Gambling On Shaq Barrett
February 25th, 2022
Bucs sacks king Shaq Barrett
While the Bucs are desperate for a starting quarterback with a winning record, they’re equally as desperate for salary cap room.
Tampa Bay must manufacture a lot of it in order to retain its key free agents or chase other team’s gems.
Joe is not concerned. The Bucs know what the hell they’re doing in that department. Just look how general manager Jason Licht and his accounting team loaded the roster the past two seasons.
Yeah, 2022 might be a partial pay-the-piper year, but the Bucs can still make cap room. So when you are trying to manipulate cap room, what do you do? You look first to your big-money players. Those are the cans you can kick down the road.
Enter Bucs sacks king Shaq Barrett. He proved last season that he could stay motivated after bagging a massive new contract, and he’s been durable and productive through his three seasons in Tampa.
Without question, Shaq is a top-10 free agency signing in the history the Bucs franchise. Maybe even top-5.
Shaq is due to earn $16 million this season and the Bucs have a ton of cap room invested in Shaq through 2023. But given how Shaq has performed and how he takes care of his body, Joe hopes the Bucs wouldn’t hesitate to restructure Shaq’s deal even if it takes guaranteeing him cash in 2025. He would turn 33 in the middle of the ’25 season.
The point is that Joe trusts Shaq. He’s earned it. And if he evolves into only a third-down/pass-rush specialist late in his career, then so be it. Those guys are always worth the money.
February 25th, 2022 at 11:17 am
Trade him and 3 1s to the Texans or Seahawks for Wilson or Watson
February 25th, 2022 at 11:25 am
Barrett
Evans
Smith
Marpet
Vea
LVD
Brate
Pinnion
Succop
These are all the players we could restructure.
LVD is getting a little too old for can kicking at this point.
Brate/Pinion/Succop could be cut to gain @ $10 mil but then we have zero TEs and will need to replace both punter and kicker (Jose Borgales)
TB12 could also be asked to help us out but it’s not guaranteed he will want to.
February 25th, 2022 at 11:28 am
Marine I agree but let Succop go. We need a weapon who can hit over 50.
February 25th, 2022 at 11:38 am
Give up your best pass rusher and 3 No. 1s for a low character criminal who probably won’t play until at least week 7
Brilliant!!!
February 25th, 2022 at 11:38 am
I fail to see the infatuation with Shaq.
he makes some splash plays in the moment, but does not show up 80+% of the time.
I have not checked stats, but I’d bet even Nelson that gets in sparringly would have similar numbers if given the same snap count.
16 mill?-noope
February 25th, 2022 at 11:41 am
The Bucs have a decent core of good players. Keep them, especially the multi-faceted kind like Shaq. He didn’t get to be sack king this season because he dropped into coverage a lot, because our DB play was so bad.
If you want to trade someone, make it Devin White. For every splash play he made there were 3-5 missed tackles, missed angles, or out of position total whiffs.
February 25th, 2022 at 11:47 am
Shaq will be traded for picks next off-season.
February 25th, 2022 at 11:58 am
Shack earned what he’s got- This is off topic but just read our Glazer boys and girls have dropped Aeroflot as a sponsor for Manchester United, as the UK has banned the major airline from their airspace completely. Bravo!!! I didn’t love taking Chucky out of the ring of honor, but this I love! Bravo!!
February 25th, 2022 at 12:10 pm
Watch McVay flee the Rams for TV. Why? No 1st round picks. Cap issues and older vets.
So, no, don’t trade three 1st round picks for anyone other than maybe Mahomes. Not the sexual predator. Not for Wilson. Not for Rodgers.
February 25th, 2022 at 12:30 pm
Stats geek wise Shaq’s production has dipped since his hot 19.5 sack season in 2019. $16M is alot of bacon for a guy who could not replicate his incredible 2019 season after 2 years. He had 10 sacks last year but not one of them decided a game or closed a game out. I hope Licht is looking to FA to change out the old guard of JPP; possibly Barrett…
February 25th, 2022 at 12:31 pm
@proudbuc… will be traded for a late round pick
February 25th, 2022 at 12:54 pm
I think it’s just a little early to think restructuring.
Brady retiring means he is giving up about 30m right? So when it becomes official, we’ll have that space. And Gronk will retire as well…how much will that free up?
JPP and Suh might move on…heck JPP might decide to retire…that’s money freed up.
Via and Barrett and White are our long term defensive cornerstones.
Really,the secondary and keeping the online great is our main needs…other than QB.
Licht just needs to stay level-headed and avoid panick mode. Don’t give up the farm for a QB.
And. Fans need to get that Brady is untradable. No team is going to trade for his rights unless it is during next season, their starter goes down, and Brady agrees to come back.
February 25th, 2022 at 1:22 pm
What IF Brady decides to go into Broadcasting ?
Fox needs a replacement for Troy Aikman, and I have heard Brady’s name mentioned.
Joe Buck is said to be lonely, LOL
February 25th, 2022 at 1:51 pm
Convert 12 million to a bonus to spread it out over the duration and we’ve freed up a bit for this year.
February 25th, 2022 at 2:33 pm
Past 2 superbowls show dline as important as qb
February 25th, 2022 at 2:33 pm
don’t sleep on licht…ever since he unloaded that ron burgundy jacket to goodwill, he’s been on the right track…
and ever since he balled up with his sidekick greenberg, they’ve been rolling…
i expect licht to pull a crafty move of sorts, that snags him a couple new stylish sports coats, as well as potentially moving a big name buc player or two…and bringing in a big name player or two as well…
stay tuned, the lichtmeister is just warming up for the dinner bell…i think they’ll need to shake things up a little without brady
February 25th, 2022 at 2:39 pm
When are they going to announce Wilson as the Buc’s new QB?? I heard about it 2 day’s ago and still no announcement!
February 25th, 2022 at 3:56 pm
With the junk offensive lines they faced last season, you’d expect more production. Ben didn’t like the signing then, and it looks worse now. It’s a ton of money for a good, not great pass rusher. If you want ten percent of your crap going to a soon to be third down specialist, have fun fielding a team.
February 25th, 2022 at 7:44 pm
Never should have given him the contract should have been Godwin with shaq on that franchise tag
February 25th, 2022 at 7:49 pm
TBH, I didn’t see anybody on defense last year that deserves a big contract. I know injuries were part of the problem, but just a mediocre effort in all phases. No pass rush, even with all the blitzing, and loose coverage from the defensive backs. Cant believe this was the same defense that carried them to the super bowl last year.
February 25th, 2022 at 9:56 pm
Barrett is not worth 16 mil….mediocre at best, if that.
February 25th, 2022 at 10:07 pm
No way has Shaq warranted that money the last two seasons. If anything, he has shown that he is not a dominate force and should not be grouped with players like TJ Watt. Shaq has to have DTs collapsing the pocket in conjunction with an opposing outside linebacker that is a strong pass rusher. When he has one or the other going, he is slightly above average, and if there is no pass rush coming from the other OLB and the interior d-line, then Shaq is almost always a non-factor in that situation. See if Shaq will restructure for a realistic salary and use the savings to lure Clowney to the Bay.
February 26th, 2022 at 1:19 am
Marine buc I don’t think the BUCS or Brady can do anything about his cap hit for the next two years, it’s a dead money cap hit, I don’t think teams can get out of dead money situations but if there is a way im sure licht will find it somehow
February 26th, 2022 at 4:30 am
I don’t think Seattle is going to trade Wilson because then they don’t have a QB
The only way it makes sense if they could pull a trade for Watson. The Bucs only option is stick with Trask and sign Bridgewater & Gilbert. If they all fail there is always the 2023 draft.