One Last Shot For A Cornerback
October 27th, 2021
Bucs GM Jason Licht.
Joe has a hunch you may have heard this already, but the Bucs are hurting for a cornerback.
Later today we should get the statuses of Jamel Dean and Dee Delaney, as both were injured against the Bears on Sunday.
If both Dean and Delaney cannot go Sunday in New Orleans, and Richard Sherman is still sidelined, that would mean the Bucs will be facing the Saints without five of their top cornerbacks. That’s insane.
Joe cannot remember when a team with a real goal of a Super Bowl lost that many corners and still kept its head above water. That shows what kind of job Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles has done.
It also means that sooner or later, if guys cannot get back on the field, someone is going to light up the Bucs’ secondary.
So right now the Bucs need bodies. Problem is, there is scant room under the salary cap. So if the Bucs do choose to get a cornerback by the trade deadline, which is on Tuesday, the player is going to have to come cheap.
And very few if any starting corners are cheap enough for the Bucs to afford.
Even a backup on a bad team is better than pulling someone off the street right before Halloween. If a dude can’t find his way on a practice squad roster in October, that means he has serious drawbacks.
So Joe was looking at unrestricted free agent corners for 2022 on lousy teams because a good team is not going to trade away a valuable asset. And cornerbacks, even bubble guys, are valuable.
Two guys caught Joe’s attention, guys whose contracts are expiring, per Spotrac.com. Again, let Joe be clear: Joe is not looking for Pro Bowlers because they are too expensive. We’re basically talking about players slightly better than a warm body. Established veterans.
Avonte Maddox of Philadelphia ($771,000) and Tremon Smith of Houston ($1,110,000) seem to fit Joe’s aforementioned description — two inexpensive veterans with starting experience in the final year of their contracts playing for losing teams.
Think of how the Bucs traded for Jets nose tackle Steve McLendon last year. He was a low-cost veteran from a team that wasn’t in the playoff hunt in the final year of his contract.
Maddox and/or Smith are not saviors, but they could certainly fill in for a game or two and are obviously better than pulling someone out of his job at Walmart.
(Joe would have loved to get Jason McCourty from the Dolphins. He fits the above criteria but he is going on the injured reserve list needing foot surgery.)
Josh Norman, a starter with San Francisco ($1,500,000), is another corner Joe thought about. But would he be cool being a part-time player just to chase a ring?
Joe was confident the Bucs were hoping to somehow limp to the bye without needing to make a move and by the time the Bucs next play Nov. 14 at WTF, some of their corners will be healthy enough to get back on the field.
Joe isn’t sure of that now.
October 27th, 2021 at 8:07 am
I would say we end up not doing anything. Those guys are coming back before too long and we’re 5-1 right now. unless something really juicy comes up, I’d say no deals this year.
October 27th, 2021 at 8:09 am
Any DB can catch one of Jameis’s errant throws
October 27th, 2021 at 8:16 am
I agree with Bradinator. The Bucs hopefully will Carlton Davis after the bye and SMB in another few weeks. The bizarre thing is once the Bucs get all of their corners back Richard Sherman will be on the bench.
October 27th, 2021 at 8:16 am
Wonder if Kyle Fuller would be a Licht target? I bet Denver would be willing to unload him for a future draft pick.
October 27th, 2021 at 8:22 am
I know we have never been able to say this but we are 6-1.
October 27th, 2021 at 8:32 am
Delaney and Desir are going to be fine, Davis and SMB back for playoff run!
October 27th, 2021 at 8:33 am
Trade a 6th for one of the dudes Joe mentions, I’m good with that. However, as others have said, we are stuck with what we have for this Sunday’s JaMissFest and then the bye. So how well will a brand new scrub be ready to go by Sunday if we get him today? Better to go with the waitresses and bartenders we already have until our cavalry returns after the bye.
October 27th, 2021 at 8:42 am
Norman would’ve been a bad call. Redskins paid top dollar for him, utter disappointment
October 27th, 2021 at 9:01 am
Thinking the exact same thing Buc4Ever. Kyle Fuller is buried on the Bronco bench…and is on a one year deal. Now…looking at his cap #…it’s just over 9 million ( 3rd highest on the team! ). That’s perhaps a bit too rich.
October 27th, 2021 at 9:01 am
Bring in Brian Poole for a workout. Why the delay? He’s a decent CB and available.
October 27th, 2021 at 9:11 am
Use one of those receivers teach him how to be a quarterback Semper Fi
October 27th, 2021 at 9:13 am
Let’s see what comes out of the injury report today before we panic. I would bet 2 out of the 3 will be back for Sunday based on what we heard Arians say. Also, the fact is quarterbacks have been lighting up in the Bucs secondary often enough. The saving grace has been able to dial up the pass rush or different looks on weak QBs. Yes, thanks to Bowles. Opposing team injuries have also helped. The bye cannot come fast enough.
October 27th, 2021 at 9:15 am
We will be fine.
October 27th, 2021 at 9:41 am
Times like this with personnel issues, I’m curious about LVMYBUCS take on potential targets for Licht & Co.
October 27th, 2021 at 10:07 am
It seems like Dean and Delaney should be fine. Who is after them after Cockrell?? Between the safeties, I would say Edwards might see a lot of time playing in the slot
I will say again -Dean and Delaney have been playing really well the last few weeks. They’re both fast and quick and pretty good at tight coverage. Which is exactly what you have to play against the Saints, with a spy on Kamara.
That’ll force all kinds of problems for Jamies with the pass rush
October 27th, 2021 at 10:38 am
At least the guys on our P.S. know the system. No way we can bring someone in to play before Sunday, so whatever we do will be done during the bye week. Hopefully we’ll be back to almost full by then.
October 27th, 2021 at 11:15 am
I actually like Desir. He’s played meaningful snaps before and I think R. Robinson can give us a game or two. He stayed in trouble off the field, but was somewhat productive when he was able to get on the field.
October 27th, 2021 at 11:23 am
Potential Moves:
-Restructured (G) Ali Marpet Contract (Saved: $2,840,000)
-Release (CB) Released (CB) Rashard Robinson (Saved: $613,332)
Trade for (Both):
-(LCB) Kyle Fuller – Denver Broncoos
-(SCB) Noah Igbinoghene – Miami Dolphins
October 27th, 2021 at 11:42 am
Nobody ever talks about Ross Cockrell but he’s having a very solid year IMO. Hasn’t missed a game (played 70% of our defensive snaps) & is doing a good job in coverage I think (targeted 34 times this season allowing 22 completions for 64.7% and 220 yards). Not spectacular but very solid, especially for a backup.
Pierre Desir’s another CB who’s only been here for half the games, but is quietly getting more & more def snaps (up to 54 now in 4 games). Results haven’t been spectacular (75% completion rate) but that’s certainly adequate given our Secondary injury status.
And the other guy I keep expecting to see at CB (most likely nickel) is Mike Edwards. He got a lot of field time against Dallas, Miami & Philly, but got very little last game for some reason. Still, he’s a ball hawk & has played Nickel before.
For some reason it’s hard to imagine any NFL team helping the reigning Super Bowl Champion solve its’ Secondary woes. Also hard to imagine that any CB would want to come here knowing that they’d almost surely be released as soon as Davis, SMB, Dean & Sherman get healthy, presumably in just a few weeks.
October 27th, 2021 at 11:52 am
I don’t see them bringing anyone in bc they’ll just have to let them go. None of our injured CBs are out for the season. Only so many roster spots. Are they going to trade a draft pick for a guy who they’ll just have to cut in three weeks?
October 27th, 2021 at 12:14 pm
I said it once I’ll say it again get creative..have sherman call earl Thomas have Edward’s play cb with Thomas till we are healthy and then enjoy the depth
October 27th, 2021 at 4:42 pm
Let’s be honest Aquib Talib owes us a healthy no-nonsense/ drama half of a season plus post at least. Just sayin….
October 28th, 2021 at 10:48 am
I’d actually like to see CB Robinson, to see what he has. I don’t think he’s been in any games as a CB.