Bucs Aren’t “Foolish”
January 27th, 2020
A long-time big-shot columnist doesn’t believe soon-to-be free agent quarterback Philip Rivers will be playing for the Bucs in the twilight of his career.
That’s because he doesn’t believe the Bucs are being run by fools.
San Diego Union-Tribune scribe Nick Canepa has covered Rivers every season of his Chargers days. So with Rivers looking like his days with the Chargers are done, Canepa is trying to figure out where Rivers might land.
Canepa cannot understand how the rumors linking Rivers with the Bucs (since Rivers moved to the Panhandle) make any sense.
A free agent at 38, Philip says he wants to continue playing, but I can’t believe, at his age, he will go to a team with no chance at a title. Tampa Bay is a big rumor, but he’s not getting jewelry there. The Bucs would be foolish to lose Jameis Winston, mercurial as he might be.
There are better fits for Rivers than the Bucs, Canepa believes, including teams with a better chance of making a Super Bowl run.
What Joe found interesting is that a guy who has covered the NFL for over 30 years seems to think any team that would walk away from Mr. Entertainment, America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston, has their heads up their backsides.
Anyone find it interesting that Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht has been awfully quiet of late? He neither spoke on the record at the Shrine Bowl practices at the Fruitdome in St. Petersburg nor, best as Joe can tell, spoke on the record to anyone at the Senior Bowl practice despite Mobile flooded with reporters from all over blanketing every medium and outlet known in the free world.
Joe is starting to wonder if Licht is under a gag order until the combine next month?
January 27th, 2020 at 10:06 am
LOVE THE PIC!!!
The look on JOE”S face when Jameis walks in the room!!
January 27th, 2020 at 10:08 am
Maybe Rivers is waiting to see if Drew Brees retires.
January 27th, 2020 at 10:10 am
Mercurial as he might be! LOL!!!!!!!
Stop it JOE you are going to make me pee my pants.
January 27th, 2020 at 10:11 am
18 years without a meaningful win and 13 years without a meaningful game prove the bucs are run by fools
January 27th, 2020 at 10:15 am
That is a great picture.
January 27th, 2020 at 10:15 am
The “real” reason that they are so quite, and will be, is until the few suckers error I mean sheep’s payment will clear for season tickets!!!!!!!!!!!!! Its the same reason as the secret, shady , backdoor deal of an extension that the below avg gm got last year!!!!!!!!! To the “real” fa s outrage once the “TRUTH” was finally uncovered!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Go bucs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 27th, 2020 at 10:19 am
Funny.
So where could Rivers go with a better chance of winning “jewelry?”
January 27th, 2020 at 10:22 am
The Bucs would be foolish to depend on the ATM. The dude can make all the throws but has yet to stop throwing the alarming pick sixes and mind numbing interceptions. Explore all options. If you must keep the ATM do it for one year and overpay him with the franchise tag. I don’t care if he likes it or not. If he sits out because he is only making 27 million, we don’t want him and his attitude anyway. Stop throwing the stupid picks and you will make millions and millions and millions. Go Bucs!
January 27th, 2020 at 10:23 am
Seriosuly doubt Rivers find a Job as a starting QB….. Seems to me his agent is making some Noise in order to keep his client under the public opinion…. Makes no sense whatsoever Bucs landing him…..
January 27th, 2020 at 10:29 am
I would be surprised if Rivers ended up in Tampa. I believe Winston will be back next year and will be either franchise or transition tagged. I don’t see an extremely high demand for him in free agency.
January 27th, 2020 at 10:29 am
Rivers, Dalton, Brady, Teddy, anyone but Jameis. Herbert, Eason, Hurts, anyone but Jameis. Combination of any of the above. Anything but Jameis.
January 27th, 2020 at 10:35 am
yes, anyone but WinSTUNNED presents hope for 2020…WinSTUNNED under center = NO FUTURE!
January 27th, 2020 at 10:37 am
Bucs aren’t ran by fools? Where is the evidence of that? Since Papa passed away the boys 1. Did an unnecessary and ugly uniform change 2. Went cheap on players after buying soccer team 3. Fired superbowel winning coach and hired cheap unproven inexperienced Raheem Morris 4. After firing Morris hired average at best coach from horrible conference in Schiano 5. Fired Schiano to hire Lovie Smith resulting in a number 1 overall pick in the draft 6. Ignored all red flags and drafted Winston who already was turn over prone and had ugly sexual assault allegations, 5 years later he leads the NFL in turn overs (by a lot) and added another assault allegation. 7. Went from best to worst defense in the NFL. A monkey could run this team better.
January 27th, 2020 at 10:38 am
“if Licht is under a gag order until the combine next month?”
Since we are all now playing amateur sleuth let me join in the speculation.
First thought…Bucs MAY have decided to keep #3 but believe the contract negotiations might be tough so they want to squeeze #3 and his agent and confirm to JW and his team that it’s the Bucs who have the leverage at least for 2020. IE…just a negotiating ploy.
Second thought…The Bucs are actually shopping and want to keep their options open and will hold off on the decision until after FA and the draft. From BA himself…
“Well, free agency, who’s available,” Arians said. “What’s behind Door No. 2. That’s the first question. Then as you evaluate for the draft, that’s another question. Are they better than what you have? Then you evaluate and that’s when you make your decisions.”
Final thought…negotiating ploy or not this is not the best news for #3. IF the Bucs were as certain as NDOG and his posse they would have IMMEDIATELY announced. At least more than likely. You do not injure the feelings of a FRANCHISE QB..especially if you’re going to pour salt in his wounds by franchising him.
Will he go or will he stay? Have the Bucs already made up their minds or are they just posturing for contract? I surely do not know…but it’s hard to spin this as a positive in the career of #3. They’re not only roasting their QB on the fire they’re doing the same thing to their fan base.
It’s created division and name calling and arseholes(saving NDOG..awhshucks..Stan and others the time..I come pre insulted) like me listing #3’s flaws.
Then again…in the immortal words of PT Barnum…”There’s no such thing as bad publicity” From the Bucs perspective perhaps our debates are better than them falling totally off the scene until the draft.
January 27th, 2020 at 10:38 am
“The Bucs would be foolish to lose Jameis Winston…”
According to the haters, no one outside of Tampa believes Winston is any good. So this MUST be a misquote, right?
January 27th, 2020 at 10:44 am
We keep the front 7 in tact, get a good O lineman to replace Dotson, draft a safety and a RB, and this team is a legitimate playoff contender, WITH or WITHOUT Jameis. Seriously!
January 27th, 2020 at 10:48 am
I am confident Jamies is the QB next year. I am hopeful the Bucs improve the OLine enough that the Bucs only throw the ball 30 times a game instead of 45.
January 27th, 2020 at 10:52 am
Ask the Man U fans….
January 27th, 2020 at 10:54 am
jameis should be back at the right price. And that’s less than the franchise tag.
IF they bring Jameis back and they lose early, often and with epic amounts of turnovers- then what? Just say “next year is the year”!
Nope. No more 🐑 🐑 fans have a right to question whatever the hell this process is?
January 27th, 2020 at 10:57 am
Buccaneer Bonzai Haters? Yes I am a hater. I hate losing, I hate having a quarterback that leads the league in turnovers every dam year, and I hate any guy who has to write 2 checks to two women because he cant stop being a scum bag. Question is why dont you or the Joes hate him? Are you an FSU fan? Does winning not matter to you? Does off field issues not matter when it gets him suspended and a low end quarterback steps in and looks better than Winston?
January 27th, 2020 at 10:59 am
Bucs are fools if they negotiate against themselves with a Qb that’s viewed as a joke by 31 other teams
January 27th, 2020 at 11:04 am
StPete … One fly in the ointment for the ‘second thought’: Bucs MUST make a decision regarding ‘what to do about Jameis’ by the start of FA on March 18th. If they don’t, Jameis is free & hits the FA market to make the best deal he can. And if they opt to franchise tag him, they must do it not-later-than March 10th (Feb 25th is the first day to tag him).
So unless I’m mistaken (and my wife will tell you I usually am), Bucs really have until March 10th to decide ‘what to do about Jameis’. After that, we’ve lost any leverage that we might have in negotiations since he’d be an UNRESTRICTED FA. And since FA itself doesn’t start until March 18th & the draft doesn’t start until April 23rd we’d be taking a heck of a gamble if we don’t tag Jameis by March 10th. Could pay off OR it could bite us in the arse.
Maybe the REAL question is “How much of a gamble are the Glazers, BA & JL willing to take when it comes to their QB position for 2020?”
January 27th, 2020 at 11:24 am
Licht is silent because it’s good business to be silent . It’s not complicated. Frustrating for people who write for a living but, not complicated.
January 27th, 2020 at 11:25 am
I’m sick of Famous Jameis! Get a journeyman QB now, dump Jameis, draft either a QB or stud lineman in 1st round, reverse for 2nd round. Clean the table and start over. We are going nowhere fast with Ndog’s homie.
January 27th, 2020 at 11:33 am
I mean….. its extremely obvious that Rivers is coming to Tampa.
January 27th, 2020 at 11:37 am
BA has a plan and that’s with Jameis. He needs to throw less that like 31passes per game maximum. Fix the oline and the run game. Win more games.
January 27th, 2020 at 11:44 am
‘The Bucs aren’t being run by fools!’
They draft a high risk buffoon and stuck with him 5 long dreadful years in spite of his losing play…. I think that is evidence enough that it is in fact ran by fools!
January 27th, 2020 at 12:13 pm
Narrator: “they *are* being run by fools.”
January 27th, 2020 at 12:14 pm
D.R.
Thanks for that correction. I’m sure you’re correct so that at least establishes a time limit. March 10th.
And if I read you correctly March 10th could simply mean a deadline to announce they are keeping him. If as you suggest with your final question…to gamble and let him test the market and bid again…well this story would even get more interesting eh?
January 27th, 2020 at 12:31 pm
Greg- You said everything I feel. I don’t understand why so many fans don’t care about his off the field antics when he is not winning on the field. Please bring someone in I can feel good about cheering for.
January 27th, 2020 at 12:32 pm
Pryda_Sec147 … “He (Jameis) needs to throw less than like 31 passes per game maximum. Fix the oline and the run game. Win more games”.
I don’t disagree with you at all Pryda, HOWEVER … IF the Bucs limit QB passes to 31 per game, and IF they fix the OLine, and IF they fix the running game, and IF the defense improves markedly, THEN WHY do the Bucs need a ‘gunslinger’ making $27 – $30 mil a year to run the resultant TEAM?
The TEAM you’re describing has no holes. It’d be very much akin to the Saints (13-3), Patriots (12-4) or 49ers (13-3). All 3 of those TEAMS had all the things you said we needed for Jameis AND the TEAM to succeed, but their QBs made in the $20 mil range. Maybe Brees ($22.7 mil) & Brady ($21.5 mil) & even Garoppolo ($20.0 mil) knew something that Jameis doesn’t: don’t expect to have the best supporting talent if you’re paying them peanuts. BALANCE is important. And balance COSTS $$$.
January 27th, 2020 at 12:39 pm
Obviously Rivers isn’t coming to Tampa
January 27th, 2020 at 12:51 pm
StPete … Oh I think it’s already interesting. We just don’t know what’s going on ‘behind the scenes’. Got a hunch there are some fascinating discussions going on right now.
The NFL timeline for FA is very bizarre IMO. The Bucs would have to commit to Jameis on a franchise tag (by 10 Mar) BEFORE they could talk to any other QBs who MIGHT prove to be a better value for them (22 Feb to even ‘officially’ start talking to potential replacements). To NOT tag Jameis is a big RISK IMO.
The NFL timeline for the draft is even more bizarre IMO. Teams that NEED a QB by 23 Apr when the draft starts better hope that they’re picking in the Top-5 to grab a potential starter. That’s obviously NOT the Bucs. We can’t rely on the draft to find a starting QB with our #14 pick. And IF we don’t tag Jameis and he walks at the start of FA, even average ‘bridge’ QBs will be licking their chops (our leverage will be diminished by quite a bit). I guess this is what happens when you STILL have questions about the guy who’s been your starting QB for the past 5 years.
January 27th, 2020 at 1:07 pm
Does this guy have a crystal ball to predict that the Bucs can’t win a Super Bowl next year?
A year ago I’m sure he’d have said there’s no way San Francisco even makes the playoffs.
January 27th, 2020 at 1:10 pm
DR
i agree…
why pay that much for a QB that needs “so much” help…..
someone mentioned it last week….folks want to pay JW more but have him do less…..lol….
look at mahommes….
he doesnt have the highest paid/best o-line….RB is meh…..defense better than it was last year but still not elite….
he won the MVP last year and is headed to the SB this week…..he mask the teams weakness…..he didnt help expose them or contribute to them…..doesnt have a ton of picks and that offense throws a ton…..
mahommes is going to get a 250mil contract with 150mil guaranteed…..
GO BUCS!!!!!
January 27th, 2020 at 1:19 pm
Both camps are throwing shade out there right now to influence the starting point for negotiations. Jameis’ camp has rumored a starting point of 30+ million while the Bucs camp is suggesting that they can win with another qb, thereby limiting the negotiations to a transition tag level ie: 23mil. I believe it is in the best interest of the Bucs to retain Jameis for at least 1 more year as well as drafting a future replacement. IMO if Jameis won’t sign for around 23, then it will force the Bucs to use the unrestricted franchise tag. At the 27mil level, I think I’ll go with the two 1’s if there is a buyer.
January 27th, 2020 at 2:28 pm
This guy is waaaaay over estimating the Glazer progeny.
January 27th, 2020 at 4:49 pm
That San Diego columnist’s article was about as enjoying as eating tripe.
January 27th, 2020 at 5:08 pm
“Joe is starting to wonder if Licht is under a gag order until the combine next month?”
If you are ‘wondering’ then you epitomize naivete.
January 27th, 2020 at 5:12 pm
@813…….I luv ya man but comparing Mahomes to Jameis isn’t even apples to oranges because at least they are both fruit.
January 27th, 2020 at 6:23 pm
@Greg. I applaud you Sir. I agree with every post that you made above!
January 27th, 2020 at 7:54 pm
LOL Gamblero!! Our kicker missed his last 3 kicks of the year, Licht may panic and reach for Carli Lloyd in the 3rrd this year.
January 27th, 2020 at 9:39 pm
When no one else is doing anything with QB contracts… Rivers hasn’t been officially released yet, Tannehill hasn’t signed a new deal or been franchised yet, etc… silence does not imply a gag order. It might just mean its January.
January 27th, 2020 at 10:10 pm
Great, well thought out remarks, stpetebucsfan!
Since I feel any pro or con remarks I might have about Jameis Winston are not going to sway anyone, I am content to wait and see what the Buccaneers actually decide to do.
I do enjoy reading all of the analysis and/or speculations from pundits and fans alike.
January 27th, 2020 at 10:15 pm
Also good comments and clarifications, Defense Rules!