 am
The mysteries of our time: Where is the lost city of Atlantis? What was the purpose of Stonehenge? Where did Ameila Earhart crash? What are the messages of the Nazca Lines? Does the Skunk Ape exist? What was the true identity of Jack the Ripper? How did JR Sweezy get injured, and will he make it back?
January 4th, 2017 at 12:00 pm
All they evaluated was his tape in Seattle. Maybe they should have taken a glance at his medical chart too.
January 4th, 2017 at 12:03 pm
There is *ZERO* evidence Sweezy came to the Bucs with a bad back. None. That’s pure nonsense.
He was put on PUP for a reason: his possible return.
There was no compelling reason to rush him back into the lineup prematurely, and many reasons to let the back heal fully for 2017.
Fact is by the CBA the team and league can’t say much about a player’s injury.
Numerous players sit out an entire season and come back strong.
Wait and see.
January 4th, 2017 at 12:18 pm
I’m doubting he plays for the Bucs also. Somebody missed the boat on this guy it appears. Then again it may be too early to know for sure. I believe the injury was an existing injury when the Bucs got him. Looks and smells like a shifty deal to begin with. I hope I got it all wrong.
January 4th, 2017 at 12:22 pm
This right here!
January 4th, 2017 at 12:23 pm
Dallas
You are committing a cardinal sin of posting. You’ve become boring and predictable.
Did we go 2-14 last year…why no we went 9-6…a WINNING record.
Have we improved…again we can go by Dallas TB hate or we can ignore him and look at FACTS. 2-14…4-12….9-6 represent steady impovement. That’s a FACT not my lameasss opinion.
Now imagine that Dallas had been calling the shots for the Redskins in the late 70’s.
He brings in Bobby Beathard to clean up the mess…
78- 8-8
79 – 10-6
80- 6-10 This is probably where Dallas fires the now legendary Bobby Beathard
81- 8-8 back to mediocrity. Think Dallas would have kept Beathard?
Or course in 82 the team Beathard put together started that run of championship caliber teams.
AGAIN….this is all crap…let’s measure Licht against the other GM”s. What have they done the past three years. I haven’t done the research on their draft picks and FA’s. Hard to imagine though that a team has had two better drafts than we’ve just enjoyed. Dallas got Zeke and Dak came in the 4th round…Kwon is just as impressive as Dak and would you rather have Zeke or #3?
Or put it this way. Which GM has taken his team from a 12% winning % to a 56% in just two years. Which GM had to enter a totally wrecked franchise.
Not Jerry Jones in Dallas that’s for sure.
January 4th, 2017 at 12:24 pm
bad math..we went 9-7
January 4th, 2017 at 12:31 pm
Cut him. Learn from the giant hole left when we lost Carl Nicks for two years and kept banking on his return. Swallow the loss and get a healthy free agent or draft pick in (or three).
January 4th, 2017 at 12:32 pm
There is way more to the Breezy Sweezy story than we know. The protection of medical records definitely adds to the reason.
January 4th, 2017 at 12:54 pm
Glazers wrote Sweezy’s salary off their taxes. 🙂 I’m just going to wait and see what goes down.
January 4th, 2017 at 12:58 pm
St Pete Fan big difference between beathard and licht is Free Agency as it is in its present day form, facts are facts Licht has sucked as a talent evaluator towards free agency, he has 3 big hits Anger, Grimes, and ayers in 3 years…and grimes was a smith choice…ghost johnson and anthony collins being the biggest whiffs among many more…the FAs that have been a positive impact for the most part have been koetter and Smiths old players….I will give him one big plus and that is Brate off the streets, but Licht is average at best
January 4th, 2017 at 1:02 pm
I Cam’t help myself guys. Everytime Joe mentions this guys name..I..Nut up.. (laugh). My man….Easy (Money) Sweezy. Getting his money for nothing and his chicks for free. Sittin at the crib smoking..bowl after bowl…..for pain of course! Don’t do it like that..Sweezz!!!!!!!!!!
January 4th, 2017 at 1:06 pm
There’s a lot of amateur doctors in the comments section today. Physicals are part of every contract. I’m sure the Bucs did their due diligence. To suggest that they wouldn’t have their medical staff check out a free agent signing is absurd. The guy got injured. It seems there were complications after the injury. Sweezy is entitled to privacy when it comes to his medical records. Records that may affect his future earning potential. That’s the only reason Licht and Koetter seem cryptic every comment they make on his injury. The guy is still young. He was a mauler for Seattle. What doesn’t heal after a year of rest? Looks like we’ve already paid the majority of his guaranteed money. Why get rid of him? It’s a stupid argument. Let him compete for a position next year.
January 4th, 2017 at 1:44 pm
Dusty
he has 3 big hits Anger, Grimes, and ayers in 3 years…and grimes was a smith choice…ghost johnson and anthony collins being the biggest whiffs among many more…
So you count only the expensive FA’s as FA’s. What about UDFA’s or players off the street?
Furthermore it’s TOTAL conjecture as to who had the the call in many of these early FA’s….just as you want to give credit to Smith instead of Licht for Grimes yet even though much was made of Lovie having PLAYER ROSTER CONTROLand the fact that he hired Licht..meaning LOVIE was Licht’s superior not the other way around!!!
Now that has been reversed. TL is the boss and DK is the coach. You guys want to cherry pick mistakes and totally gloss over….#3..ME..Kwon..Spence…
And the bottom line…do you all believe the Glazers came up with the strategy to replace Smith in house with Koetter a first time NFL HC?
AGAIN somebody go all BucBonzai on me. If he tried to make Dallas and Dusty’s point we would get ad hom and hyperbole. He’d post where Licht’s record stood relative to all the other NFL GM’s. Nobody is saying he’s a miracle worker. But he’s done an excellent job turning around franchise that was in shambles.
January 4th, 2017 at 1:46 pm
Oops bad typo…Bonzai eschews hyperbole and opinion and usually brings lots of factual comparisons to make his point.
January 4th, 2017 at 4:43 pm
Dusthty, “two bionic elbows out of five.” Sweet!
January 4th, 2017 at 11:51 pm
I dont get how he came to the Bucs with an injury and we still have to pay him. If he never practiced, how are bucs on the hook to pay his entire salary? You would there would some non related injury claus that says we dont have to pay him his full salary if he hurts himself outside of one buc place.
I mean holy hell. This guy came in with an injury (i assume knowingly) and just robbed the glazers for 14.5 mil without ever even putting on a helmet. How are the bucs not suing the pants off this guy? Some kind of grievance through the league or something. This situation is ridiculous. And it sounds like koetter doesnt even know whats wrong with the guy, or when or if he could even take the field again.
Im not mad at licht for signing this guy, the team doctors or someone should have figured out what was going on with this guy. Didnt have to pass a physical? Licht was doing his job to try and make this team better. The GM wouldnt know what a bad back looks like unless a doctor told him. I blame sweezy and the team docs before i blame licht.