Bucs Have 3 Of The 30 Highest Paid Receivers
March 18th, 2022
There’s a lot of lying around the NFL this time of year, but numbers never lie.
And the Bucs’ salary numbers tell quite a story. Among the 30 highest-paid receivers in the NFL for 2022, the Bucs have three on their roster: Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and newcomer Russell Gage.
Think about that … in a 32-team league. A passing league. Plus the Bucs seem ready to re-sign their Hall of Fame tight end to top-10 money at his position.
Also, Tampa Bay has three big-money offensive linemen, likely three of the top 45 salaries at their position.
That’s how much the Bucs are committed to the offensive side of the ball, as they should be with Tom Brady.
If free agent Leonard “Lombardi Lenny” Fournette wants top-10 running backs money, then that would mean he’s holding out for $7 million per season, double his 2021 salary.
Joe couldn’t argue with Lenny’s demand, but can/will the Bucs afford it? Or be willing to commit those kinds of resources to one side of the ball?
March 18th, 2022 at 2:48 pm
Tommy just needs to drop some NFTs or bit coins on the floor and forget about them and Lenny just happens to find them …. 😀
March 18th, 2022 at 2:55 pm
Hasn’t Bruce said he won’t spend big money on RBs??
March 18th, 2022 at 3:00 pm
Way too many good RBs in this yr’s class to be paying Lenny 7 million right now.
March 18th, 2022 at 3:01 pm
But, exactly WHAT is big money?
March 18th, 2022 at 3:03 pm
“I don’t overpay for that position.”
Bucs learned the hard lesson with the Hamster.
March 18th, 2022 at 3:06 pm
McCaffrey would look good in a Bucs uniform.
March 18th, 2022 at 3:09 pm
It’s a lot of resources to put into the WR spot – but you can afford to do that when your HOF GOAT QB is only making like $20m a year. Also Brady knows you need AT LEAST 3 WRs, at least.
March 18th, 2022 at 3:11 pm
I’d be more impressed if they lead the league in receptions, TDs, YAC’s and Superbowl wins when all is said and done.
March 18th, 2022 at 3:14 pm
Pay Mr. Lenny. Just pay him.
March 18th, 2022 at 3:15 pm
I think we could get more bang for the buck/Buc by signing Cordarrelle and drafting a RB in round 2 or 3.
If I’m spending money now, I’m spending on Gronk and on defense. Lenny is lowest priority.
March 18th, 2022 at 3:22 pm
And the highest paid receiver in the league is now making almost exactly double what Mike Evans is making. Ridiculous.
March 18th, 2022 at 3:30 pm
Lenny and Gronk need to realize….come in team friendly, you’ve made your millions….bonuses and others will make them happy, especially another ring.
March 18th, 2022 at 3:30 pm
Patterson would address return game too & Brady connection as well.
Lenny & Patterson!
March 18th, 2022 at 3:33 pm
Mike is now criminally underpaid considering what Godwin got as a great number two and the insane amount that they paid to a lesser player in Davante. Even a good guy like Mike could start to get a bit rankled. I like Lenny, but 7 million is too much and I’d rather take our chances in the draft even though Lich’s record with drafting running backs is terrible.
March 18th, 2022 at 3:46 pm
Lenny catches passes out of the backfield, produces yards after the catch, and runs with power. Brady needs the James White option as part of his attack. Lenny has proven he can do it.
March 18th, 2022 at 3:49 pm
No Deshaun Watson in the NFC South, Watson to Browns via Adam Schefter!!! Woo hoooooo!!!
March 18th, 2022 at 3:50 pm
And we still need to draft a WR in rounds 1-4…
I have PTSD from having to watch Tom Brady struggle while throwing passes to Miller, Johnson and Darden.
NEVER AGAIN!!!!!!!
NEVER!!!!!!!
Perriman is as injury prone as my 95 year old grandma and Godwin is coming off having his knee completely rebuilt.
Let’s not get complacent this year. We need one more solid WR to add to the crew…
March 18th, 2022 at 3:57 pm
Walter: such a huge dub. This off season just gets better and better
March 18th, 2022 at 3:58 pm
Watson to Browns!!!!!!! Yahoo!!!!
March 18th, 2022 at 4:01 pm
Watson to Browns?!?!!?!?!?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAA
HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
LOLOLLOLOLOLOOLOOL111!!!!!!!!
HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!
Have to go read Saints and Falcons blogs now to see the meltdown!
March 18th, 2022 at 4:08 pm
Wow, will be nice not to see Watson in the south. Even though it wouldn’t have been till later this year at the earliest. Browns! Haha!
March 18th, 2022 at 4:10 pm
Already wrote about it. Thanks. –Joe
March 18th, 2022 at 4:12 pm
I’ve never looked before, but the Falcons have an amazingly weak blog presence.
Joe, you should franchise out the ‘Joe’ brand and format to other cities.
March 18th, 2022 at 4:13 pm
I’ve got a friend who’s a birds fan. She’s extremely disappointed. We’re all trying to be nice to her, but someone posted “Falcons blew a 28-3 lead on Watson” and I just about died from laughter.
March 18th, 2022 at 4:16 pm
Holy smokes! 5 years, $230mil, all guaranteed. No cap shenanigans with those numbers.
Not to mention 3-#1s and a #5.
March 18th, 2022 at 4:17 pm
ATM is happy he llikely won’t move from the Aintshole…
March 18th, 2022 at 5:08 pm
ME is not criminally underpaid. It’s not the Bucs’ fault if another team wants to be stupid. Adams is great but that’s too much $$$.
March 18th, 2022 at 5:25 pm
Has he said what number he will wear?
March 18th, 2022 at 5:34 pm
You can only have so many heroes on your team… Salary cap averaged among 25 starters and specialists puts you at about $4mil. Any starter below that is a deal.
March 18th, 2022 at 6:18 pm
Ask the overpaid ‘grill’ to restructure. If he doesn’t trade him.
March 18th, 2022 at 6:24 pm
I will say this, I surely don’t miss the ATM.🤡
March 18th, 2022 at 6:29 pm
Lenny =‘s
A bird in hand is worth
2
In the bush
March 18th, 2022 at 7:14 pm
gage is a really good receiver…i’ve been impressed with this guy for a few years now…
he was just overshadowed by jones and the gambling man…
he really is like the best 3rd receiver in the league, no question…
look at his 2021 highlight reel on youtube, if you get a chance – it speaks for itself…
AB who ???
March 18th, 2022 at 7:15 pm
also he’s a legit legit legit number 2…
so if me13 or cg14 go down or are hampered, he should pop in their spot seamlessly
March 18th, 2022 at 7:16 pm
So is the plan now to out score every team? I’m concerned about the defense given the lack of money we have left and still need to pay Gronk? Lenny? Draft choices?
March 18th, 2022 at 7:53 pm
So who do the Bucs draft in rounds 1 & 2? Running backs are usually there. I don’t know about this year’s crop. Will any good Guards be available?
March 18th, 2022 at 8:53 pm
I hope those high salaries result in a Super Bowl trophy; the upcoming season schedule is tough.
March 18th, 2022 at 9:27 pm
Please STOP with the Playoff Lenny crushes.
Engage your critical thinking skills.
We’re GOOD!!!
We have Ke’Shawn Vaughn.
So enough!
😉
March 18th, 2022 at 9:45 pm
Gage’s price tag is a bit of an issue,but WTH.
The question is, does Brady have his slot security blanket? Godwin and Gage can line up anywhere, but I’d still like to see a Julian Edelman type smurf on the roster. Along with James White.
I say pass on Lenny. They can do better.
March 18th, 2022 at 10:07 pm
Antonio Brown is definitely the best 3rd WR in the NFL, but him and Arians have never got along, and Arians outburst on the sidelines, telling Brown, mid-game that’s he’s fired might have cost the Bucs the SB. It’s really a shame, because Brown is truly an elite weapon when you’re talking about having him 3rd on the depth chart.
Hopefully Gage steps into spot and is productive, and most importantly I hope he’s healthy, because for years now, Bucs WRs get hurt at pretty much the worst possible time.
March 19th, 2022 at 1:09 am
Munch…. You could not be more wrong. F Brown. He quit on the team. He’s thrown them all under the bus every chance he gets ever since then. He’s a delusional diva.
He got a ring, he had Brady go all out last year to get him his bonus and suddenly he blew up like he thought it wouldn’t happen again when he had a game and a half left to get 8 catches. A few coaches and several players tried to tell him to get on the field. When BA came over and told him to get on the field for the last time, he refused, so BA said -you’re done, get out. That is not a blow up or an overreaction. He quit on his team, the worst thing you can do in a team sport.
Good riddance
March 19th, 2022 at 1:40 am
David – Agree 💯 !! F–k AB . He’s been a loony toon since he was with the Steelers…. And about Fornette , I don’t think 🤔 you can ignore the chemistry he has with TB and he is a solid Blocking RB .. But 7 mil is too much for a RB and the fact that he knows he will have success with the Bucs. No state taxes . A chance to play for a Super Bowl with TB again. Everyone needs to do their part to put it together for the team. If not , then good luck getting 7 mil to play for the lions . We need to bring back Suh and Gholston also.. JPP is one of my favorites , but unless he plays for half of his salary last year , not worth it. Draft another Edge Rushing LB and get some depth.. Maybe a new kicker ??
March 19th, 2022 at 1:47 am
Same goes for Gronk . love to see him back but he doesn’t need 10 mil to play 14 games if that. He makes more than that on his endorsements anyway.. If Brady , the GOAT , can play for 20 – 25 mil a year and not complain because he knows it will mean the team gets better, unlike Aaron Rodgers who wants it both ways , A QUARTER of the cap but wonders why they can’t build a better team !! Go Bucs
March 19th, 2022 at 4:29 am
Gronk>Lenny. We can’t replace Gronk. We can replace Lenny.
March 19th, 2022 at 4:45 am
David – But that’s literally not what happened… He didn’t quit on the team, he was literally cut by Arians, who told the media he cut him.
Here’s the VERIFIED version of events, based solely on Arians and a 3rd party who repeated what he overheard to Greg Auman, none of this below is from Brown…
Brown is on the sidelines, he claims nursing his ankle. Arians comes over, says get into the game. Brown says his ankle is injured. Arians says GET IN THE GAME. Brown says something along the lines of, my ankle is messed up, I don’t go. Arians then says YOU’RE FIRED. YOU’RE NO LONGER ON THE TEAM. GET OFF MY FIELD.
Now don’t quote me exactly on the words as it’s 4am and I don’t feel like looking them up yet again, but that WAS the story of what happened according to Arians himself and this neutral 3rd party who heard the entire back and forth.
Now, in defense of Arians, he claims that he did not hear Brown say anything about his ankle. But again, the 3rd party that was there says he DID hear Brown say that his ankle was hurt to Arians. If Arians basically told Brown, I don’t care if you’re injured, play – then wow, Arians is literally a really really bad bad guy. But more likely, Arians hearing aid was picking up too much background noise in the stadium, and according to him, when he told Brown to get in the game, he only heard, no.
In any case, after being fired in the middle of a game, AB puts on a clown show, and because it’s easier to point and laugh at the clown, than it is to do hard news, people just pointed at the village idiot and had a ball. Meanwhile the real story is more interesting – and it puts 100% of the blame on Arians.
March 19th, 2022 at 6:22 am
Bucs are not drafting a WR unless it’s in the 7th rd. They have Evans, Godwin, Gage, Perriman, Grayson, Johnson and Miller already. They just paid Gage big money so he will be the #3 receiver. I don’t see the Bucs drafting a #4 WR in the 1st or 2nd rd.
Unless someone the Bucs covet falls, I’d like to see the Bucs trade back for more day 2 picks.
Bucs will draft a RB on day 3 (4th rd) because they have bigger needs. Bucs need to get younger (and less expensive) on the D-Line.
Probably going DE to replace JPP and DT to replace Suh or Gholston on day 1 and 2. I have a sneaking suspicion the Bucs pick a TE on day 2 as they need to begin the rebuild at that position. I don’t see Gronk or Brate here in 2 years. Also need to replace OJ.
The wildcard is O-Line. Do Licht and BA want to let Stinnie and Hainsey battle it out for LG or do they see both as backups and draft someone? CB is also a possibility as both Dean and SMB become FAs next year.
March 19th, 2022 at 6:32 am
And in the way too early draft for 2023, the Bucs go LT to replace Smith, LB to replace LVD, CB if they need to replace Dean or SMB, RB, TE, P or K if they don’t get replaced this year, DT and of course the great debate on QB if Brady retires again.