Predicting Bucs Cuts
February 17th, 2017
Spared?
Teams already have shaved salaries off their books. Offseason housecleaning has begun.
Just look at what Miami did yesterday.
Of course, most cuts are made to save room under the salary cap. That’s understandable. When it comes to the Bucs, Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com believes three players should already have a real estate agent lined up.
Alterraun Verner, CB, 9) George Johnson, DE and 10) Evan Smith, C, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: These are three free agency ghosts of the Buccaneers’ recent past who are likely to be put out to sea.
Verner, barring a contract restructuring, seems like a no-brainer. George Johnson, acquired by trade in 2015, pppfffttt, buh-bye. However, Evan Smith is an interesting decision.
Yes, he is the second-highest paid player on the Bucs’ offensive line. The guy is versatile because he can play both center and guard — very valuable commodities to general managers and coaches — and if the Bucs don’t bring back Joe Hawley and, say, J.R. Sweezy can’t hack it and Ali Marpet stays at right guard, Joe easily could see Smith resume his starting gig at center.
February 17th, 2017 at 8:29 am
Surprised Doug didn’t make this list
February 17th, 2017 at 8:31 am
Are we forgetting why Smith lost his job to Hawley in the first place? He’s a bum! I don’t care if he’s versatile bum.
February 17th, 2017 at 8:58 am
Bucs have plenty of space to keep him, quality 2nd string player, center and guard, hard to find that and you know there will be an injury to an OL , its not “if” its WHEN there is an injury. knows system & jameis too
February 17th, 2017 at 9:18 am
Smith comes off the books after this upcoming season correct? No sense in cutting him solid backup andnspot starter for multiple positions.
February 17th, 2017 at 9:31 am
I am not ok with cutting Any OL unless it is Cherilus
February 17th, 2017 at 9:47 am
If he is the 2nd highest payed player the o line……………cut
February 17th, 2017 at 10:04 am
I can understand keeping Evan Smith for depth, if he has to start we are moving backwards. For as bad as I thought Hawley was, Smith is even worse. They have got to beef up the middle of that O-line or they will continue to be stuck in the mud with this offense.
February 17th, 2017 at 10:12 am
E. Smith isn’t going anywhere.
February 17th, 2017 at 10:56 am
Does contract restructuring have any place in these discussions aka opinion exchanges?
February 17th, 2017 at 10:57 am
USFBUC
Martin was listed in a separate category of possibilities. The article joe is referencing is on NFL.com good article worth the read.
February 17th, 2017 at 11:08 am
I’m gonna piggyback on what Tmaxcon said a few postings ago. To be great, you gotta want it, scheme it, go all out to do it. Yes cut but get better. We got at least 6 players who should be cut..yesterday. Evan Smith is definitely one of them. DARE TO BE GREAT. Make teams afraid to play at Ray Jay like Sapp, Lynch and Brooks had it. Go all out and build that Defense again, 2nd to none!
February 17th, 2017 at 11:38 am
These 3 should have been long last season. Along with VJAX, Murph, and Gosder.
February 17th, 2017 at 11:38 am
long gone last season
February 17th, 2017 at 11:41 am
I just wanna mention that Rosenthal had Doug Martin in the “Surprise Cuts” section of this article. I think the majority of us believe its more of a surprise if they keep him lol
February 17th, 2017 at 12:01 pm
It wouldn’t make sense to cut Doug Martin and sign one of these Free Agent bums with more baggage than him.
February 17th, 2017 at 1:28 pm
Is that a pic of Evan Smith gassed at practice or did he just sneeze?
February 17th, 2017 at 1:41 pm
LakeLandBuc
Martin has the most baggage of them all. drug and alcohol rumors for years. 3 of 5 seasons are PURE GARBAGE… Martin is garbage and the riskiest of any running back. not to mention, he is going to miss the first 3 games. NOPE he had his chance and he and Molly went out instead.
stop hanging onto mediocre players it’s time to go to the next level. some of the current bucs must be sacrificed regardless of popularity… Production matters popularity is BS.
February 17th, 2017 at 1:46 pm
Where are you going to find depth at these positions? Think about it. He serves 2 roles. There is no guarantee that other FAs will either be available or as “good” as Smith.
February 17th, 2017 at 4:03 pm
tmaxcon..I notice there’s a lot of love here for Adrian Peterson. You can’t tell me that he don’t carry more baggage than Doug Martin. AP has played a total of 34 games in 4 seasons. He missed games due to Suspension for ” Child Abuse” and a ” Torn ACL and MCL Tear”…and a ” Torn Meniscus” on his Knee. So much ” Hypocrisy” on this site, that it’s ridiculous.
February 17th, 2017 at 4:15 pm
Get off Doug’s back, he had as you say 2 good years out of 5 running behind a second or third or even fourth rate O-Line: I would register that as a win for Doug! Continue to Build A Wall…..but not in Mexico….dumb/ass!
February 17th, 2017 at 4:28 pm
I will not miss the “Muscle Turtle”! The line played very well in 15 and the “Turtle” got lanes to run through into the defensive backfield he was NEVER a threat to take it to the house.
BTW…for all the kvetching about our “horrible” OL play last year many apparently forget that the OL is a unit…and not just a collection of five players. It’s only as strong as the weakest link. IE four players could be doing their job well but if one of them is HORRIBLE…it effects the ENTIRE unit.
We basically played last season without a right tackle. Dot was awful and Gosder just needs to retire. Like Gosder…had some decent years…but somebody please stick a fork in him. I was truly embarrassed for him last year.
Matador blocking at it’s worst…OLE as any defender who wanted simply blew by our RT’s.
February 17th, 2017 at 5:38 pm
The 2016 Tampa Bay Buccaneers averaged 3.6 YPC ( Tied for 29th in the NFL) on 453 carries. Doug Martin had 144 carries, averaging 3.6 YPC. So there’s still 309 carries out there. Did the other RBs “Overwhelm” the opponent” while Doug was out? Hell no, they did not. The Bucs had 7 games with at least 100 YDs rushing ( Including 254 YDS against the 49ers). They had ONE game with at least 120 YDS ( 254 YDS against the 49ers). It don’t take a “Rocket Scientist” to figure out the problem.
February 17th, 2017 at 5:49 pm
When you take away the 254 Yards against the 49ers. We had 1362 YDS rushing in 15 games. That averages out to 91 YDS per game, and 3.3 YPC.