Vibes Seem Good For Auclair
September 1st, 2017
Promising chance. (Photo courtesy of Buccaneers.com.)
There are a couple of good stories that came out of this summer’s training camp and preseason. Kendell Beckwith is one.
Another is the play of free agent rookie tight end Antony Auclair, the star of Canadian college football.
Last night when Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht joined the WFLA-TV broadcast booth to chat with play-by-play man Chris Myers and analyst Ronde Barber, the subject of tight ends came up. Licht didn’t even dismiss the possibility of the Bucs keeping six tight ends with Alan Cross and Austin Johnson battling for the final tight end/fullback spot.
Not once did Licht mention Auclair, and when the producers of the telecast flashed on the screen a graphic of the tight end depth chart, they listed six with Cross and Johnson Nos. 5 and 6, respectively.
Auclair was listed as No. 4 behind fan favorite Luke Stocker.
It seems, just on face value, that Auclair has all but won a spot on the 53-man roster. We shall see. Joe has not heard anything that would make Joe believe Auclair is not a serious candidate to be on the roster come Saturday at 4 p.m., though Dirk Koetter hardly gave Auclair a good night sleep from the postgame podium last night. The head coach was very vague when asked about him.
Late in training camp, Joe caught up with Auclair after a brutally hot morning and chatted football and the Bucs.
Auclair, who is from Notre-Dame-des-Pins in Quebec, about 45 minutes north of the Maine border, some three hours northeast of Montreal.
Let’s just say it rarely gets as hot and humid in Quebec as it does in west-central Florida.
“I got used to it a little bit,” Auclair said. “Little bit every day. It is getting hot. We were lucky the first few days of training camp [when it was rainy and cloudy]. Now it is pretty hot. But I think I am getting used to it.”
Auclair told Joe he would normally lose four pounds of water every practice but gain it right back by guzzling fluids immediately.
As for playing tight end in the NFL, he thought he was getting better daily because he learned the secret to NFL success. Or at least, how to attain it to some degree.
“I have to work on the details,” Auclair said. “It is a game of details and I have to improve on the details.”
Auclair thought he was blocking well enough but his receiving needed polishing.
Auclair admitted he gotbig help he received on his first day of OTAs from America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston.
“He is a great person,” Auclair said. “He came and talked to me the first day of OTAs and got me comfortable. He is a great person.”
That eased Auclair’s culture shock. First, he was going from Canadian college football to the NFL. Next, he was moving not just a new town, but to a new country with a new language. Auclair is bilingual but has a heavy French Canadian accent, not much different than an NHL player from Quebec. French is his first language.
And of course, there was the drastic change in climate. But Jameis made Auclair right at home. And as seen on “Hard Knocks,” when Auclair had to sing a song like other rookies, he sang the Canadian National Anthem. As soon as Jameis recognized the song, he stood and covered his heart with his right hand, and the rest of the Bucs followed.
That small gesture moved Auclair.
“That showed a lot of respect,” Auclair said. “And I appreciated that.”
September 1st, 2017 at 9:46 am
Koetter reply when ask if he showed enough to make the 53 was tepid. Something to the effect that “he will be in the NFL”. That reply lead me to believe they will take the chance of letting him go through waivers in hopes of getting him on the PS.
September 1st, 2017 at 9:48 am
Doubt we will expose Auclair to waivers. We likely keep 5 TEs and Auclair will be one of them.
September 1st, 2017 at 9:57 am
Been rooting for my fellow Canadian but so many TEs! Hope they have room to keep 5. Brate-Howard-Stocker-Cross-Auclair
September 1st, 2017 at 9:57 am
Pracice squad player?
September 1st, 2017 at 10:03 am
Can someone educate me on the finer points of waiver wire and practice squad.
So first a player must clear the waiver wire before he can even get on the PS is that correct?
Second the other teams have the right to pick based on their finish last year…worst team gets first shot with the Pats getting the last.
Here are some questions. When a team selects a player off the waiver wire is there any compensation to the team that loses a player?
Is there any limit to the number of waiver/PS players a team could lose.
Once a player clears that first round of waivers and makes the PS are they then protected or can they be snagged from a practice squad at any time?
And is there any limit to the number of players a single team can take from the waiver wire?
September 1st, 2017 at 10:28 am
Bigger upside Auclair or Stocker??? Give me the maple leaf.
September 1st, 2017 at 10:32 am
Everyone talks about Stocker’s blocking,I just can’t get the image of him being pancake on goalline last season. Blocking is good but I also need some playmaking ability. Just can’t recall Stocker converting one on third down for 13 yards… Ever!
September 1st, 2017 at 10:39 am
Stocker should stay with the horrible blocking we have.
September 1st, 2017 at 10:47 am
@stpetebucsfan
There’s no limit to the number of players you can take or lose from the waiver wire and no compensation for losing a player. Once on the PS they are not protected. Any team can snag him at any time but they have to work out a deal with him. He isn’t forced to sign with the team and may prefer to stay on the PS for his original team. Most of the time they take it though because the new team has to keep him on the 53 man roster for the entire season, which means he usually makes more money.
September 1st, 2017 at 10:52 am
And yes, a player must clear waivers before going on the PS and teams pick in the reverse order of finish. Also the order stays the same throughout the season no matter how many players a team takes. The season the Bucs went 2-14 they had first crack at the waiver wire all season.
September 1st, 2017 at 11:07 am
Batman
Thanks for that very informative explanation. I did not realize that players could actually prefer to stay on a team’s PS if they really like that team although as you point out they can probably make more money on another squads 53. I also did not know snagging player was a commitment to keeping them on the 53 man roster for the season.
That’s a lot of variables in play. So somebody like McWeapon might actually benefit by staying on our practice squad.
One question I forgot…I think I’ve read this before however…I’m sure there is a CBA PS minimum but are teams free to pay PS players whatever they want?
Do these salaries count against the cap?
Wow being a GM is complicated eh?
September 1st, 2017 at 11:08 am
Batman
I believe the order changes after week 3 and selection order is based off records at that point.
September 1st, 2017 at 11:47 am
@BucfanInCa
I think you’re right about that. I was going off the top of my head. Again without it up, you can definitely pay a player more than the PS minimum to try to keep him and the PS counts against the salary cap as well. I believe the rule is you can pay the PS up to the minimum salary for the 53 man roster, which is higher than the PS minimum. In fact, I believe there was a case where a team paid a PS player one dollar under the 53 man roster minimum.
September 1st, 2017 at 11:56 am
And yes, McWeapon would definitely benefit from staying on our PS. Giving him another playbook to learn at this point might make his head explode.
September 1st, 2017 at 4:18 pm
BucfanInCa is correct..I too had to look that up..
September 1st, 2017 at 11:00 pm
PRACTICE SQUAD NOTE:
A team can pay a PS player up to the minimum salary of a player on the 53, while they are on the Practice Squad. Essentially, it becomes a choice of a PS player taking a chance on playing on another team, or getting paid to stay with the original team and honing their skills while staying on the PS.