The Bucs’ We-Sorta-Want-You Deals
March 12th, 2018
There’s the monster money Mike Evans was offered — and accepted last week. And then there are the Buccaneers who are given a contract offer that doesn’t actually reflect deep love by the team.
It happens every year.
Teams toss a veteran free agent a rock bottom offer to stay, half expecting or hoping he’ll walk and it will help them potentially get a compensatory draft pick.
Joe learned over the weekend that Bucs cornerback Robert McClain and safety Keith Tandy fall into that category this year. Neither has re-signed as of this typing, and perhaps both players want to see if their services are worth more on the market.
The “legal tampering” negotiating period on free agents kicks off a noon today. They’re free to sign anywhere on Wednesday.
Versatile McClain, who turns 30 this summer, played for $775,000 last year. He made nine starts in 14 games and had three interceptions. And he certainly wasn’t one of the major problems in the Bucs secondary. Joe talked to McClain after the season and he said he liked Tampa and wants to return. McClain was the surprise, feel-good story in the Bucs secondary last season.
Tandy, 29, the Bucs’ fifth-round pick in 2012, battled minor injuries last year, made a few starts and appeared to fall out of favor with coaches. But he’s been called “a glue guy” by head coach Dirk Koetter (so was released Luke Stocker) and Jameis Winston has said Tandy is the only guy who might put in as much time as him at One Buc Palace. It’s been said that Tandy has a future as an NFL coach.
Will either of these guys return?
We’ll know in a hurry. But they will have NFL jobs this season.
March 12th, 2018 at 10:33 am
this is what happens when you go best player available in the draft and completely ignored desperate needs. Perfect example was OJ Howard. I think he’ll be a great tight end but our first rounder could’ve been a lineman and then re-sign Cameron Brate who already led the league in touchdowns that previous year. #FireJasonLight
March 12th, 2018 at 10:37 am
@Greg,
I’m not at all happy with the way Licht is handling this offseason. However, I completely disagree with your opinion on OJ Howard. First of all, TE was a position of need. You can’t go into a season with one TE, who also isn’t a great blocker. If you have an opportunity to get a top 10 talent, you absolutely take it. You can still sign Brate, which is ridiculous that it hasn’t been done yet.
March 12th, 2018 at 10:38 am
In more important news******. Suh just released! Go get that monster
March 12th, 2018 at 10:39 am
About to be released*****
March 12th, 2018 at 10:39 am
Greg
If you want to fire someone, at least spell their name right…
March 12th, 2018 at 10:41 am
I’m not saying Licht has been an excellent GM by any means, but how can you seriously inlcude his drafting of OJ as a reason to fire him? That was a great/no-brainer pick.
March 12th, 2018 at 10:41 am
Add him, bpa CB, then DE x2 in the draft, sheeeeeeee-it! Now we’re talking
March 12th, 2018 at 10:45 am
Just announced that the dolphins could cut Suh. I wish and pray that we could sign him and put him next to McCoy. Gives us a nasty athletic nose tackle which we have not had since Anthony McFarland. Instant improvement
March 12th, 2018 at 10:47 am
Man Tandy came from the bench to having a elite run to back to bench. I think he declined more than vh3.
With Suh being released we should jump on him
March 12th, 2018 at 10:47 am
cant wait to see what licht does this FA season…..
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!
March 12th, 2018 at 10:47 am
Norwell gone to giants.
Hearing sitton and Jensen are hard on bucs radar
Like both
March 12th, 2018 at 10:50 am
Not that Suh wouldn’t be an upgrade, but, do we really want TWO “under-achieving” DTs on the same roster?!
March 12th, 2018 at 10:50 am
The SUH is loose!!!
Maybe in place of McCoy (traded) or worst case maybe worth a shot next to McCoy. At least SUH is fierce, and will be if paid appropriately.
Go Bucs!
March 12th, 2018 at 10:50 am
From the same draft, no less?!
March 12th, 2018 at 10:51 am
suh and kony ealy would be good…..but will they fit smitty’s scheme….same thing we have to ask our self regarding CB’s….will we get man press CB’s and force them to play zone/off coverage……
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!!…..GO BUCS!!!!!
March 12th, 2018 at 10:56 am
I’m fine with Tandy and McClain coming back as backups … two less positions that would need to be filled in the upcoming draft.
March 12th, 2018 at 10:56 am
If Suh gets released, let’s finally unite him and McCoy together
March 12th, 2018 at 10:59 am
^^^Exactly NFLNut. We always need depth.
March 12th, 2018 at 11:00 am
Suh next to McCoy would be exciting. Leave alot of 1 on 1’s for one of them plus the DEs if they ever sign any. I think they must sign one of the FA DE’s. Unfortunately they arent great and must hope whoever it is has a great year. I’d go with Clayborn, Trent Murphy or Okafor, Murphy being first. 2 of the 3 coming off injuries. Not a good situation Licht put himself in by low balling a team for a pro bowl DE in Quinn. Cmon Licht make the damn D better this week.
March 12th, 2018 at 11:03 am
Dolphins released Ndamukong Suh????
I know its dreaming, because Suh would demand far too much to make him worth it (like $18m per year), but man, what an interior line that would be…
March 12th, 2018 at 11:10 am
@darin
Clayborn is a trap. We already know how bad he really is. Six of his sacks came in one game. Without them, he would have had only 3.5 sacks…which is about his annual average.
March 12th, 2018 at 11:11 am
Looks like Seattle, didn’t realize he was already there when announcing this earlier on Twitter. NO STATE INCOME TAX in Washington, obviously.
🙁 🙁
Oh well.
Go Bucs!
March 12th, 2018 at 11:12 am
NFLNut Says
“I’m fine with Tandy and McClain coming back as backups … two less positions that would need to be filled in the upcoming draft.”
Signed.
There are ‘fans’ out there that want us to upgrade every position we outside of QB and WR…but that’s not realistic. We need to address the more important ones this year, and buy time for others.
March 12th, 2018 at 11:15 am
agree with BB
Clayborn has a cap of 3-4 sacks per year.
That being said, I think he is better than Gholston who is a 1-2 max sack guy. No idea why we are overpaying for such a garbage DE
March 12th, 2018 at 11:15 am
Go get Sub since you dam well ain’t gonna get a DE ! At least that will free up the DE position considerably .
March 12th, 2018 at 11:16 am
NFLNut
or you could have simply stated.
“I am fine with mediocrity. I understand the glazers position of not wanting to get better at each and every position at every opportunity. after all that is what winners do why would glazers do anything of the sort.”
just keep making excuses while trying to dignify and justify over a decade of failures with no hope in the future. Real organizations close deals not miss out!
March 12th, 2018 at 11:17 am
again I agree with BB.
McClain was servicable on the outside. with Grimes an unknown, we need to play it safe and resign him. It’s not a guarantee that we can sign/draft TWO starting CBs and that they both stay healthy all year long.
March 12th, 2018 at 11:19 am
And I knew TMax would hop on the insulting bandwagon. It;s in his miserable nature. The moment I read NFLNut’s post, I knew TMax would attack him.
Some people are just a waste of human flesh.
March 12th, 2018 at 11:25 am
If Grimes leaves, seems like a no brainer to try and re-sign McClain for depth
March 12th, 2018 at 11:42 am
The curious case of Keith Tandy…sure seemed to earn more playing time after the end of 2016 season. Another reason the TJ Ward/Turd signing was a bust. Having said that…I was all for the signing due to the “name”/resume.
March 12th, 2018 at 11:45 am
Sigh Suh, trade McCoy then use whatever we get for McCoy to trade up to get Chubb. Boom your defensive line just got better, but just a importantly a lot nastier and intimidating. This will never happen but if Licht ran things like his mentor Belicheat then this is exactly what he would do. Feelings don’t matter production and winning does and this would be exactly what this defensive line needs a talent infusion with a whole lotta attitude.
March 12th, 2018 at 11:46 am
T-Minus 15 minutes until FA rumor blast off. Hopefully the Buc’s spaceship wont crash and burn.
March 12th, 2018 at 11:50 am
not a fan of letting McClain walk. Even though he choked in Buffalo he was a reliable guy coming in for us all season. Very tough to lose quality depht guys like him. Ryan Smith should develope more but his floor is pretty low. Cant blame McClain for seeing what offers he gets. Ill hope its something the Bucs can match.
March 12th, 2018 at 11:54 am
Suh/McCoy👍🏽
Cam Brate? Sign him already
We need another S also
March 12th, 2018 at 11:55 am
McClain was garbage last year – zero reason to bring him back. Sure he was better than Ryan Smith, but literally 75% of the posters on this site are better than Ryan Smith.
For Tandy – when he’s played he’s mostly played well – but the coaches don’t play him. I feel bad for the guy, he’s been wasted here just sitting on the sidelines. For him he’d probably do well to go to another team and have a real chance to play – but now he might be too old to have much of a shot anywhere else.
March 12th, 2018 at 11:56 am
Well Tandy was an invisible player when he got into games last year. Including the preseason. He was a basic shell of the guy he was finishing 2016. I’ve heard that he was injured but if they believed he was the player that showed up for those 4 games he would be resigned already. It’s says a lot when they replace Ward and put Conte in ahead of Tandy.
I’m betting he is the player from the other 70, whatever, games he’s been here And not those 4.
March 12th, 2018 at 12:00 pm
Come on Munch McClain was pretty decent. As the article said he had to start in 9 games for us. That’s not what you want from a backup.
March 12th, 2018 at 12:13 pm
JJ – McClain is really was terrible – I think it was the Saints game where he just gets destroyed on a TD – clearly his man, it’s one on one, and he’s like 3 steps behind. That happened all year. At corner the worst thing you can do is look at their stats – you have to look at opponent stats versus them – and in that metric McClain was terrible. No he’s not Ryan Smith worst in the league terrible, but he’s in the poor category. VH3 will be on the team, Ryan Smith will be on the team, so you need 3 guys who can all play and be productive if you keep 5 corners – and McClain isn’t that, and he’s not young – he’s garbage.
March 12th, 2018 at 12:14 pm
ndog- We tried that whole “attitude” thing with Ayers. Besides, they’re the same player, productivity-wise. If you’re adding him, heck yea, do it. Otherwise, stay put and draft your guys. Suh will command $$$. Even more than GMC, and they’ve produced pretty much the same over their careers. And Suh had better supporting talent around him.
March 12th, 2018 at 12:23 pm
In other news Miami’s DT Suh is set to be released.joe what do you think about picking him up in FA.
March 12th, 2018 at 12:23 pm
I’m Thinking Suh, McCoy Vea and Gholston would lead the league in rushing defense!
March 12th, 2018 at 12:27 pm
The only reason they paid Gholston was to not make the same decision the make on Bennett and Clayborn letting DE walk for free
March 12th, 2018 at 12:32 pm
ndog Says:
March 12th, 2018 at 11:45 am
Sigh Suh, trade McCoy then use whatever we get for McCoy to trade up to get Chubb. Boom your defensive line just got better,
sweet !
March 12th, 2018 at 12:33 pm
Is it possible Bucs sign DE’s Vinny Curry & Kony Ealy and DT’s Dontari Poe & Clinton McDonald????
March 12th, 2018 at 12:34 pm
Why did Detroit let Suh walk?
Why did Miami let Suh walk?
Just askin’? For such a great and awesome talent he certainly must be doing something to aggravate..management? coaches? teammates?
March 12th, 2018 at 12:42 pm
Detroit didn’t want to make Suh the highest paid DT. Miami pay that price and now need to get out of it. Simple money
March 12th, 2018 at 12:44 pm
Lmao.
“Fierce”, “Nastier”, “intimidating”
Only fans believe that BS
The players either went to school together, played against each other, or watched each other play in college.
Players from everyteam work out together during the off season. Remember Jameis working out with Drew Breez?
NFL players are young Millionaires- who have alot in common with each other- and nothing in common with you!
All this idocricy about rivalries, playing angry, etc, – is BS.
During your career- you may very well end up being teammates.
Unless you “play angry” or play dirty. Which is probably why his ass is on the street.
Clueless fans make up all this “ teams dont like each other” nonsense.
For the players- its just a job.
And “playing angry” is just an act for the fans.
Just like pro westling.
The players you think hate each other, are probably vacationing together right now in Europe. Enjoying spending all the millions the fans give them
If you want “fierce, angry, intimidating” players, you may wanna check with Hulk Hogan, John Cena, or The Undertaker. They will all” play act”for you!
March 12th, 2018 at 12:45 pm
You think Suh cares about team success , his own teammates or whether he wins a ring. He is irrelevant
Dude is a joke
March 12th, 2018 at 12:46 pm
Sign the free agency RB out of Frisco. Draft Vea 1st and Okoronkwo out of Okla 2nd. Shore up your Defensive line. Everything else will fall into place once we get a pass rush, some hurries, sacks, and Defensive pressure. Without this, You shall see the SOB’s (same ole Bucs!)
March 12th, 2018 at 12:47 pm
@Ndog how about we keep Mcoy sign Suh then trade Djax for some trade ammo instead. Godwin looks like the real deal to me and it’s easy to WR3 this year.
March 12th, 2018 at 12:50 pm
Munch….We just don’t see eye to eye on it. He gave up some plays but I thought he played some good games for us too. To me he is a guy I would feel comfortable with coming in for a game or mid game if needed. I also think he had an extremely difficult job with how poor our overall defense was. Ryan Smith got picked on all game long when he lined up opposite Grimes. McClain didn’t.
But I guess it doesn’t really matter because it looks like he will be moving on. More important will be who we get. Could use a depth guy at CB that has similar experience to McClain IMO.
March 12th, 2018 at 12:51 pm
I live in Miami and I end up forced to watch the sorry ass dolphins a lot. Suh would definitely help out he is a A-hole but it might balance out playing next to Mccoy lol. Plus we have a lot of good character guys in the locker room.
March 12th, 2018 at 12:57 pm
Captain Tim….I don’t think the Bucs are all that friendly with the Saints on gameday. Also, I don’t think Jamies is good friends with the lineman he headbutted on the Cowboys. That should be a fun rematch this year. We were physically dominated last time we played them on both sides of the ball so hopefully we indeed do get a little meaner and angrier.
I kind of agree what you’re saying. Those aspects don’t exist in football like they used to. But to say they don’t exist at all I completely disagree.
March 12th, 2018 at 1:16 pm
McClain and Tandy should both be brought back as experienced back-ups who already know the defensive “system”. Just needs to be at the right price (like $1.25M or less).
I’m pretty sure that’s how the Bucs are looking at them as well.
March 12th, 2018 at 1:17 pm
Let be real the problem is no the player we sign or draft it’s the coaching that is the problem. They have drafted and sign good FA but 80% them fail with these coaches. Average and above average talent sink here the team hasn’t groomed any talent beside a pair of linebacker. Winston still the same player Evan still the same as he was when he was drafted. Evans caught deep balls and jump ball in college still no route running or a full route tree yet which tell you he has awesome talent. Same for Winston still doing the same not better. In the last 6 years we only coached 2 third round and 4th round. And they are trying to mess up the one good lineman we have by switching his position
March 12th, 2018 at 1:23 pm
What’s with the Ryan Smith hate Munch??
He was shaky early on (duh – 1st few live game snaps ever in the NFL – at outside CB no less) – but showed visible improvement as the year went on and wound up looking almost decent by the end of the year. Pretty good progress in his “rookie” year if you ask me. He’s got the speed and ball skills necessary – just has to put it all together which takes time and a lot of reps for 97% of all CBs who come into the NFL. Ask Ronde – he’ll explain it to ya.
March 12th, 2018 at 1:36 pm
The only way Suh should be a target is if the GMC trade rumors from a week or two ago are true.
March 12th, 2018 at 2:08 pm
Grab Suh e.j. Gaines, bring Blount back, grab sitton. Draft safety, RB, and a cb top 3 picks. Ideally trade down
March 12th, 2018 at 2:17 pm
You ding dongs crack me up thinking every FA will fix this team. You trust a GM that gave up DJAX (absolute no fit for this team) Baker, Ward???
I swear Licht just reads these comments for advice. That would explain the bone headed moves HAHAHAHA
March 12th, 2018 at 2:37 pm
kong suh is not the dominant player he was a few years ago…he has lost a little bit since his early detroit days…still good and fierce…and offers a demeanor our line or team does not have
#ImKoolWithBringinInKongSuh
March 12th, 2018 at 4:48 pm
Tandy is only 29 and has a few years left in the tank. Maybe the Saints, Panthers or Falcons will give him a look!!! He deserves a shot to come back and embarrass Smith, Koetter and Licht!!!!
March 12th, 2018 at 5:13 pm
Pickgrin – You’re completely wrong on Ryan Smith, he’s terrible. As for him having speed, sure, he has the speed to chase down guys after they burn him in coverage. As for ball skills, he was thrown at repeatedly, over and over and over again and had zero INTs. I say all the time INTs are a worthless stat for corners since if you’re exceptional no one will throw at you and it can reduce your numbers, but in Smith’s case he was so terrible he was constantly thrown at and made zero INTs despite probably leading the league in opportunities. As for him improving… go watch the Saints game again. He was lost, gave up big plays, looked terrible, just like he did all year. The guy is awful and had the worst game I’ve ever seen in Minnesota where he was gave up nearly 300 yards I believe. Maybe with another decade or two of practice he could be a solid #4 corner, but personally, I’d rather cut him and just sign someone off the Clearwater high school roster instead.
March 12th, 2018 at 9:28 pm
Jimmyjack
I hear what you are saying- but heres the difference
During a practice, a friend of mine went low- and hit my knee in what was basically a chop block.
I kicked hlm, was punching him. We got seperated- I threw my helmet at him.
That Summer, we still worked out together, and killed many a pitcher and wing platter.
Moments of Anger happen. There may even be a player or two that just dont each other.
But Im tired of hearing all the”plays angry”, “fierce” etc.
Its B.S., and anyone who believes it is being played.
Its the NFE- National Football entertainment
Sapp and Farve were friends- with mutual respect
Their “ confrontations” would get them both on Sports Center!
Where they both loved to be
Other than an occasional Ahole like Suh, these guys are businessmen.
And Suh’s”intensity” hasnt helped his team- its hurt his team.
His stupidity has cost his teams games.
The Bucs dont lack intensity- they lack intelligence.
They dont need “meaner”players.
They need smarter players