“Underrated” Shaq Mason
March 18th, 2022
Just about everywhere you look, the Bucs are getting high marks and pats on the back for how they have handled the offseason.
As famed JoeBucsFan.com columnist Ira Kaufman said in a podcast earlier this week, the Bucs last weekend were “peeking into the abyss” looking squarely at Blaine Gabbert as the team’s new starting quarterback and losing a bunch of free agents.
Tom Brady on Sunday night pulls out his own Selection Sunday bracket and within hours, several Bucs free agents quickly did a U-turn while driving out of town on I-75 North.
Then there was the trade for Belicheats right guard Shaq Mason to replace Alex Cappa. And it only cost Bucs’ AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht a fifth-round pick!
Foliclly-challenged Billy Barnwell of BSPN notes that Mason is very underrated.
… I was certainly surprised to see the Patriots trade the 28-year-old Mason for a late-round pick. Bill Belichick has a well-deserved reputation for moving on from players at the right time, but Mason has been a very good guard while missing one or two games per year. He is due just under $16 million over the next two seasons, which the Bucs will happily pay given what was left on the market.
Joe is of the mind the Bucs could go from an excellent offensive line to a dominant offensive line. It depends on Aaron Stinnie who currently is expected to line up at left guard.
Mason is likely a top-five right guard. Alex Cappa, a tough SOB who is good, probably isn’t a top-five guard. If Stinnie can develop into, say, a top-15 guard, the Bucs may have a better offensive line this fall than last year.
And last year the Bucs had a damn good offensive line.
March 18th, 2022 at 12:17 am
Stinnie may have competition from some of the other guys they’ve been working with: Leverett, Hainsey, Hutcherson.
March 18th, 2022 at 12:21 am
Wouldn’t be surprised if they take Zion Johnson from Boston College.
March 18th, 2022 at 12:26 am
mason and stinnie…
if that’s the new guard combo, might have just have more of a roadgrader style to their game…
i think stinnie def does
March 18th, 2022 at 12:35 am
YOU KNOW WHO IS *NOT* UNDERRATED?
Our weaksauce, swiss-cheese, helmet-taking off, missed-tackling, falling-down-and-giving-up-50-yard-TDs, out-of-position, running-into-each-other-and-causing-injuries, giving-up-3rd-and-longs, can’t-get-a-stop-when-we-really-need-it, BUCS SECONDARY.
March 18th, 2022 at 12:43 am
Exactly ☝🏻
March 18th, 2022 at 12:56 am
BradyBucs — you do realize who the GM of the team is, right? And who the coaches are? And, maybe just maybe, if you were the genius you think you are, you might be getting paid to make the decisions so that ones other than you could make fun of on some anonymous forum someplace?
Naa. It’s you, man, You’re a better evaluator of talent than the Bucs scouts, personnel development staff, coaches, players……..yep.
Go back to Boston, macaroon.
March 18th, 2022 at 1:44 am
Remember how every screamed that Belichick traded away “better than Brady” Jimmy G? He was fine with it. He’s fine with letting Shaq go. Good or very good, but not irreplaceable= why not?
March 18th, 2022 at 2:50 am
Gage as well. He’s gonna ball.
Trade back to the second for a two and a four/five.
-DT
-DB/RB
-RB/OT
-DE/DB
-TE (with a fifth pick possibility)
March 18th, 2022 at 3:30 am
Licht continues to earn his paycheck. Says something for how he could survive multiple coaches, QB’s. Glazers know they’ve got a keeper. Keep doing your thing Jason!!
March 18th, 2022 at 6:03 am
Tony
I thought the same thing about the guard from BC. Then i read what Pats have lost on oline this year. Center i believe gone too. And there was an issue with one of their tackles
What i am getting at is that kid from BC will not make it past NE at 21st pick.
March 18th, 2022 at 7:16 am
Tom Brady saved the Lichthouse.
Dude was about to be run out of town on a rail before that. Tom is still the GM.
March 18th, 2022 at 7:30 am
It is shocking to get only a late 5th round pick. I cannot believe that other teams do not offer an early 4th round.
March 18th, 2022 at 7:45 am
I’m not sure Mason ever hit the open market……I suspect we will try to restructure his contract, adding a couple of years, giving him a signing bonus and saving some more cap.
March 18th, 2022 at 8:43 am
Julio!…get it done….Evans…Godwin…Gage… Gronk….Jones…video game stuff. Good luck covering that…
March 18th, 2022 at 10:06 am
Now, I’m all in, always have been. BUT, this narrative about the Bucs circling the drain is nagging me. Understand that we are going to be in the SAME, EXACT position again when Tom re-retires. That has not changed.
Fans are going to have to come to grips with the fact that a QB not named Brady will be leading this team in a year, maybe two. Stick your head in the sand if you want to but this will play out again in the near future. Players come and go.
I wouldn’t call it circling the drain, I’d call it changing of the guard.
The move to get Shaq was smart. We may actually be better, we’ll see.
March 18th, 2022 at 11:54 am
With the way that we are filling needs in free agency, I’m thinking that we should draft the top guard available at 27 and let him fight it out with Stinnie in training camp. Gotta keep Brady happy and upright.