“Who Wouldn’t Want To Come Back And Compete For Another Ring With The GOAT?”
March 16th, 2022
Bucs CB Carlton Davis.
It almost sounded like Bucs corner Carlton Davis was hinting that the weeks of indecision at quarterback for the Bucs during Tom Brady’s 40-day retirement may have pushed Tampa Bay’s free agents to the edge.
At the end of the day, good players want to compete and they want to win. Sure, they want to get paid. If all things are even, or maybe slightly uneven, good players (not named “Jordan Whitehead”) will pass on the chance to willingly play in the NFL’s Siberia in order to win (and get paid).
Today, when speaking about his new contract and staying with the Bucs, Davis said not knowing the Bucs’ starting quarterback left doubt in his head how well the Bucs might compete this year, which had him exploring options outside Tampa.
When Brady unretired, the decision for Davis as a free agent became much, much easier.
“That played a part in my decision,” Davis deadpanned of Brady’s unretirement announcement on the dawn of legal tampering. “Obviously having Tom comeback automatically makes us a contender, again. Who wouldn’t want to come back and compete for another ring with the GOAT?
“So when I heard the news, it definitely played into some of my thought process into my decision.”
That tells Joe that Davis, and possibly other Bucs free agents, were spooked at all the lesser (if not desperate) options that were being tossed out there to replace Brady at quarterback.
Players, driven players, want to win. They want to compete. As Davis himself said, who better to go into battle with than the greatest?
Joe also found it refreshing to hear a player like Davis say that a no-state-income-tax state like Florida was a factor.
Joe doesn’t know how much a shock to the system Whitehead will experience in New Jersey. He will be peeking into the NFL abyss with the Jets, and the taxes and cost of living will be sock him in New Jersey.
March 16th, 2022 at 1:52 pm
Whitehead split time in Tampa. He’ll get a chance as a full time starter and probably double $$ what the Bucs did value him at. Can’t blame him for moving on.
March 16th, 2022 at 2:03 pm
We all know it’s a year to year league, Bucs aren’t to far away from nfl’s Siberia. We’ve spent more time there than most so never know what the jets will be after free agency and the draft. Good players don’t want to split time they want all the reps and whitehead is not a southern dude so won’t experience any shock at all considering he’s close to home
March 16th, 2022 at 2:08 pm
Whitehead is from Pittsburgh area so maybe he prefers the Northeast.
Also, his cousin D Revis might have persuaded him to sign with Jets.
March 16th, 2022 at 2:36 pm
$15 million a year another factor
March 16th, 2022 at 2:43 pm
I AM SO THANKFUL …
I’ve been a Bucs fan since 1995. The PTSD of the lost two decades was kicking in. I wasn’t even going to watch a game this season if Trask was the starter. One guy, in one instant, turned our season from a 3-4 win season into another championship campaign.
March 16th, 2022 at 2:48 pm
11.38 % state tax in NJ. NY state, flat 450k on 1st 5M then 10% on remaining over 5M and another 3.8% if you live in NYC. Dang.
Players only pay state tax on a game-by-game basis. Their salary is divided by 17. So when the Jets play in Miami, that’s a no-state-tax game.–Joe
March 16th, 2022 at 3:22 pm
Thank you, Tom Brady!
March 16th, 2022 at 3:31 pm
I mean it’s good for the Bucs, but it seems a bit unfair that Florida teams basically can get more player for their salary cap money.
March 16th, 2022 at 3:57 pm
@Your Mom-
That’s now it works. The Bucs or any other team are paying the players the same amount regardless of the state they are in.
It’s the players who would pay less income taxes on that money for games in FL. So for Bucs players, that’s at least 8 games per year.
March 16th, 2022 at 3:57 pm
*not how it works ^
March 16th, 2022 at 4:55 pm
Whitehead will make less money in the long run. Playing on a Champion buys many dividends in the future. GOBUCS!
March 16th, 2022 at 5:14 pm
Whitehead is a good player, no doubt, he’ll be missed. Going to the Jets will cement his future but I doubt it will help his career in the long run because when you play for basement dweller, you don’t get the respect from the media or the fans of the sports. For those that want to spin off into media and commercial endorsements it pays to play for a winner.
Look at LaVonte David, all those years of playing with bad Bucs teams kept him from getting the respect he has been getting for the past 2 seasons as the Bucs have been a featured prime time team.
The Jets will get little marque game exposure and Whitehead will be a forgotten Jet. I’m glad he is getting the money but long term, he may have been better staying in Tampa another year for more exposure.
March 17th, 2022 at 11:17 am
“Players only pay state tax on a game-by-game basis. Their salary is divided by 17. So when the Jets play in Miami, that’s a no-state-tax game.–Joe”
Joe – clarify. So does a Miami player, residing in Florida, have to pay N.J. state tax when they play in Jersey?