What The Bucs Will Lose In Carlton Davis
March 14th, 2022
Free agent CB Carlton Davis.
Everything could be changing in the wake of Tom Brady’s announcement last night that he is returning to the Bucs.
All of the Bucs free agents (and what Joe assumed would happen to them) got thrown a curveball with Brady’s news. So in other words, what Joe thought would happen may not. We shall see.
Legal tampering with free agents starts at noon today, though it is really clear teams and free agents across the league have gone over basic structures of contracts in many cases. Wednesday, the free agency dinner bell rings.
Yesterday before Brady made his announcement, Joe wrote that a trusted source shared that the Bucs expect Carlton Davis to have a deal in place with another team, one which could be announced as early as this afternoon. Now? Maybe Tom Brady can work a miracle to somehow keep Davis.
Joe has been nervous about losing Davis. He’s easily the Bucs best corner and he is just 25 and entering the prime of his athletic life. How good is Davis? Well, since Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles arrived in Tampa Bay and despite missing seven games this past season, Davis leads the NFL in passes defensed.
Look, Joe knows Davis is not elite but he’s damn good. And he’s 25! Joe would rather lose Ndamukong Suh than Davis.
But you know what? Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht and Super Bowl-winning coach Bucco Bruce Arians have built up a ton of street cred the past couple of years. When/if Davis still bolts Tampa, Joe will just trust that these two know what to do next.
Most passes defended since 2019…
Carlton Davis – 48
James Bradberry – 47
JC Jackson – 47
Marshon Lattimore – 44
Xavien Howard – 40 pic.twitter.com/tPl8uGKRHv— NFL Stats (@NFL_Stats) March 12, 2022
March 14th, 2022 at 3:59 am
Most INTs dropped since 2019? Probably between 10-15. He could be an elite corner, now he’s above average, not very durable and a nutcase who is all about social media, gold grills and the dough. He never grew up like he supposed to. I am not comfortable to pay that man near the 20 million mark annually.
March 14th, 2022 at 4:08 am
Davis is not a top 5 but he wants to be paid a top 5. Not consistent, toasted badly on some critical plays.
Steph Gilmore, JC Jackson, Pat Petersen, Joe Haden etc. CB should be a draft priority as well.
March 14th, 2022 at 4:23 am
The Bucs defense was really struggling last year when they switched to running a lot of zone, which they played a lot down the stretch, and had they just stuck to zone in the Rams game, they might have been back in the SB.
Anywho, you don’t need great man-to-man corners in a zone – you can get away with a less talent. Even doing a bunch of salary cap tricks I don’t see how they can pay him, so all the talk about him coming back is probably mute. But if the Bucs go more zone heavy next year, it might not be as big of a hit as expected. In fact I think it’s a lot more important to have Whitehead back.
March 14th, 2022 at 6:15 am
If you can’t re-sign everyone, he’s one to let go. Same for Fournette. I want Lenny back, but these two are replaceable — especially for the money they want.
March 14th, 2022 at 6:36 am
Agree with Tim from Netherlands 100%.
March 14th, 2022 at 7:32 am
I agree with Rod Munch.
Playing more zone is less demanding on the CB’s.
To play zone your front has got to be dominant.
Zone also allows for zone blitzing from a variety of positions and angles on the field without depending on your guys to lock down their man.
Zone blitzing also allows for more confusion as the old adage of throw at the blitz doesn’t always apply as doing so may result in an interception.
I don’t know how it can be done salary cap wise, but getting a free agent like Von Miller (that would also weaken the Rams) would be perfect for shifting towards more zone play. Chandler Jones would be awesome to.
While I’m dreaming, and after TB12 came back why not dream, it would be awesome if we could get DJ Jones at DT in free agency.
March 14th, 2022 at 8:31 am
Never really liked his play, sorry.
March 14th, 2022 at 8:47 am
Joe says anything sometimes
March 14th, 2022 at 8:52 am
The DLine is always more important than the secondary- just ask the Bengals and Rams who was a bigger factor in the SuperBowl? J Ramsey or A Donald?
Who was a bigger factor in Bucs SB win over Chiefs? C Davis or S Barrett?
March 14th, 2022 at 8:58 am
I will miss that golden grill.
It was his trademark.
Even tho he did resemble rod ‘toast’ jones from time to time😬
March 14th, 2022 at 9:41 am
You overpay for elite….overpaying for “very good” is how you end up being a mediocre wild card team. Unless the pass rush was clicking, the secondary never showed any ability to make an impact. Teams would march up and down the field at will evidenced by the end to the Rams game. In a different scheme, maybe Davis is more effective but in Bowles defense, Dean and Bunting will be capable.
March 14th, 2022 at 10:26 am
Drops a lot of INTs and not very reliable. I pass – let him sign with the Jets and break the bank.
March 14th, 2022 at 11:44 am
Fix that pass rush and it’ll help with losing Davis. Some cheaper vets out there like Heyward, Gilmore, Peterson could be a stop gap but I think Tampa needs to draft corner day 1 over o line and d line now that Jenson and Stinnie are back.
March 14th, 2022 at 11:51 am
Bet we don’t lose him…
March 14th, 2022 at 4:06 pm
An easily replaceable player… don’t know what all the fuss is about
March 14th, 2022 at 5:21 pm
he’s back!