Running Back Coming?
March 20th, 2020
“Jason, Mr. Brady wants a running back. Hop to it.”
You know the Bucs need a running back. Joe knows the Bucs need a running back.
For way too long, Joe wondered if the powers that be at One Buc Palace knew the Bucs needed a running back?
Now we are learning apparently the Bucs do know the Bucs need a running back. Or perhaps Tom Brady told them otherwise?
Ed Werder of BSPN Twittered out this morning not to be surprised if a pass-catching running back is coming.
Expect the #Buccaneers to acquire or draft a running back who is a top-end receiver. Since turning 40, Tom Brady has completed an NFL-high 364 passes to running backs and he trails only Philip Rivers in yards (3,008) and touchdowns (23) to RBs in that time, per @ESPNStatsInfo
— Ed Werder (@WerderEdESPN) March 20, 2020
Now upon reading that it immediately crossed Joe’s mind someone might have told Brady that Dare Ogunbowale will work just fine.
Wrong.
One name jumps out at Joe is Brady’s former Patriots teammate Dion Lewis, who the Bucs likely could get on the cheap, .
Now Lewis was signed by the Titans two years ago and ran for a Peyton Barber-like 3.5 yards a carry in two seasons in Nashville. Lewis, however, is known more for catching passes out of the backfield.
Sign a running back and draft a running back. That’s Joe’s prescription for the Bucs.
March 20th, 2020 at 11:04 am
Sign Melvin Gordon and draft D’Andre Swift! Make it happen #TB2TB
March 20th, 2020 at 11:05 am
Lewis would be a great addition!
March 20th, 2020 at 11:05 am
Sign a running back and draft a running back. That’s Joe’s prescription for the Bucs.
Agreed!
March 20th, 2020 at 11:11 am
Lewis would be a great addition!! Then draft a bruiser type back, similar to a Nick Chubb or Todd Gurley in his prime.
March 20th, 2020 at 11:13 am
Dion Lewis is the guy to target. won’t have to overpay, is superb catching and protecting, and doesn’t make a highly drafted RB a luxury. Most importantly, our new QB knows and trusts him
March 20th, 2020 at 11:15 am
Yeah Lewis + Akers would be nice
March 20th, 2020 at 11:16 am
I’d be ok with Lewis and one of Dobbins/Akers in the 2nd or 3rd
March 20th, 2020 at 11:17 am
100% agree. Dion Lewis is who we should be targeting. Elite pass catcher, can be had for cheap, and as important has played with Brady in NE!!
March 20th, 2020 at 11:17 am
Maybe trade for James White super bowl hero. Brady is familiar with both White and Lewis. Neither are big guys but great out of the back field. We need one 225/230 pounder to get the short yardage when needed.
March 20th, 2020 at 11:17 am
Cam Akers in the 3rd or Clyde Edwards-Helaire in the 2nd. Either will be a bargain.
March 20th, 2020 at 11:19 am
The Bucs need to look at Greg Zurline, the Rams kicker. Very ood! How many games have the Bucs lost in the last 4 years because of bad kickers. Guy is not that much better.
March 20th, 2020 at 11:21 am
Dion Lewis makes sense, i just dont know how effective he would be at this point. RoJo improved greatly last year, if they really just need a RB with receiving ability then they can find that in the draft. Cam Akers and Antonio Gibson would be my choices. Lance Zerlein compares them to Duke Johnson and Buck Allen respectively. 2 RBs with pass catching success in the league who can compliment RoJo
Unless they can get Melvin Gordon cheap, this is what i hope they do
March 20th, 2020 at 11:27 am
How about Charles Sims?……..Wonder what kind of shape he’s in….
March 20th, 2020 at 11:28 am
Draft a RB. Fresh legs. Big bruiser to pair with ROJO. Both will prosper with TB at QB. No. need to get a has-been in FA.
March 20th, 2020 at 11:33 am
john taylor would be my choice, in the backfield paired with the weapons we got oh my word
March 20th, 2020 at 11:37 am
Odd QB contract details from Schefter…
2 yrs $50 all guaranteed
$4.5 mill in incentives additional annually
No tags and no trades
Odd because again he wants flexibility past this 2 year deal with us! Odd
March 20th, 2020 at 11:46 am
Team friendly deal from Brady!!! Oh my!!!
March 20th, 2020 at 11:54 am
If you’re going to hold your breathe until Arians goes crazy and signs a RB you might as well google how to tie a noose. He is not going to give the go ahead to use very much of the salary cap on that position.
March 20th, 2020 at 11:56 am
Dion Lewis and Chris Thompson would qualify. Thompson wouldn’t be too expensive I don’t think and he’s the epitome of a pass-catching type RB.
March 20th, 2020 at 11:57 am
Draft Jonathan Taylor, he is Saquan like. Best time to own a running back is during his rookie year. Some are plug and play ready.
March 20th, 2020 at 12:10 pm
Quit wasting time thinking we need an RB. Give RoJo a chance. Focus on the O-Line instead.
March 20th, 2020 at 12:13 pm
Showing we’re at $23.1M in Cap Space after the Brady deal but not including the OL.
So ~$10M to work with after putting aside $10M for rookies.
Still could look to restructure some contracts (?) but not many
Lavonte $10.7M
Jensen $10M
Brate $6M
Pinion $2.7m
March 20th, 2020 at 12:18 pm
Didn’t calculate the difference in Devin White’s cap hit at #6 pick vs us picking #14
So $13M to work with. That can get us a couple decent depth guys/role players
March 20th, 2020 at 12:40 pm
“The Bucs need to look at Greg Zurline, the Rams kicker. Very good!”
The over-under on games Gay will lose next year is 3 after he lost 2.5 games last year.
When you’re spending $30M on a QB, you can’t make believe Gay is a NFL quality kicker.
March 20th, 2020 at 12:59 pm
Sign gurley
March 20th, 2020 at 1:21 pm
Lord C … I guess I’m not the only one concerned about paying for the groceries. I found a link yesterday that list the our rookie pool as being $7.8 mil IF we stay at #14, so that’ll save a couple mil (Spotrac shows the rookie pool as costing $7.3 mil BTW).
Spotrac’s numbers ($24.1 salary Cap space for the Bucs) aren’t up-to-date yet it appears. They show 58 under contract, but the Top-51 don’t yet include 3 signings (Auclair, Mitchell & Nunez-Roches). Since they’ll be replacing 3 players in the Top-51 who each currently make $660K, I suspect that we’re someplace around your $23 mil (maybe even less).
As I look at those 58 under contract, it looks to me like more than a couple very likely won’t be with us this year (so their salaries will be ‘saved’?). For instance, Kendell Beckwith is in those Top-51 (at $0.9 mil), as is Justin Evans (at $1.7 mil). We’ve also got SIX TEs on our list, so chances are pretty good that 2 of them won’t be here come Game 1. We’ve also got EIGHT WRs on the list, and I doubt we’ll carry more than 6 this year. So there’s 6 guys right there who we probably won’t be paying come Sept, saving us probably another $5 mil or so.
In any event, money will be tight once we sign Suh & a veteran Safety. OK, I’m still hoping.
March 20th, 2020 at 1:34 pm
I’m not sure if Davontae Freeman is healthy or not, but I do know he is a decent receiver out of the backfield.
March 20th, 2020 at 1:50 pm
Friedman’s not healthy, and slow.
Per Rapoport….
Gordon to Broncos just now for 2 years $16 million, $13.5 of which is guaranteed. We could have done that, paid that or 2 years $14 mill with no state income tax.
March 20th, 2020 at 1:51 pm
*Freeman not healthy
March 20th, 2020 at 2:12 pm
In the draft get a bruiser Legarrette Blunt/Derek Henry type of running back to compliment Rojo and what ever pass catching back we get in FA. Look to get AJ Dillon out of Boston College.
March 20th, 2020 at 2:14 pm
Dion Lewis makes too much sense. He’ll be here for camp and if he’s got no gas he’ll follow last year’s Ellsworth out the door. I think Lewis has got more in the tank though… he just lost out in RB role morphing after move away from Mariota to Tannehill/Henry.
Gordon would be a huge pickup too… erase that failed holdout mojo with a 1-yr prove it deal with the most RB-friendly passer in the NFL… c’mon east Melvin… then get paid in 2021.
March 20th, 2020 at 2:20 pm
Bucs don’t need a lead RB, they got one, Rojo was quite good at the end of last season.
But Dion Lewis makes perfect sense.
If they want to get another guy then maybe Freeman – assuming there isn’t something wrong with him. He can catch as well.
Not sure what the salaries demands are – and the Bucs are running out of money. so can’t sign everyone.
BTW, the Bucs can create a hell of a lot of cap space by redoing deals. Yes, it will blow-up the cap down the road, but who cares. Go all in right now, that’s the only reason you sign Brady.
March 20th, 2020 at 2:23 pm
WestChap – Gordon, I just don’t think is anything other than an average back. That’s why the Chargers didn’t want to pay him huge money. Go watch his highlight runs from a couple of years ago, everything was him running through a giant hole. When he didn’t have great blocking, he was just sort of average. Not good, nothing bad, but nothing that stands out. He is a good pass catcher, so that would be nice to have, but for the money he’d likely want, no thanks. He’s just too average.
March 20th, 2020 at 2:36 pm
Gordon and Gurley are both gone. Stop bringing them up.
March 20th, 2020 at 2:45 pm
What^^^^^^ said
March 20th, 2020 at 3:14 pm
The Bucs are going “all in”.
Ok -just don’t put us in cap the next two years.
March 20th, 2020 at 3:16 pm
The Bucs are going “all in”.
Ok -just don’t put us in cap Hell the next two years.
March 20th, 2020 at 3:29 pm
Freeman has concussion issues
March 20th, 2020 at 3:47 pm
What is with this Melvin Gordon love? ROJO had better numbers than Gordon across the board last year. Gordon only played 12 games but ROJO produced more total yardage and his 4.2 average is better than the 3.8 for Gordon. Gordon hasn’t played a full schedule the past two seasons. This is a virtual wash with one claiming a longer history of success…ROJO fans could claim he’s trending up not down like Gordon. We do NOT need Gordon at his price.
Meanwhile LSU’s Helaire Jones showed me a ton under the big lights last year.
Walter Football has him pegged as 2nd or 3rd rounder. Edwards-Helaire is a tough runner with quickness, cutting ability, vision, and natural body lean. His natural receiving skills make him a potential three-down starter.
ROJO’s catch % is up there with any RB but as JJ likes to chide me…he’s awkward at catching…so Helaire Jones “natural receiving skills” make him a good fit for Brady. But can he block? I do not know
I love Helaire Jones and I’m also becoming enamored with Cam Akers!
Sub 4.5 40…adequate speed and good “real” speed in game action.
Akers averaged 5.0 yards per carry in 2019 for 1,144 yards with 14 touchdowns. He also hauled in 30 receptions for 225 yards and four scores. Akers played well for the Seminoles, showing good running and receiving ability while playing behind a shaky offensive line.
Walter Football project him as a 2nd or 3rd round pick. He too though would be a great fit for Brady.
The versatility of both of these guys impresses me. Both are hard runners and gifted receivers who should fit perfectly with Brady.
So FSU guys…what say ye about Akers?
March 20th, 2020 at 3:51 pm
No FA RB. Get one in the 4th or 5th rd. We need a pounder like AJ Dillon or Patrick Taylor Jr. Build the O and D Lines in the first 2 rounds with a S and WR in the 3rd and orher 4th rd pick.
Don’t waste a 2nd rd pick on a RB! Maybe a 3rd pick if the Bucs get another 2nd rd pick by trading OJ or trading back in the 1st.
March 20th, 2020 at 6:19 pm
I’ve been touting the BC Bruiser, AJ Dillon for months now. A Derrick Henry clone with power and moves. The only downside with Dillon is as a receiver.
March 20th, 2020 at 7:36 pm
Jeagan and Will
Just went to Youtube to watch a highlight tape of Dillon.
You guys are right…what totally wrapped it for me was Dillon catching a swing pass…natural looking hands dude can catch! Then he takes it to the house.
If he can use that big body to pick up blitzes for the GOAT…he’s the man.
March 20th, 2020 at 8:06 pm
Let’s draft a kid on day 3. No need to overspend in free agency for a RB.
March 21st, 2020 at 8:26 am
I will be surprised if Cam Akers is in the NFL in three years !! I just don’t see it ???
March 21st, 2020 at 8:27 am
Jonathan Taylor