“JPP Was Unblockable In The First Two Quarters”
December 2nd, 2019
An ex-Buc weighs in on the future
A former Buccaneer likes the “recipe” for the Tampa Bay defense.
Joe agrees, but the problem is the Bucs won’t be able to afford all the ingredients.
A segment of Buc fandom is very pleased with the defensive line built by general manager Jason Licht and his team. But Joe can’t run around JoeBucsFan world headquarters doing fist-pumps because it’s totally unrealistic to think the Bucs can keep this D-line together.
Jason Pierre-Paul and Ndamukong Suh, and edge-rushing linebackers Shaq Barrett and Carl Nassib, are free agents after the season.
Barrett ($4 million this season) and Nassib ($2 million) will get massive raises on the open market.
Barrett could fetch at least $15 million per season with Nassib scoring up to half that, depending on how he finishes 2019. Nassib has four sacks in his last four games.
JPP will be looking for at least $10 million per season and he’ll probably find it. Suh turns 33 in January and it’s unclear whether he even wants to play in 2020.
Former Bucs tight end Anthony Becht told WDAE radio today that Nassib and friends are part of a “nice nucleus” on a defense that’s now “clicking on all cylinders.” It’s one Bucs fans haven’t seen in many years, Becht said, a blend of effective veterans and promising young players.
“JPP’s not getting any younger, but there is value, absolute value for him,” Becht said. “And all these guys to get signed, get’em locked up and bring them back.”
Yes, Becht said the Bucs should lock up Barrett on “a multi-year deal.”
This all sounds nice, and it certainly feels good, but the Bucs can’t pay everyone.
Now is not the time to dive into all the numbers, but critical decisions will need to be made soon. Becht added that the Bucs’ performance against the Texans in Week 16, a team he called “elite,” along with the Colts next Sunday, should be key measuring sticks for management’s evaluations.
December 2nd, 2019 at 12:46 pm
YOU DON’T PAY WinSTUNNED! …then, there is cash to keep this defensive unit together…
December 2nd, 2019 at 12:47 pm
Keep a good developing defense? Or a crappy loser quarterback……
December 2nd, 2019 at 12:51 pm
@Morgus the Magnificent…I think that’s the simple decision. Bucs are all about Defense, and always have been. If they want some fans back, they better choose DEFENSE!!!!!
December 2nd, 2019 at 12:52 pm
Man, fun game! Leavings the stadium, it was only BUCS fans left. Saw Big Nasty, JayBuc and a huge party bus Crew! Good times! GO BUCS!!
December 2nd, 2019 at 12:52 pm
It’s why Licht still has failed us in replenishing front 7 with the draft / O-line.
Thank god if a few of his 8 highly drafted secondary players pan out finally, but philosophically he has in a weird situation team building-wise.
Best case scenario imo:
-finish 8-8 or better with Winston playing solid turnover free football and the defense proving a corner has been turned
-Winston takes a team friendly deal that gives us flexibility to sign most of these defensive players back + a vet corner
-with our first 3 picks we take an immediate starting OT / + a DT + a DE in BPA order
-we take a RB and another versatile O-lineman and another defensive player in rounds 4-7
2020 would have the same offensive core that is top 3 in NFL scoring + an upgraded deeper O-line and more RB options (ideally a true workhorse develops).
We’d retain most our front 7 while also infusing it with drafted talent for more depth and an eye torwards the future. The secondary players like Dean/SMB/Davis/Whitehead continue their ascension to being an average or better secondary. White/Vea/etc all back to wreck havoc.
Bottom line is if this defense is truly turning the corner then there is hope for this staff.
If this is a 2 game fluke we should find out soon enough.
December 2nd, 2019 at 12:52 pm
This cap situation is gonna be truly interesting.
December 2nd, 2019 at 12:53 pm
“O Great
Bunch of Nascar lovin Bucsfans with 1 hand holding a can of Bud and the other hand with a calculator”
Kobe Faker
December 2nd, 2019 at 12:55 pm
gholston, dotson, brate, and suh are among the guys that might help us more off the roster (cap room) than on (production). i don’t trust this team to find a instant-impact rookie or another cheap vet to do what Barrett, Nassib, and JPP have done since JPP came back into the lineup, so they probably need to find a way to keep those guys in town.
Suh is having a good year but his biggest value appears to have been grooming Vea. hopefully a Nunes-Roches or similar type talent can be in the right place at the right time for big plays just like Suh has been
December 2nd, 2019 at 12:57 pm
Some cuts that can free up space to make some crucial signings for the next offseason:
Will Gholston – $4.75 M
Cam Brate – $6 M
Ryan Jensen – $10 M
With edge rushers I would love to see Barrett, Nassib, and JPP returning, but as they all play the same position, you have to go with the top performers/leaders being Barrett and Nassib.
Interior line can function with the trio of Nunez-Roches, Vea, and Allen should Allen and Nunez-Roches be able to be resigned cheaply. Suh is an obvious subtraction, and Gholston is just not a guy I think is crucial to keep around despite being cheapish.
D line is a headache as we finally are in a position to call it a position of strength. Here’s to hoping our GM can pull off some magic to keep it somewhat intact.
December 2nd, 2019 at 1:01 pm
Well, interesting situations….I think that everything points to JW back next year, at least Copah is his biggest fan. I don´t thonk he will sign for cheap by any means…..So If that happens I guess that at least 3 of those defenders will be gone, because of the Cap hell Mr Eisntein Licht got us into….
Wich player can we trade?
Brate?
OJ?
LVD? Do we want to trade him?
I mean Einstein is really bad men!!!
December 2nd, 2019 at 1:01 pm
Lord C
-with our first 3 picks we take an immediate starting OT / + a DT + a DE in BPA order
-we take a RB and another versatile O-lineman and another defensive player in rounds 4-7
Exactly what I’ve been preaching……Unfortunately for Dotson & Suh (oldest)……we need to save some money by replacing them with the draft.
Joe wants a corner…….imagine that?
December 2nd, 2019 at 1:04 pm
I appreciate this article, our defensive line is better than almost any other line nfl right now. We are indeed clicking on all cylinders and it is a pleasure to watch. Now to keep all this for future years, sacrifices will be made. We are also clicking on multiple cylinders with ME, Godwin and Jameis. I suggest we market Cam Brate, and even OJ-whoever we can get the most for or both.Hate to break up the JW,ME,CG trio but we cannot afford Jameis. N.Suh is surefun to have over McCoy but we will need to part ways with him too unless he will be cheap.We also need a new Right tackle.Trade Donovan Smith even, lots of options but we must keep Barrett, and JPP and Nassib.
December 2nd, 2019 at 1:15 pm
You guys know we definitely can afford to pay Nassib, Shaq JPP and Winston, right? Look at the cap space. Problem is when you also wanna extend Godwin, the budget gets a bit tighter, but still doable. Draft a RT and a DT early to replace Dot and Suh. Unless Suh takes a very team friendly deal, he likely is gone too.
December 2nd, 2019 at 1:26 pm
Keep JPP and Barrett….let Nassib and Suh walk. If needed, trade Brate….that would free up $7million. Jensen might be a casualty as well….he’s grossly over paid. I think a decision is made on him or Smith. They eat up waaaay too much cap for the production they provide. The run game is barely avg, for what we pay that line it should be top tier and for Winston’s sake it needs to be top tier.
December 2nd, 2019 at 1:33 pm
Suh is an absolute monster and, if he wants to play, we should absolutely keep him another year
December 2nd, 2019 at 1:34 pm
I think Suh wants to play for Bowles. I look for him to take a team friendly deal. Same with Jameis. No other team is going to pay him big money with his history. He realizes his best shot is with the Bucs and the receivers he has. The one who is going to cost us is Barrett. Double digit sack guys don’t come cheap and he’s young. Same with Godwin but I think Chris would work with the organization if they offered him a contract with incentives. We’ll see how things pan out.
December 2nd, 2019 at 1:40 pm
Gholston is a bargain at 4.5 million.. Just because he doesn’t get sacks, and this website has diminished his performance, don’t mistake in valuing his production. Suh is having a really, really good season too. Why are LVD and White making plays???? Vea, Suh, Gholston and Allen are keeping these guys clean to read and react. Jensen will need to really get looked at. I would prioritize a new tackle over a mid tier center coming in LVD is unfortunately another. This will be the hardest off season of Licht’s tumultuous career.
December 2nd, 2019 at 1:41 pm
Lord C … You totally NAILED IT. This defense has a chance to become elite & get us to the Promised Land. But NOT if Bucs’ management listens to Joe. To him, the 2016 5-game win streak led by the Bucs’ defense will always be a FLUKE … offense first, defense gets the leftovers. Joe’s forgotten our roots .. .Bucs have always been a DEFENSIVE TEAM, and a very good one most years. Our problem has almost always been having mediocre offenses. IOW, we’ve never been a reasonably BALANCED TEAM in terms of production on BOTH sides of the ball.
I’m all for Jameis accepting a ‘team-friendly’ deal, loaded with incentives down the line (he MIGHT but I have my doubts). Our ‘window’ for playoff contention will be 2020 & 2021 IMO (might extend past that IF we draft well in these next 2 years to achieve a better offense/defense BALANCE in terms of personnel contracts).
Your proposal fits perfectly IMO, providing our defense continues its’ excellent progress.
December 2nd, 2019 at 1:44 pm
If you want to sign Jameis you have to ask this question: What helps the team/Jameis more? Evans/Godwin, or the pass rush? We can probably afford one or the other.
December 2nd, 2019 at 1:45 pm
I say the pass rush is more important than the wideouts no matter who is under center
December 2nd, 2019 at 1:54 pm
Bobby M … Agree with keeping JPP & Barrett, but letting Suh walk would be a monumental mistake. Allen & Nunez-Roches (your other DTs besides Vea & Suh?) are BOTH UFAs this off-season. Let Suh walk & you’ve now got Vea and oh ya, nobody else. Suh JPP & Barrett are iron-men; they (and Nassib) get the most defensive snaps per game by far. THAT production on the DLine is rare. Don’t mess with something that’s working … PAY THEM & be thankful if they all accept.
Agree with you about parting ways with Brate, but only IF we can’t afford him at his $6 mil salary. Ryan Jensen is overpaid ($10 mil) IMO, and since he has no dead Cap in 2020, he MIGHT be expendable. Donovan’s not going anyplace though … his 2020 salary Cap is $14.5 mil, but that’s also his dead Cap number. In any event, Bucs have some VERY HARD decisions to make this off-season.
December 2nd, 2019 at 2:13 pm
hmmm..where is that D-bag tmax now? bha ha
December 2nd, 2019 at 2:16 pm
keep them all !
mr. licht needs to down a sixer and some wings with greenberg and make it work
December 2nd, 2019 at 2:18 pm
I would definitely sign JPP to a two or three year contract. I don’t know if we can afford Barrett too, but JPP has been proven over the years this is Barretts first big season.
December 2nd, 2019 at 2:23 pm
You people think if we let Jameis go the next QB is going to play here for free? My goodness you people are CLUELESS.
December 2nd, 2019 at 2:24 pm
We’re gonna have roughly 90 to even 100 mil in space next year. So let’s say we have 100 with cutting gholston and brate.
25- jameis
15- shaq
12- jpp
7 – nassib
8 – rookies
That’s 67 million with about 30 million left.
We have plenty but shaq and jpp need to be priorities. I’m okay moving on from suh.
Prioritize OL and DT/DE in draft. I’d also use about 12 in free agency on a great cb.
Free agency needs to be spent on maintaining the nucleus.
December 2nd, 2019 at 2:27 pm
you really just gotta franchise barrett and see how next year goes…if he has 8 sacks next year it’s a bit of a different ballpark figure…
the initial 9 sacks in the first 4 games literally threw his numbers out of whack – in a good way – but bad for negotiating a contract…
he’s had about 5 1/2 sacks in the past 8 games..,
so if he didn’t go ape sheet in the beginning and say he had 3 sacks in 4 games, he’d have like 8 to 9 sacks right now, and be on pace for say a dozen (12)…
the thing is he might be the real deal, because he sort of looks like lawrence taylor – the shape of his head is similar – go figure…
#ItsAllReallyAboutHowYourHeadIsShaped
December 2nd, 2019 at 2:30 pm
And BTW you people are crazy to think Jameis won’t get PAID if he hits the market. You do realize he is on pace for the second most passing yards within the first 5 years of a career only behind Peyton Manning? And is he only going to be 26 when/if he becomes a free agent and he has ALREADY put up those kind of numbers. Players with that production and going into their prime years don’t hit the open market very often, so if he does watch out.
December 2nd, 2019 at 2:31 pm
Draft a cheap rookie QB and we can afford all those guys. It won’t happen though since our front office does not value pass rushers. Add to that, both Arians and Licht will want to save face and either franchise Winston or sign him long term and to hell with the future. Hopefully, the Glazers veto any long term deal for Winston, but the tag is in the bag.
December 2nd, 2019 at 2:31 pm
They franchise #3 and sign Barret tand I think Brate, Suh and jpp would have to go. I think #13’s contract makes things tricky too.Maybe jpp would take less to stay?
December 2nd, 2019 at 2:34 pm
Let me start by saying that Tampa will have the 4th highest cap in the offseason at 85 million. Also I don’t care who is at quarterback but if that offensive line isn’t fixed it will be the same results with a rookie QB or Jamies or a veteran QB. Let this sink in Tampa sits at the 13th spot in the draft as of now. At 5-7 its 12 teams worse than Tampa. That’s a lot of bad teams. You guys still complain when the team gets a win which is ridiculous. A win is a win and they seem to not come as much for this team over the last decade or so. Whether you like Jameis or not they win another game or two more than likely he is getting franchised tagged. For you dreamers thinking he will take a team friendly deal not going to happen at the age of 25. If you let Jameis walk and he goes somewhere like Chicago or San Diego even with his turnover history his is a top 10 quarterback if that happens. As for resigning Shaq ask yourself is this a one year wonder or at the age of 27 can he give you 3 consecutive double digit sacks seasons? I think JPP would come back on a team friendly deal because he is close to home and he would be a good mentor for the young defensive linemen. As for Suh I think you can get younger because you find another big DT in the draft and develop him. As for defensive players I would like to see how they develop under Bowles. As for the Right Tackle you have to go two ways Draft or a free agent but don’t over pay. End of the day it Bruce’s call on what will happen so I will worry about that when it comes. For now I wish that the instead of 3 of the last 4 games were home I wish they were on the road because this team plays well on the road and at worse will have a .500 record on the road.
December 2nd, 2019 at 3:14 pm
I still think JPP might retire. His accident and the long healing process scared him.
December 2nd, 2019 at 3:15 pm
LOL if that were true, he wouldn’t be playing professional football.
JPP is not done at all. Just listen to how excited he was sunday. He’s a real one and is passionate.
December 2nd, 2019 at 3:16 pm
Mort Says:
December 2nd, 2019 at 1:15 pm
You guys know we definitely can afford to pay Nassib, Shaq JPP and Winston, right? Look at the cap space. Problem is when you also wanna extend Godwin, the budget gets a bit tighter, but still doable. Draft a RT and a DT early to replace Dot and Suh. Unless Suh takes a very team friendly deal, he likely is gone too.
——
Mort:
Thank you for your diligent post. A large contingent on this message board are irrational and sometimes that includes Joe.
The Bucs are in great shape with the cap, but they probably are going to have to get rid of Dot and Suh or Dot and Nassib.
December 2nd, 2019 at 3:18 pm
I like how everyone here as a plan lol. It’s up the players to sign with the Bucs. What makes you think nassib. Barrett. Winston. Jpp. Suh. Etc want to stay.
December 2nd, 2019 at 3:28 pm
We need to go in another direction with Jameis. He’ll cost the Bucs somewhere between 19 mil – 25 mil. He ain’t worth the trouble or risk. Teams in the last decade has had great success with rookie QBs. It time to give up on the Jameis experiment and let some young QB take the lead. A rookie will cost us about 5 mil and we can use the other 15 mil to sign the rest of our guys and pickup a veteran Olineman.
This year’s draft is loaded with good QBs. I think the Bucs can pickup a future starter in the second/third round.
December 2nd, 2019 at 3:56 pm
Just a few comments. Barrett has 14.5 sacks so far with Buc’s however in 5 year carreer has 28 total. I’m not saying he’s not great for us this year but keep in mind he is in a scheme where Vea and Suh are in the trenches and he is free to rush the passer. Gholston, JPP, Nassib and Allen are in the mix and LB blitzes are all factors. He was let go by Denver. Don’t assume one year is going to attract truck loads of contracts. Aaron Donald only has 9 1/2 sacks and 2 TFL. Not bad for 2018 Def MVP.
Winston on the other hand loves Tampa and would probably take a modified contract with built in incentives and fewer years. He knows how coaches in general feel about turnovers and he still hasn’t proven that he has a long ball. So I would suggest it’s a little early to talk Franchise Tags and Contracts. A lot can happen (Tua) in the next 4 games, FA, and the Draft.
Finally let our young DB’s continue to develop, Learn to Win. Focus on Oline and RB in Draft.
December 2nd, 2019 at 4:54 pm
the reason they are clicking now is not because of some magical new formula of players or anything … i think you can put the turn around and drive to do better almost squarely on the shoulders of J.P.P. …. joe you should do an article that shows the difference between now and before jpp got back …. it is night and day i bet!!!….. he brings something to a team that makes a 9-7 team (the Superbowl giants) go all the way and beat an unbeaten patriots!!! …. you have to find a way to keep him and Barrett … they can replace anyone else on the line aside from vea who already has another few years left …. but yeah jpp was that veteran leader they needed so bad and it is too bad he was hurt to begin the season or who knows what would have happened
December 2nd, 2019 at 5:33 pm
Yeah I think JPP has to be one of the guys we bring back.
He is a leader amongst men.
December 2nd, 2019 at 6:54 pm
If Suh is healthy and doesn’t retire, it would be really dumb not to bring him back, unless you want to see Vea double teamed every play
December 2nd, 2019 at 8:05 pm
Around $93,000,000 in cap space
$93,000,000
– $27,000,000 JW franchise tag
-$16,000,000 Shaq
– $10,000,000 JPP
– $9,000,000 Rookies
– $8,000,000 Suh
– $7,500,000 Nassib
– $3,5000,000 (save for in-season moves if injuries happen)
Leaves $12,000,000 for free agents!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
December 2nd, 2019 at 9:48 pm
Brate is gone.
December 3rd, 2019 at 5:00 pm
One of the main reasons we stop the run is the play of Gholston this year. You best keep him with his now lower cap number. We don’t need to pay a bundle for a veteran CB and Safety! We have to keep D. Smith who would be as much a disaster at RT as LT, so train Cappa to play RT which is his college experience, and give D. Smith a shot at starting as a RG. That way you fix your OL with only grabbing a LT in the first round and signing a reasonable backup OL player who can start at any OL position if needed. That way you have the rest of our draft picks to grab a big strong DT and a large DE in case JPP begins showing his age in the future. You also must keep LVD! He has been our best player on Defense and helped train White and Barret. You also could get a fast 220 RB in the draft to develop too. Don’t forget that Whitehead was also an accomplished fast RB in college. He could take some snaps there sometimes like Vea has done also.