Market Emerging For Sean Murphy-Bunting
March 12th, 2023
The sweet smell (stench?) of 2023 free agency is only hours away. And it seems there’s a burgeoning market for a 25-year-old versatile cornerback with a nose for the football and a reputation for being smart.
Joe is talking about Bucs cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting, a pending free agent from Tampa Bay’s stunning haul of defensive backs from the 2019 NFL Draft. All three, Murphy-Bunting, Jamel Dean and Mike Edwards, were big contributors to the 2020 Super Bowl season.
Senior NFL insider Jeremy Fowler of BSPN noted today that NFL teams “have been intrigued” by Murphy-Bunting, which means he will have a real market come noon tomorrow when the free agency dinner bell rings.
Of course, all it takes is two teams chasing a player to drive up his price.
Joe knows Murphy-Bunting is a flawed player coming off two years of injury issues, but he bounced back strong late last season and Todd Bowles says his football smarts are so good he could be a quality NFL coach. Joe also is confident that Murphy-Bunting’s playoff success will be a difference-maker for some teams.
It’s possible the Bucs could lose Murphy-Bunting, Dean and Edwards in free agency, but Joe would not wager a nickel on that happening. Bowles will not want to lose three players with great experience in his secondary. Maybe two, but certainly not three.
So will Murphy-Bunting be the one who stays because he’s the best value price tag?
March 12th, 2023 at 4:57 pm
It would be nice to bring back Dean, SMB, Nelson and LVD but I wouldn’t overpay for any of them.
March 12th, 2023 at 5:15 pm
As the old football coach Bob Barker once said,
if the Price is Right…..
March 12th, 2023 at 5:27 pm
Well, it would suck to lose both our free agent CBs, but they effed up the cap to win a Superbowl, so now we gotta pay the fiddler. SMB is a smart guy and I’d hate to see him walk.
March 12th, 2023 at 5:28 pm
Trade White trade Gage 19.5 cap savings sign David and SMB and still have money left.
March 12th, 2023 at 5:34 pm
Joe Swanson Says:
March 12th, 2023 at 5:28 pm
yes
Untradeable with that contract.
Cut Succop, Mason, Gage, trade D. White could open up ~22 million.
March 12th, 2023 at 5:46 pm
This calls for an “extraordinary intervention’. Of free money.
March 12th, 2023 at 5:48 pm
Agree sasquatch!
March 12th, 2023 at 5:51 pm
smb is eyeballing detroit, but we gotta try to keep him…
many good seasons ahead for him…
also smart, well spoken, a face, and gives good podium…which are roundabout pluses which create other avenues of league stardom…
there is so much sh!t to consider when signing a player
March 12th, 2023 at 6:07 pm
I like SMB, but he’s like the Cris Godwin on defense and I really thought after they won the Super Bowl he matured and got into shape. Unfortunately when you have Carlton Davis and others ( who aren’t leaders ) and shocked Logan Ryan didn’t step up and show Winfield and SMB how to be a pro. The blown coverages and lack of communication was glaring and I hope they bring back SMB and he has a great year and can prove his worth. I think Mculum will be better and is definitely an athlete, but it all comes down to leadership and now that Tom is gone and not there to show them how to be a pro is all about who’s going to show them
March 12th, 2023 at 6:17 pm
Com on man…he’s average, if that, at best. What’s up with all the chatter bout him n Dean being labeled as if they are all pro super stars. As I mentioned before, a defensive front line that put constant pressure on the qb will make a bench warmer cb look like, not play like, a superstar. Constant front line pressure on Heniche, Brees, Rodgers, n Mahomes is what lead us to winning the Super Bowl.
March 12th, 2023 at 6:32 pm
I do not understand this comment at all:
“shocked Logan Ryan didn’t step up and show Winfield and SMB how to be a pro”
I mean Winfield has been a pro since the day he stepped onto the field. What did you expect Logan Ryan to teach him, how to be a hall of famer in two simple steps?
March 12th, 2023 at 6:34 pm
Bowelszo can confuse even the smartest players, apparently. So many coverage busts, if these guys are so smart, then the root cause must be inside a bald head sprouting red hair from each temple and a big red nose.
March 12th, 2023 at 6:54 pm
Wildly inconsistent typically but clutch during the 2020 Super Bowl run. If he can get topped off elsewhere…let’s be happy for him. Bucs are in almost complete tear down mode…few people see it/willing to believe it.
-Over-promoted head coach
-Salary Cap Crunch
-Stars mostly over the hill/on the downside
March 12th, 2023 at 7:01 pm
The Bucs deserve being bailed out more than the woke bank in Silicon Valley.b We should buy whatever players we want at any price and the get bailed out.
March 12th, 2023 at 7:06 pm
Probably should use the franchise tag on one of the two FA corners, don’t need to lose both those guys.
March 12th, 2023 at 7:15 pm
This is what happens when you draft good players & can’t give them a raise in year 4 in return for cheaper contracts……you made them play our their rookie contract and become free agents.
This happened to Godwin….remember…..Joe kept saying why restructure Godwin…he’s under contract…..well, we found out 10s of millions later.
We have Dean, SMB, Edwards & Nelson hitting the market & we don’t have money…..
Folks say….cut this guy….cut that guy….trade this guy & that guy…..but we need to replace all of them.
Resign LVD…..sounds nice but he’ll receive enough to pay for 3 players…
Paying the piper for our SB…..but, you know what….it was worth it.
March 12th, 2023 at 7:21 pm
Bucs reworked gage contract today
March 12th, 2023 at 7:29 pm
Just re-watched the Bloweszo Bowl against the Rams. In the most important games against the best competition, Bowelszo time and again shows he’s incapable of teaching his guys their assignments in pressure situations. Bust after bust after bust.
And after Kupp caught his first uncontested (by 20 yards) TD pass, he catches another wide open bust in the final 30 seconds. Poor Winfield was the on,y one aware he was even a receiver for the Rams on that play.
Bowelszo may be a genius, but he sure can’t teach or coach for squat.
So maybe it doesn’t matter the IQ of his defenders. If the smartest guys don’t know what they’re doing, maybe a bunch of dumb ones won’t do any worse and will cost a lot less.
March 12th, 2023 at 7:55 pm
Deion Sanders had a “nose for the football.” SMB surely does not.
March 12th, 2023 at 8:08 pm
Oxycondoms … ‘Bucs reworked gage contract today’.
Nice catch. So now we’re just $1.1 mil OVER the CAP, with Fournette & Brate still showing on our roster. Release Succop too & we could be about $8 mil UNDER the CAP. Extend ME13’s contract & we could be roughly $20 mil under the CAP. Folks need to remember that we have a ton of FAs & draft picks who’ll need to be signed from that $20 mil.
Spotrac: ‘Russell Gage, WR … Converted $3M of 2023 salary into incentives, clearing $3M of cap with Tampa Bay (TB)’.
March 12th, 2023 at 8:13 pm
He a bum too let him go only AWJr is worth something
March 12th, 2023 at 8:16 pm
SPEAKING of free agents–Hicks missed 6 games last year with the foot. The rookie, Hall, played in his absence. From…elsewhere:
“In the 11 games in which he (Hicks) played, the Buccaneers allowed 106.0 rushing yards and 0.63 rushing touchdowns per game and 4.2 yards per carry. In the other six contests, the Bucs allowed 148.0 rushing yards and 0.71 rushing touchdowns per game and 4.9 yards per carry.”
What are the odds Hall will be up to speed by next August?
March 12th, 2023 at 8:23 pm
Considering that the head coich is also this defensive genius who has proven to be a failure at teaching his players what they are supposed to do and/or how to do it, it is as likely that a sack of money lands in my yard as Hall being up to speed in August.
March 12th, 2023 at 8:47 pm
@ugutrobbed – Uhm … it’s a week too late to use the franchise tag. The Bucs chose not to use it on anyone this year.
March 12th, 2023 at 8:54 pm
I’m not convinced Bowles is a good head coach, but he does seem to be able to appraise and develop DB’s like no one else. So I’m not as worried, should the Bucs lose all of them and have to fill through other means.
March 12th, 2023 at 9:16 pm
Beej Says:
March 12th, 2023 at 8:16 pm
It better be 100% because he’s gonna have to be ready to go. Unless we draft 2 DL high and they’re rockstars, Hall will be a starter.
March 12th, 2023 at 9:21 pm
Joes,
Can you do an article updating us on where the Bucs cap situation currently stands after all of the contract restructures? We were over 55 million over the cap going into March.
Are we now at zero? Below zero? Is there money to sign the draft picks? What’s left for signing free agents?
Thanks,
80
March 12th, 2023 at 9:29 pm
80forBrady Says:
March 12th, 2023 at 9:21 pm
Hahahaha, this is like asking a burger flipper at McDonald’s to do brain surgery.
Seriously, the Joes have openly stated how little interest they have in salary cap matters. There are plenty of sources for that type of info.
Try
http :// overthecap.com / salary-cap / tampa-bay-buccaneers
March 12th, 2023 at 9:31 pm
According to OTC, we are now under cap by 2 million.
March 12th, 2023 at 9:39 pm
“he bounced back strong late last season”
Could be wrong, but, I seem to remember him getting torched by Dallas.
March 12th, 2023 at 9:49 pm
They rewired Gage’s contract, saved a few more mil
March 12th, 2023 at 9:50 pm
Imagine drafting all those CBs and ending up with only one dude who can’t make any impact plays… Carlton
March 12th, 2023 at 10:01 pm
Just watched some old games from 21 and 22 seasons.
The only good decision I can tell that Bloweszo made as head coich, is finally cutting the inept, incompetent, way-over-his-head Jaelyn Dardung.
That dude made the old Dexter Jackson from App State look competent. Never have we seen anyone play so scared on the field. It got to where he would just let the punt hit the ground because he was afraid of fumbling, and of course, getting hit.
Well done, Bloweszo. You made that decision. Too late, but at least you made one .
March 12th, 2023 at 10:32 pm
Goatfarmer, I don’t think anyone would disagree with your opinion on Bowles at this point…
…but I also don’t think anyone wants to see you constantly pointing out the obvious either.
March 12th, 2023 at 10:34 pm
We’re stuck with Bowles whether we like it or not…at least until 2024. Start talking about the players, the cap, the draft…or anything else. You can do it!
March 12th, 2023 at 10:44 pm
ElioT Says:
March 12th, 2023 at 9:50 pm
Imagine drafting all those CBs and ending up with only one dude who can’t make any impact plays… Carlton
Completely shutting down the likes of Jamarr Chase isn’t nothing
March 13th, 2023 at 12:46 am
Trask holds the clipboard better and better every year. How’s that?!
March 13th, 2023 at 12:48 am
Truly I slipped way into the negative again. Positive takes from now on.
March 13th, 2023 at 1:49 am
Don’t overpay for a left-over QB like Mayfield and we might be able to afford keeping at least 2 of the 3 corners
March 13th, 2023 at 12:10 pm
Smb had a good playoff run when we won the sb. Other than that he’s done nothing special. McCollum either needs to stand on his feet this year or be replaced.
March 13th, 2023 at 2:32 pm
I would love to see a stat at how many balls SMB has actually batted down vs how many completions have been made against him and where that stacks up against other starting CBs. He has had a few flash games but I suspect he has been victimized much more.