Forcing Competition
February 20th, 2020
Gift-wrapping the three key cornerback jobs to Carlton Davis, Jamel Dean and Sean Murphy-Bunting would be a very Bucs thing to do for the 2020 season.
They all showed promise, so give them the keys to the secondary; Joe could see Bucs management going there.
But that would send Joe to 7-Eleven for a pack of TUMS.
How bout signing free agent four-time Pro Bowl and Super Bowl-winning cornerback Chris Harris and force competition?
Harris has been very public in his desire to play nickel cornerback as his primary position. Last season in Denver, the new coaching staff had him playing exclusively outside but Harris prefers the challenge of the inside and believes it suits him better.
Harris turns 31 in June and has missed just five games in nine seasons. But more important, he’s a strong player.
Prickly Pete Prisco ranked 100 pending NFL free agents and ranked Harris at No. 8 overall, one notch ahead of his former Broncos teammate Shaq Barrett. (Joe has been told Harris and Shaq are friends.)
Chris Harris, Denver Broncos CB
He is still a good cover player who can play inside and outside. There is great value in that. He isn’t slowing down, either
Joe has written about Harris previously, and given his versatility, Joe sees Harris as the perfect complement to the current stable of young Bucs corners.
Why not send those young corners into an immediate and fierce battle for playing time?
February 20th, 2020 at 9:34 am
Just wanted to take a minute and say “thank you Joe” for providing daily entertainment!!!
February 20th, 2020 at 9:44 am
But joe u want them to yet again gift the QB job to Winston can he earn it
Joe is all for franchising Jameis and drafting a QB. Heck, Joe talked a lot about drafting a QB late in the draft last year to push Jameis and learn from this QB-guru coaching staff. –Joe
February 20th, 2020 at 10:01 am
I really like the Bucs young secondary.
However, they should sign a veteren or two to help the young guys along.
February 20th, 2020 at 10:03 am
Let’s quit trying to buy old guys. Free agents are, for the most part, players the other team doesn’t want. Bring up the young guys and build a team from the ground up, not from the top down. The old guys are going to take the money and run.
February 20th, 2020 at 10:07 am
Sounds nice but where would this team have been without Ndamukong Suh, Shaq Barrett and Breshad Perriman? Bucs very likely would have been drafting in the top 10. Free agency is an avenue to add talent to positions of need. To ignore it because of some faux football morals is irresponsible.
February 20th, 2020 at 10:07 am
Do you know how much freaking money the #3 overall player in free agency at a huge value position like CB would command? Way too much to be team friendly. So we wanna re-sign pass rushers then throw on top a $15 mil a year demand from Harris. Thank God, whichever Joe suggested this isn’t running the team (with Johnny Football at QB nonetheless).
There’s vets in the secondary, that bum Stewart from Denver basically did nothing last season except waste a roster spot on a guy that isn’t starting and isn’t a good special teamer. Then there was the other veteran that was sent backing that allowed the young CBs more practice reps, more game time, and the experience they need. There’s still a veteran CB on the team that is way better than Harris ever was… his name is Kevin Ross… and there’s a pretty freaking good safety here as well… Todd Bowles. Maybe you guys have heard of them. No thanks to flushing money down the toilet to add a veteran to take away reps from young players and way too much cap space.
February 20th, 2020 at 10:11 am
Yes.
February 20th, 2020 at 10:38 am
I’m all for bringing in a veteran and perhaps use a 4th or 5th rd pick. I believe dean had a knee problem or two in college and that scares me!
February 20th, 2020 at 10:50 am
Like Brandon said, at what cost?
If you lose some of your FA studs on DL because you fear the DB youth surge was a mirage, our chances of being worse overall on defense just went up. How about betting the coaches really did develop the young DBs and the FAs on DL really did enough to bring them all back… then you can focus all your energies on OL and RB regardless of what you do at QB.
February 20th, 2020 at 1:26 pm
Isn’t this the same drama queen who had money issues with Denver a few years ago?
February 20th, 2020 at 1:52 pm
Joe, If you are for Franchising Jameis and drafting a qb, why would you franchise Jameis? If he isn’t good enough to to get a starting job eslewhere, why pay him over 20 million? Why not use that on another player or Olineman? What would be the difference in Bridgewater at 20 million or even Andy Dalton at 17mill? Wouldn’t that help build a better TEAM than overpaying jameis for entertainment purposes? I know you say otherwise, but it sounds like you are rooting for the player over the team.
February 20th, 2020 at 1:53 pm
And about competition…. who does Joe think we should bring in to compete with Jameis? and how do we pay for that if you want to pay him elite money?
February 20th, 2020 at 3:17 pm
Let me just simply say this: You can NEVER have enough competent talent at CB. Let one or, god forbid, more than one starter go down and see what happens!
February 20th, 2020 at 4:58 pm
FB Moderated……“ If he isn’t good enough to to get a starting job eslewhere, why pay him over 20 million?”
That’s absurb. If you actually think this, that means you think that JW is the 32d best quarterback in the NFL and that would mean that you don’t know a single thing about quarterbacks.
February 20th, 2020 at 10:30 pm
Lets rely on Bowles to pick/develop good corner backs. He has done that everywhere he has coached including here. Why over pay for a free agent when we have a coach that can develop young players?
Draft the 4th guy and have Bowles develop him instead of paying high dollars for a free agent. Just makes way more sense than this article.
A perfect compliment is the guy that Bowles develops to fit his system. Count on it.
February 20th, 2020 at 11:32 pm
At $10+ Million a year……no thanks