New Bucs Addition Raises Questions
May 21st, 2019
This quickly got Joe’s attention.
The Bucs today signed former Jets tight end Jordan Leggett.
If there is any position the Bucs have depth at it is tight end. Unless…
Joe’s antennae shot straight into the air reading that the Bucs signed a tight end. We all know O.J. Howard is a world class tight end. And Joe noticed Antony Auclair has caught a few more passes during underwear football than Joe has seen in previous springs.
What about Cam Brate you say? Good question.
The Bucs are, let’s just say, very sensitive about Brate’s rehab from offseason hip surgery. In fact, that subject is strictly verboten around Brate. Asking him about his recuperation is totally off-limits to the point Joe got the impression last week that he would have been thrown out of practice (or worse) asking Brate about his hip (Joe had no plans to ask him about it).
Joe can’t ever remember the Bucs being this paranoid/thin-skinned/worried about asking a player a question on his rehab as the Bucs were last week with Brate. Joe thought that was odd at the time and thinks it is even stranger now.
Teams generally don’t sign players this time of the year just to help them pay their bar tabs. Leggett caught one touchdown and played in 15 games for the Jets in his lone year in the NFL last season.
Either the new regime seems ready to move on from Auclair, or perhaps Brate’s rehab isn’t going as smooth as the Bucs once believed.
Brate is the only tight end in the NFL to have caught at least six touchdowns in each of the last three seasons.
Let’s just say this transaction has Joe’s curiosity piqued.
Source: the Bucs have claimed former Jets TE Jordan Leggett off on waivers.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) May 21, 2019
May 21st, 2019 at 5:24 pm
brate is replaceable the key is can oj stay healthy which is unknown
May 21st, 2019 at 5:26 pm
Well, the team still has cap issues…
May 21st, 2019 at 5:28 pm
bye brate…..
hello leonard williams…..
GO BUCS!!!!!
May 21st, 2019 at 5:31 pm
Not really concerned with this, it’ll sort itself out… camp meat and a chance for the kid to show his stuff…
May 21st, 2019 at 5:33 pm
Auclair will go to Atlanta 🙂
May 21st, 2019 at 5:36 pm
You can’t deny Brate has amazing chemistry with JW. Without Hump or DJax I’d like to think playing Brate and OJ together would work very well.
May 21st, 2019 at 5:37 pm
Would love to get rid of Brate, as reliable as he has been 7 mil is way too much for an back up TE
May 21st, 2019 at 5:51 pm
Jordan Leggett is a third year player who never did anything worthwhile. We currently have 3 tight ends slated to make the team, so there is competition for the 4th spot.
Joe, you are looking for something that is not there.
May 21st, 2019 at 6:01 pm
Bert Emmanuel. Having to deny he had a broken leg.
May 21st, 2019 at 6:05 pm
Trade Brate for Robert Quinn Dallas bye JPP use JPPs 7.4 to sign draft picks. Suh, Quinn, Vita, White and David looks improved to me.
May 21st, 2019 at 6:05 pm
Can´t give an opinion on his hip, but I think he is a very good, reliable, TE, and exellent teammate, the only way I can understans a move is if he is injured, If not is something very hard to understand…..If it´s a cap situation, I think there are other alternatives to free some cap space without huirtin the strength of this team that is the offense!!
May 21st, 2019 at 6:08 pm
Auclair > leggett
Brate maybe cap casualty now as we need JPP replacement. or his physical didn’t go to well. Torn labrum are nasty. Painful.
Auclair ain’t going anywhere.
May 21st, 2019 at 6:16 pm
Nothing mysterious going on here Joe, the Bucs also waived TE Isaiah Searight from the IR list.
May 21st, 2019 at 6:32 pm
Brate May become a cap casualty. Good TE but expendable.
May 21st, 2019 at 6:47 pm
I have a feeling that Brate will be traded and JPP will be cut and Licht will make a trade for Clowney. Clowney will sign at 21 million per season.
May 21st, 2019 at 6:57 pm
My what big ears you have
May 21st, 2019 at 7:09 pm
Your right tmax. Can he stay healthy? It was the Giants game I believe. They where ankle tackling the whole game. I knew someone was going to get hurt. Oj has got to be more aware of whats going when the ball is in his hands. It was kinda cheap to go at his ankles when the Giants DB knew he was going to score. If he would of glanced back he would of known to get air born. Hes got the talent.
May 21st, 2019 at 7:14 pm
I think the Bucs will keep 4 TEs…so I believe Howard, Brate, and Auclair are probably safe.
May 21st, 2019 at 7:18 pm
Brate is not good at blocking. And hes got a high price tag for a number 2 TE.
May 21st, 2019 at 7:19 pm
Love Brate tru pro. He is replaceable an if o.j can stay healthy watch but that’s a BIG IF
May 21st, 2019 at 7:25 pm
A team is as good as the worst player on the roster. Keep making those last few spots better and it trickles upwards.
Competition breeds improvement which breeds success.
May 21st, 2019 at 7:29 pm
Buccaneer Bonzai Says:
May 21st, 2019 at 5:51 pm
Joe, you are looking for something that is not there.
———————-
Do you mean Joe is looking for scary dragons?
May 21st, 2019 at 7:39 pm
Pretty sure the Tight end in the league who was catching tds like Brate was Tyler Eifert of the bengals and he hurt his hip and was never the same. Hip injuries can be career ending. Trade him now lol
May 21st, 2019 at 7:49 pm
Maxiep
Everyone’s replaceable. Everyone. Live n learn
May 21st, 2019 at 8:22 pm
Or maybe Brate is overpaid and suspect to softness….
May 21st, 2019 at 8:31 pm
GoBuxFla
Suspect to softness??? Cam takes major shots all the time and still holds onto the ball. Get your sh!t straight.
May 21st, 2019 at 8:38 pm
I wouldn’t be quick to give up on Brate. He played hurt at the end of last year, we need MORE guys like that, not less.
May 21st, 2019 at 9:05 pm
Don’t smell anything but camp meat
Really, 1 yr nobody ready to replace Cam
Move along please
May 21st, 2019 at 9:32 pm
Brates hip has 7 mil attached to it and that is perhaps viewed as more valuable elsewhere by Arians and Jason has no say !!!
May 21st, 2019 at 10:02 pm
Koetter always loved Brate… But he never seemed to like Devonte Freeman in ATL….I’d take that swap.
May 21st, 2019 at 10:10 pm
Brate will not be released or cut. No salary advantage would occur. Still have $7mil against cap. This does open up to a trade. Leggett is an interesting guy. More of a pass catching slot type than an inline player. More like a direct replacement for Brate. This isn’t an Auclair type. Went and researched him a bit. Sometimes looks really natural catching the ball, other times he fights it. Really odd. Runs good routes and is very good (albeit not OJ80 good) running with the ball once the catch is secured. Still we used a waiver claim so Bowles saw something he really liked while in NY. Brate was a shell last year too so Joe maybe onto something regarding the injury.
May 22nd, 2019 at 2:23 am
Man, our fanbase is probably the most putrid in the NFL times 100. Seriously, besides a few, the majority is pretty much the lowest walk of life. If you don’t like a product? Simply quit purchasing the product. If you quit purchasing the product, the manufacturer will either die out or figure out how to give a better product. But to bash players who spend their lives trying to make it in our entertainment world and try to please people who could give two shi!$ about them? Ya. Our fanbase is a huge, and I mean mega ton huge, problem with our beloved franchise. I’m in no way qualified to play the sport, But if I was? No way in HELL would I want to play in Tampa knowing everything I did was going to be either compared to the past or just flat out scrutinized by the fans.
May 22nd, 2019 at 10:36 am
Are you serious Blackmagic00? Our fan base is majority “the lowest walk of life” according because they complain about years and years of a crappy product. First of all, we have rapists, murderers and thousands of other criminals that qualify for the “lowest walk of life” before negative fans, you are proving your low level of intellect with your moronic comment. Second, what are they supposed to do…..talk about how great they are going to be one day? How great of a cap situation the team is in? When numbers at my work are in the crapper we have a bit of a rah rah motivational attitude at first but if they continue to suck we have a different conversation and their job isn’t any different…production business that is dictated by results.
May 22nd, 2019 at 12:47 pm
I believe Brate’s salery is guaranteed & even if they trade him they will take a 7mil cap hit. If BA doesn’t use the TE much maybe they should consider trading OJ’
May 22nd, 2019 at 1:29 pm
DooshLaRue Says
“Do you mean Joe is looking for scary dragons?”
You know, your constant insults would matter if I cared…and if I weren’t making money off those ‘scary dragons’.
lol…you are wasting your time.
May 22nd, 2019 at 1:33 pm
@DooshLaRue
I think I will start calling you…Jocelyn.