Alex Okafor Will Visit
March 15th, 2018
Injured
With a large majority of big-name free agents gone and most B+ players signed to A+ money, the NFL is sort of moving to is second wave of its annual winter auction.
The Bucs appear focused on, well, Joe’s not sure. But word arrived from Tampa Bay Times writer Rick Stroud that Saints free agent DE Alex Okafor will be in Tampa today getting courted and interviewed.
Okafor blew out an Achilles four months ago ending his season. A defensive tackle in college at Texas, 27-year-old Okafor was used as an outside linebacker/edge rusher in Arizona, where he played for new Bucs defensive line coach Brentson Buckner.
After his eight-sack season in 2014, Okafor has dealt with all sorts of leg injuries including one that remains a mystery (non-football injury).
Okafor certainly is an interesting wild card with potential, but he’s not Robert Quinn. Remember, the Bucs banked on two injured players last season at DE, Jacquies Smith and Noah Spence. That led to lots of playing time for Will Clarke and Ryan Russell at the position. Both are now unemployed.
Buyer beware on Okafor.
March 15th, 2018 at 9:19 am
Rumor is the Saints want to keep him–if that’s true, I don’t know how much of a shot we have here.
I, like many fans, have been disappointed by our lack of direction in free agency, but we also have to have some common sense. A third string RB was able to demand more money than Ezekiel Elliott—I don’t want the Bucs to have any part of that.
March 15th, 2018 at 9:22 am
Too many injury prone players alone will give you at least two losses on the season. Grimes probably gonna end up missing a few games, so you can pencil in those Ls now.
March 15th, 2018 at 9:27 am
Bucfamous
He is visiting here. So that means the bucs have a great shot. Offer up a contract and get a yes or no, go from there. I say sign him and clayborn. Also jensen and sitton or mewhort. Then licht wont have to trade up and reach again in the draft, throwing away picks in the process. Have to get somebody who can sack the qb before the draft. And yeah Joe the quinn thing still hurts. Big miss.
March 15th, 2018 at 9:27 am
nfl teams are devided to teams that move on from their expensive/ aging assets by trading them to desperate teams and desparate teams that over pay for aging talents.
look how new orleans traded stars like cooks and graham. no fear. the bucks cling to guys like mccoy and david, who won absolutely nothing for them, like the franchise will be destroyed without them.
March 15th, 2018 at 9:32 am
The saints also gave p-rob bank after this.. Lol!! Take notes on how to build.
It’s really remarkable how Robinson came to Philly last year on a minimum contract, mightily struggled in training camp, almost got cut, and then somehow went on to be arguably the best slot corner in the NFL..
March 15th, 2018 at 9:53 am
Joe,
Could it be that the owners already know JW will face a 6 game suspension. Hence the reason not filling holes and expecting to throw in the towel this season? I can’t think of any other logical reason why our front office continues to not address clear needs on this team.
March 15th, 2018 at 10:00 am
Wahoo……
March 15th, 2018 at 10:02 am
Come on over Alex! You can get better on the Bucs’ dime. The Tampa Bay Rehab-aneers!
March 15th, 2018 at 10:30 am
I sure as fuk ain’t always a Jason Licht Fanboi, but I must say he addressed our lack of run defense yesterday.
Those 2 we added were the 2 best run stuffers in free agency.
Maybe, just maybe Licht can work some magic in this draft, and get us a for real pass rusher or 2.
March 15th, 2018 at 10:30 am
Ship has sailed on Robert Quinn get over it. You’ll be happier.
March 15th, 2018 at 10:36 am
Whatever happened with Jensen last night?
March 15th, 2018 at 10:37 am
well if we sign him along with beau allen, I don’t want to hear the lack of talent and injury excuse next year!!!!!!!!!!!!
no urgency…..no excuse
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!!!!…..GO BUCS!!!!!!
March 15th, 2018 at 10:47 am
SC
happiness comes in many forms, for example the bucs actually not embarrassing themselves and winning convincingly while be serviced by a 4 foot stripper with a flat head (beer needs a table) and pistol grip ears is a sure way to happiness.
March 15th, 2018 at 10:52 am
If you are injured or aging we’ll most likely sign you …lol
March 15th, 2018 at 10:54 am
At this point, the only thing which would impress me is if Chubb were to fall to us in the draft. But knowing us, we will probably go for a safety or something. I’m getting this strange feeling last season will repeat itself.
March 15th, 2018 at 10:59 am
Pop Quiz
Who has more career sacks?
A. Beau Allen
B. Moth Unrein
C. Tyrann “The Honey Badger” Mathieu
Yup you guessed it the honey badger. He’s almost got more sacks than the first two combined.
March 15th, 2018 at 10:59 am
It seems like every player the Bucs sign has a history of injuries. They even draft players with injuries.
March 15th, 2018 at 11:01 am
DB55
dude you are worrying about nothing… cancer93 said he will be better this year.
March 15th, 2018 at 11:01 am
The Bucs lost over 22% of their sack total, when they let Clinton McDonald walk.
March 15th, 2018 at 11:10 am
We need a defensive end that’s not coming off a blown Achilles.
March 15th, 2018 at 11:10 am
There’s a plan guys. Does anyone remember the movie Weird Science? What they’re doing is taking the good parts from these players to a lab to create a Frankenstein DE. I’ve seen the blueprint! I’ll put it like this, we won’t need any other players on the defensive line.
Rumor has it, tmax, that the lab is in the development stages of creating your stripper too!
March 15th, 2018 at 11:31 am
Track record on ex Saints players signing over to the Bucs has not been good….
March 15th, 2018 at 11:33 am
Did the Bucs meet with the ravens center yet ?
March 15th, 2018 at 11:36 am
Oxycondoms….yes Sir, and he left to Indiana……so not sure whats gonna happen
March 15th, 2018 at 11:40 am
Tmax
Well if he SAID he was going to do better work harder and all that other bs he spews every off-season then 3-13 here we come. Lmao
March 15th, 2018 at 11:53 am
There were few if any A players (considering why there teams didn’t resign them) in Free agency this year. Joe, you’ve greatly contributed to the negativity of our so-called fan base.
March 15th, 2018 at 11:58 am
darin:
Often players will visit another team in order to drive up the price for their current team.
We’ll see–but my guess is if the Saints want to keep him then they probably can.
Only time will tell.
March 15th, 2018 at 12:12 pm
@BucThis
You might be right. Something must be going down.
But you would have to think that Licht is fighting for his job this year regardless if JW is out for the first 1/3 of the season. Wouldn’t it be smart to try to get better ? Although nothing Licht does surprises me anymore. I am already depressed by free agency, I can’t wait to see how badly Licht blows the first round pick. It’s like a train wreck, I can’t look away.
March 15th, 2018 at 12:15 pm
Man…guys isn’t it a little early to hit the panic button. We have a team already!
Clearly we’d like to upgrade at some positions and the DL is almost like starting from scratch.
There are FAR more spots that will be filled than by this first week of FA. There of course is still the draft…then a healthy number of UDFA’s who will make the NFL…think Brate…Hump…Barber etc. There will be another wave of FA’s around Labor Day when teams find out which vets have salaries and rookie replacements that make them expendable.
Does anybody here plan on making a QB change? Perhaps more importantly does anybody here REALLY believe the Bucs are planning for a change?
Our WR and TE’s are set for a long time and not just set but loaded with potential Pro Bowlers. We have plenty of targets for #3.
Our RB’s could use one more addition. If he’s a superstud great but it’s not desperation time. We have THREE NFL RB’s with career averages of 4.0 per carry. The three are complementary with different skill sets. I wouldn’t mind improving at RB but IMO the OL will determine our running game.
The OL needs some work. So sign one of these FA’s and perhaps a player in the draft.
Our DB’s are OK but another signing wouldn’t hurt. Our LB’s are set and like the WR’s a position with real depth.
The DL…yeah there’s the rub. It’s not just that we need upgrades we need to simply rebuild the entire unit. So if we keep GMC and Spence could get healthy…what if we rolled the dice bigtime….all seven draft picks to move up to in the first to grab both Chubb and Vea. Would that change our team and it’s outlook. What if we totally went all in and added Suh to the mix.
Would we not have a different defense next year? Suh is the only real wild card in that mix and IMO a lot there depends on how much of Suh’s salary the Dolphins are willing to eat and the ultimate ramifications to our salary cap.
March 15th, 2018 at 12:32 pm
Does anybody here plan on making a QB change? Perhaps more importantly does anybody here REALLY believe the Bucs are planning for a change?
…
Plan ?…..I hope they have a plan….and hope they never have to use it….but Jameis does have some serious question marks….yeah..yeah…I know all about his stats…at this point Jameis is …some deminsional…and things only he can control need to clear up fast as his rookie deal is closing fast
March 15th, 2018 at 12:53 pm
Nobody? Nobody with the Weird Science reference?! Man. Tough crowd!
March 15th, 2018 at 1:01 pm
4.5 sacks last year. I little under 1/6 of our team’s total amount of sacks. I’ll sure as hell take a gander at him.
March 15th, 2018 at 1:06 pm
*A little OVER 1/6 of our team’s total amount of sacks.
March 15th, 2018 at 1:41 pm
Great! Sign him!
It only takes about 2 years to fully recover from an Achilles… we can pay him while he heals up and drop him after 2 years of subpar production once he is healthy again and still in his prime.
Then, he can resign with the Saints and dominate for another 3-5 years.
If the Bucs are going to be cheap, why not find the players at the end of their recovery, rather than the ones just starting?
March 15th, 2018 at 1:53 pm
TGH…he did not “blow out ” his Achilles…he had a tear in the tendon
“How long does it take to recover from a torn Achilles tendon?
This may be as soon as 2 to 3 weeks or as long 6 weeks after your injury. With the help of physical therapy, most people can return to normal activity in 4 to 6 months. In physical therapy, you will learn exercises to make your calf muscles stronger and your Achilles tendon more flexible.”
March 15th, 2018 at 1:54 pm
To those who can’t see a plan, you’re not looking.
* Improve run defense (done)
* Improve kicking game (done)
* Get nastier on the O line (remains to be seen, Jensen pending)
* Don’t overpay a RB (done)
* Get pass rush help (not yet)
* Get a RB (not yet)
* DB help (not yet)