Casey Hayward And The Bucs
February 17th, 2022
It’s no fun to think of the Bucs losing one of their premier free agents, but Bucs fans need to brace themselves now before the free agency siren blows at noon on Monday, March 14.
Cornerback Carlton Davis is in line to be paid like a top-15 starting cornerback. That means he’ll want $12 million per season or more when March rolls around.
Is Davis worth it? Maybe, but perhaps not in the context of what the Bucs want to achieve with their roster.
Maybe general manager Jason Licht wants to save cash and play a form of the bridge game again, like he did with 33-year-old Brent Grimes and Vernon Hargreaves back in 2016. Licht signed Grimes to a one-year deal worth about $8 million and drafted Hargreaves in Round 1.
Somehow, the Bucs led the NFL that season in third-down defense, in part because Grimes played at a Pro Bowl level (led the NFL in passes defended) and Hargreaves hung tough as a rookie.
This memory brings Joe to veteran cornerback Casey Hayward, who turns 33 in June. Hayward started every game at corner for the Raiders’ 13th-ranked pass defense last season.
He was a major bargain at under $3 million. And the two-time Pro Bowler could be a hell of an option for the Bucs if they’re looking to draft a cornerback with a first- or second-round pick and then have great competition among Sean Murphy-Bunting, Jamel Dean, Hayward and the rookie.
Davis is the Bucs’ best corner and Joe wishes he could stay, but the Bucs may choose to invest heavily elsewhere.
Enjoy The Recent Ira Kaufman Podcast
February 17th, 2022 at 2:51 pm
Go sign JC Jackson
February 17th, 2022 at 2:54 pm
IMO Davis does not worth 12mm by any means….
And Grimes was a big time headache, he and his noisy wife……
February 17th, 2022 at 3:00 pm
CD is pretty good but not worth the big money.
I like this strategy.
February 17th, 2022 at 3:09 pm
With all the difficulties in pass defense, I can’t see letting our best CB go, unless they look at the tape and decide they can get the same results with someone cheaper. I can’t imagine that improving coverage isn’t priority #1 heading into 2022. A step back isn’t acceptable.
February 17th, 2022 at 3:17 pm
The bucs gave up a 17-7 TD-INT rate when they blitzed. Normal rush was much better, 8-10 if memory serves. Bowles put the secondary in impossible situations. It’s difficult to tell if it’s a talent issue, or stupid play calling. Guess we’ll never know, as bowles isn’t changing his stripes.
February 17th, 2022 at 3:25 pm
Good sign if CD walks.
February 17th, 2022 at 3:28 pm
I also like JC Jackson if we cannot retain Davis.
February 17th, 2022 at 3:36 pm
Davis is a good, but injury prone corner. Top 15 is pushing it for this dude and I think that we can get a better corner in the first or second round of this draft. I love Licht and I think that he is the best gm in the league, but drafting corners is one of his weaknesses. I’m not sure that I trust him to find one those better corners, so I’m up in the air on this one. Are there any good, young, not injury prone corners available in free agency this year?
I know it sounds weird to call Licht the best if he sucks at drafting corners, but Belichick couldn’t draft a good wide receiver if he had a crystal ball and his life depended on it and he’s one of the best.
February 17th, 2022 at 3:46 pm
He’s listed as the 3rd best FA corner hes going to demand 15 to 18 mil. Davis will walk might as well go to plan B.
February 17th, 2022 at 3:48 pm
If Davis walks what kind of compensation would we get? A lot of good corners in this years draft.
February 17th, 2022 at 3:53 pm
LET DAVIS WALK. NOT WORTH IT!
We need to overpay underachieving corners that take their helmets off to get 15-yard penalties.
February 17th, 2022 at 4:05 pm
DB’s look a ton better if the Front 7 is dominant.
Re-invigorating the Front 7 would do more for the Bucs secondary than any 1 CB could ever do, though keeping Davis (& Whitehead) would make the whole DEF much more consistent with improved Front 7 play.
February 17th, 2022 at 4:08 pm
Sign Davis….bring in Hayward, draft a CB……urge Revis out of retirement…..Talib….
You can never, ever have enough CBs…….
Deion Sanders
Ronde Barber
Charles Woodson
Darrell Green
Champ Bailey…….all of them.
February 17th, 2022 at 4:09 pm
Make it happen, Jason……you can do it!!!
February 17th, 2022 at 4:10 pm
Draft for BEEF!
February 17th, 2022 at 5:26 pm
I’d take Santa Claus back there in the secondary right now.
February 17th, 2022 at 5:38 pm
catcard202 … ‘DB’s look a ton better if the Front 7 is dominant.
Re-invigorating the Front 7 would do more for the Bucs secondary than any 1 CB could ever do’.
Ding – ding – ding! We have a winner.
February 17th, 2022 at 5:43 pm
JC Jackson. Would be just as much if not more than davis
February 17th, 2022 at 5:44 pm
Carlton Davis is not great or worth top 20 CB money. He has good games and bad games. Let him go because their are other FA’s they need to keep. Draft a CB as you said.
February 17th, 2022 at 5:57 pm
Joe. Davis is rated as a top 10 cover coroner who can shut down a number one receiver. Hard to find. Are you suggesting we go low bid? A lot of the back end’s problems, not including injury, was the lack of effective pass rush.
February 17th, 2022 at 5:59 pm
I guess I’m in the minority here I think Davis is a really good corner but not elite and really good corners get paid they aren’t as easy to get as some people think. I don’t think you go alot older on one of the most important positions on your defense.
February 17th, 2022 at 6:35 pm
@The Coroner … ‘Davis is rated as a top 10 cover coroner who can shut down a number one receiver. Hard to find. Are you suggesting we go low bid?’
Precisely. The problem with Davis isn’t that he’s a bad corner; he’s not. I’d guess that he’s someplace near the bottom of the Top-10. His problem is availability. IF you pay him anywhere close to what Spotrac says his MarketValue is ($19.6 mil based on a 5-year contract), and only get 10 games out of him like we did this past season, we’re screwed … mostly because his very inexpensive backup (whoever that is) will be playing almost as many games as Carlton does. We saw that this year; no mas.
In his 4 seasons with us, he’s played in 51 of 65 games (78.5%); not that great. He’s given up 20 TDs in that span. In comparison, Jalen Ramsey gave up 10 TDs and Jaire Alexander gave up 12 TDs in those same 4 years (they’re 2 of the top CBs right now).
Still, it’s up to the Bucs’ hierarchy as to whether they believe Carlton is worth what he’ll be asking. None of us know how that’ll turn out just yet. Too many variables. Fun game though.
February 17th, 2022 at 6:41 pm
I wouldn’t want Jason Licht’s job right now. This is tough one but I trust that he’s got a good plan. At least I hope so. I haven’t seen him in the bars lately 😂
February 17th, 2022 at 6:43 pm
Hayward and Davis should be on the roster. I was banging my fist for this guy last year as I still didn’t trust SMB.
February 17th, 2022 at 7:44 pm
He’s only a fit for The Bowels of Defense if he sucks at both zone and man.
February 17th, 2022 at 7:46 pm
Bring back Aqib Talib & sign Michael Crabtree.😀
February 17th, 2022 at 7:59 pm
Tony – I was thinking a little more old school, like Rod Woodson.
February 17th, 2022 at 8:22 pm
CD can’t be worth the money with the rest of our starting CB unreliable.
February 17th, 2022 at 8:25 pm
I was saying Talib & Crabtree because of that fight they were getting into during that Raiders Broncos game.🙄 Like the team needs anymore problems. Yeah let’s see how that one would go. Aqib Talib, Jameis Winston, Ray Rice, Ray Lewis, Warren Sapp, Lawrence Taylor, Antonio Brown, Johnny Manziel, Rae Curruth, Kellen Winslow, Jon Griden, Urban Meyer & Keyshawn Johnson all walk into a bar. What could go wrong.
February 17th, 2022 at 8:57 pm
Replace our 25 year old stud CB with a 33 year old near the end of his career. Not a great idea. Don’t mind Hayward as depth but he can’t replace Davis. Pay the man, the Bucs don’t have any corners signed through the end of next season so it’s not like they have a lot ties up in the position. If you can’t get a long term deal then you use the tag.
February 17th, 2022 at 9:30 pm
JC Jackson or Stephon Gilmore, if Gilmore physically is what he was the year before.
February 17th, 2022 at 10:59 pm
Completely assine how a big majority of Buc fans think he isn’t worth the money. Lmao
February 17th, 2022 at 11:49 pm
In Bowels we should all trust. After watching the Jets game again, it was obvious his defense was on point. That carried over to the Rams game. It’s not Todd’s fault that his starting six were all together again, the busted coverages that led to all those Rams touchdowns were simply the Bucs being outplayed by better players. I’ve been reformed. Thanks guys, I see the light. No more negative Nancy from me.
17-0 next season! With Kyle!
Yay!!!
February 18th, 2022 at 12:04 am
None of our CB’s thrill me. Davis is over rated & Bunting’s a waste. The only one who showed some upside last year was Dean & he’s just average. Davis is not a top 10 CB. Plus the fact he seems to be a little injury prone.
February 18th, 2022 at 1:58 am
No negative nancies! And no disrespecting billionaires who henpeck their superstar husbands! That is disrespectful, and we should support a billionairess’s wish to stifle the dreams of her own family so she can finally go and live the life she wants! After all, it’s tough being a billionairess married to a way more popular and famous man even if he has far less money to his name.
Respect to the rich! Yeah!
42 year old models have every right to go and compete against 19 year old models. It’s a new Christian age of tolerance and understanding. She could even compete as a man! Who are we to judge?
It must be a really tough life, being married to the best football ever to play. So tough that you demand he quit in his prime. Yes. I understand the hardship now. Thank you, righteous forum posters, for setting me straight.
February 18th, 2022 at 8:18 am
Davis is a good cornerback and in a great position because he is one of the best of the free agent cornerbacks. The Bucs need to focus more on getting pressure on the QB’s and stopping 3rd down. Davis doesn’t have that impact and isn’t a game changer.
The challenge is DB is the hardest position to find better than average players. Davis is better than average but a better secondary coach and better defensive strategy would help an average corner fill that spot.
The Rams proved with great interior defensive line play, the level of corners and safeties improve. Bucs need to put more money into the trenches. Like Tony Dungy said and he is right, build the front end of your defense. It doesn’t start in the back end.
February 18th, 2022 at 10:55 am
Sad to see him go