Which Of The Three?
March 1st, 2021
Gotta keep him.
Of the Big 8 Bucs free agents, Joe has repeatedly stated his top three must-keeps are Bucs sack king Shaq Barrett, receiver Chris Godwin and kicker Ryan Succop.
In other words, respectively, Nos. 1A, 1B and 2.
Not everyone agrees. Take Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com, a numbers site that specifically focuses on everything salary cap in the NFL.
Last week someone Twittered Fitzgerald asking just what players can the Bucs afford among their best free agents.
I think they can do two of those players but probably not all three https://t.co/aJPL2t2F98
— Jason_OTC (@Jason_OTC) February 28, 2021
This is sort of a horror that Joe is bracing for. Joe just cannot see the Bucs keeping everyone, no matter the Bud Light-fueled rants and platitudes that were spouted hours after the Bucs won the franchise’s second Super Bowl.
Does Joe hope they all re-sign? Dang right! Will they? That’s a totally different story.
March 1st, 2021 at 12:39 am
I can’t see 54 leaving. Godwin gets franchised. Shaq’s agent takes top $$$. That’s what he was signed on to do. Hope I’m wrong.
March 1st, 2021 at 1:22 am
Call me crazy but I feel like getting LD, Godwin, Succup, an Suh under contract is more important than breaking the bank for Shaq. Not that I don’t think Shaq is important but we could sign AJ Watt and draft a Jaelen Philips or the other Miami DE thats a beast, even if it means moving up a few spots. I’ve said it once ill say it again, Shaq isn’t the same player when Vea or JPP are out. He needs that 2nd and 3rd guy for him to get off and that type of player doesn’t warrant 20+mil a yr. Now if he is willing to take 15-17 (AJ Watt$$) mil a yr with incentives than yes sign him.
March 1st, 2021 at 1:52 am
Took us 10yrs to find a kicker. Let’s not start that fiasco over again
March 1st, 2021 at 1:57 am
David is more Important than Godwin short term. And we are going all in now.
March 1st, 2021 at 2:03 am
Godwin, Shaq and Succop. Must haves!
March 1st, 2021 at 2:29 am
We can sign all three if other players rework their contracts or get cut. Jensen and Brate will make $16 mil combined. If they value Godwin that much just cut those two and sign him and then draft a Center… if not keep the other two and draft a receiver.
March 1st, 2021 at 2:50 am
Our window to win is now, so to me, Suh and David together are more important than just Godwin. I know that winning the super bowl covered up some warts, but Godwin was nothing special in the playoffs and dealt with injuries for the second year in a row. I’m not giving him 20+ million per year until he proves that he deserves it. The kicker and Shaq are no-brainers and must be signed at all costs.
March 1st, 2021 at 4:39 am
The defensive Front 7 is much higher priority, and the Ice man Succop. The 2 things this team lacked for many years has been a pass rush and a reliable kicker. Look how much pass rushers our sought after, bottom line is . their value is shown in the money they get. It was the front 7 that hounded and sacked Mahomeboy and Rodgers. No one had blown out KC until the Bucs, and their front 7 in the Super Bowl put on a historic beatdown on them. Rodgers the MVP tore up team after team, but he could not handle the Bucs pass rush in both losses to the Bucs, GO BUCS!!!!
March 1st, 2021 at 4:45 am
We need to keep David, Succop, Suh to a 1 year 3 mil, Brown 1 year 3 mil, we need to keep our O-line, redo Jensen contract, Franchise Godwin, sign Watts to a 1 year, redo Brady and Evans contract.
March 1st, 2021 at 5:16 am
What would it take to keep last year’s Super Bowl team together? Intact?
Some of those players are already under contract; we know how much they’ll be making IF we keep them this year and of course IF their contracts aren’t restructured. We also know what their Dead CAP cost is.
Many others would need to be re-signed, and we have a pretty good feel for what the Market Value is for a few of them. Most of the ‘backups’ will probably sign short-term contracts (1-2 yrs) at roughly what they made last year.
We also know that we currently have 7 draft picks & that we draft #32. Odds are that at least 5 (probably 6) of those will make the team. One (possibly 2) will replace current starters, and at least 1 (possibly 2) will be key rotational players.
Bucs dressed 45 for the SB. We currently have 44 players under contract. Of those, only 23 actually played on the SB team (10 offense, 12 defense & 1 S/Ts). The remaining 22 who dressed for the SB are all FAs right now.
Bucs have a LOT of contracts to do between now & the draft. The best that we can hope to do is to retain the ‘core’ of that SB team so that we can make another run at it this year. My HOPE is that included in that ‘core’ are the names Lavonte David, Ndamukong Suh & Shaquil Barrett, because the three of them TOGETHER were critical to our SB run & victory.
March 1st, 2021 at 6:14 am
Defense Rules- I agree with your take, and especially your last sentence. I would throw Succop into the mix too.
It might come down to Godwin OR LVD.
I don’t know what people were watching when they think Shaq is expendable. This notion that you can replace a KNOWN, PRODUCTIVE talent with draft picks and cast-offs and expect them to fit your scheme is haphazard! AND, of course he played better when the DL was healthy, they ALL did!
March 1st, 2021 at 6:48 am
Godwin missed 2 games in ‘19 had 9 TDs and 1333 yards. I wouldn’t point to that as an example of a bad year. This season he toughed it out coming back with pins in his finger only missing one game when most players would have been out for 3-5 weeks. He makes this offense Go period. I think he’s worth the tag if they can’t get a long term contract done.
Shaq is great and all but he was a lot more productive with JPP and Vea in the line up. Especially Vea. Both Vea and Godwin do a hell of a lot more then their stats show to make this team better.
March 1st, 2021 at 6:49 am
We need to franchise Godwin, then work out a trade with another team. We can at least get a 1st for him. Receivers are easy to find, and we have plenty of our own options on our team. Not paying Godwin big dollars, and getting a top draft choice is the way to go.
March 1st, 2021 at 7:15 am
Hodad you are spot on, If we Franchise Godwin then trade for a first rounder. problem solved. Sign Brown 3 to 4 million, Evans, Brown, Miller, Gronk, Brate Johnson and a first round pick is still leathel
March 1st, 2021 at 7:21 am
Glad i dont have to make this choice.
Luckily the coaches and GM and staff know which guy the bucs can do without
They have seen these guys in practice for years and watched all 22 film. All 3 are all great players.
– lavonte is the perfect piece to complete the devin white duo. Both can tackle and get after it. Devin better at running down qbs and lavonte better in covering throws from qbs. But lavonte is 31. Brooks played until 35 and you could see huge drop off in last year and brooks is in discussions for greatest buc of all time. So lavonte has maybe 3 years left?
– godwin had the dropsies at end of year. But he is clearly brady go to guy right now and i wonder if brady will put his foot down on godwin. I could be wrong but evans and brady chemistry not the best past year ( except on/ near goal line) i do think brady and evans work out this offseason a tad more. The only question on godwin is can he be the guy on a not so talented front? If he goes to jags for example and starts to get safety double over the top does he disappear in games ?
-shaq gets called out as a one hit wonder . Gimme a break. The dude gets 19.5 sacks on right side and gets pushed to left to accommodate jpp. He has got to be one of fastest edge rushers in game. Really played well against the run. We have seen for years what happens when defense cant get pressure on a qb with our own bucs. And shaq is 28. Not 30. Big difference. But same question as godwin , if he goes to jets or jag and he is the guy , is he worth 20 -22 mil for posting sacks close to 10 for example. His production would be best here next to suh , jpp and vea.
I think lavonte comes to table first to play with his best bud devin white. And gives bucs a discount of around 10 per …3 years 30 mil all guaranteed…or 3 years …30 mil total and 25 mil guaranteed . Lavonte wants to retire a buc and lets face it , you can sense his anxiety when he talks. This is home to him. His safe space 😂
March 1st, 2021 at 7:25 am
Joe Shaq is number 1 the LVD and succop got to many pass catchers so we can let CG go not ideal he’s a great WR but the need is not at WR. Take AB for cheaper and develop the young WR #18 I forgot his name. CG is only expendable because we are deep at the position
March 1st, 2021 at 7:39 am
Putting succup over LVD is a slap in the face of our franchise LB
March 1st, 2021 at 8:02 am
Hodad Says:
“… Not paying Godwin big dollars, and getting a top draft choice is the way to go.”
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great solution…. love CG, but we don’t have the money. He is too good and too expensive. Our future is measured in TB12 time. That time is 2021 and maybe 2022. Think for today ONLY, leave the future to the future..
March 1st, 2021 at 8:04 am
Bucsfanman … Succop isn’t going anyplace IMO. JL learned his lesson with musical PKs & I’m sure has zero desire to go through that again. He won’t come cheap (estimating $4 mil per year probably with a 4-yr contract), but well worth it. Pinion’s the one who should be concerned, making $2.8 mil this year, then $2.9 mil next year with no dead CAP either year (FA after that). No question that he’s very good far as I’m concerned, but is he $2.8 mil good in a year when money’s at a premium?
Bird … Chris Godwin’s the big unknown in this whole thing IMO. We all know that’s he’s a great WR, but with our offense already costing huge $$$, can we afford to pay him what he’s worth is the question in my mind. It’s all about priorities, and I think that we’re in a lot better shape with WRs & TEs than we are with LBs. It seems to me that we NEED both LVD & Shaq more than we need Godwin, only because of the alternatives that are available.
March 1st, 2021 at 8:14 am
I think it all starts by keeping this defense together…..if that means losing Godwin….well, that hurts….but it must be.
March 1st, 2021 at 8:33 am
We need to keep defense and kicker. I like Godwin but he gets the case of the drops sometimes. I think Scottie Miller and Tyler Johnson can be really good if given more snaps. Stick with Defense!!!
March 1st, 2021 at 8:40 am
GONE:
LVD – he is not worth the 15m he will be offered
GODWIN – he is an expensive luxury in a deep WR room
KEEP:
SUH – 2 years at $18m
SHAQ – franchise & work out a long-term deal
AB – 2 years w incentives at $20m
SUCCOP – 3 year deal at mid-level rate
March 1st, 2021 at 8:40 am
D wins championships. Godwin will go somewhere else but we need to keep Suh, David & Shaq. This is a short term window . We have lots of talent on offence and can draft a WR to go with Gronk, Evans, Brate, Miller, Howard and Johnson. Let’s do some contract jiggling and keep the D together for another run.
March 1st, 2021 at 8:42 am
BEST LINE OF THE DAY!
Our future is measured in TB12 time. That time is 2021 and … 2022.
March 1st, 2021 at 10:31 am
call me crazy(as most did when i said BL was a HC in waiting), i think licht keeps everyone except for playoff lenny….
GO BUCS!!!!
March 1st, 2021 at 1:35 pm
Davenport Buc: I think you’re the only one on earth that’d give AB 2 years, $20 million. Suh is 1 year, $7 million, IMHO.
March 1st, 2021 at 1:41 pm
AB is 1 year, $5 million or less, IMHO. For the love of God, please stop saying “Player X needs to be re-signed at ANY COST”. If the kicker gets $8 million a year from another team, wish him well and greet the new kicker in Tampa with open arms.
March 1st, 2021 at 2:03 pm
I was never good at math but dont see how we can sign 3 out of 3 plus the other guys . Gives you no flexibility . Reworking contracts to get 2 out of the 3 resigned plus signing, suh , gronk, brown, succop is still a stretch bit hopefully can be done.
March 1st, 2021 at 2:14 pm
Jason has never heard of the franchise tag…
March 1st, 2021 at 6:35 pm
I hate to break it to you’ll but your not gonna get a 1st round pick for Godwin traded with a franchise tag. Think about what that team is getting. A player that may not want to play with that team on a one year contract. Godwin will fulfill his contract and play one year but then he under no obligation to resign with that team. It’s also kinda a D move by the Bucs to CG. It’s not gonna happen.