Russell Gage’s Final Days With The Bucs
February 22nd, 2024
Clock ticking.
To Joe, this is just a matter of when, not if.
Bucs wide receiver Russell Gage (remember him?) is unlikely to ever snap on another chin strap for the Tampa Bay again, unless the Bucs squeeze him for the second offseason in a row to take a massive paycut — or else.
Gage has been a massive disappointment. Signed allegedly to be the No. 3 receiver, Gage was inconsistent when he was on the field. He was always banged up and then last summer he blew out his knee ina scrimmage at the Jets’ training camp.
Brad Spielberger of the PFF tribe also thinks Gage is gone.
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS: WR RUSSELL GAGE
Salary Cap Details: $6,902,668 dead money, $6,448,000 cap savings
Gage was unable to stay healthy during his time in Tampa, and the Buccaneers may have to pay up big time to retain franchise legend Mike Evans. Even if not, rookie Trey Palmer developed into a solid option in the passing game and Tampa Bay will need to reorganize its books with major paydays looming for Baker Mayfield, Antoine Winfield and Tristan Wirfs.
What’s sad about this is Gage blew out his hamstring in OTAs when he first got to the Bucs two springs ago. He told Joe just before he blew out his knee that the hamstring in question never fully healed.
Gage was beyond frustrated as he confessed to Joe that he never had to deal with injuries before coming to Tampa, and he was struggling mentally because of them.
When training camp opened in 2022, Gage was simply destroying the Bucs’ pass defense, so much so that even Bucs coach Todd Bowles exclaimed after a practice, “We can’t stop him.”
Alas, Gage was stopped by his recurring hamstring. And then the next year he blew out his knee.
Seeing how he just toyed with Bowles’ defense in the summer of 2022, Joe can only wonder what might have been for Gage.
February 22nd, 2024 at 9:06 am
Obviously, we can do without him because we already have.
I did think that when he played, he was effective…..seemed to usually be open and made some TD catches.
Wish him well…
February 22nd, 2024 at 9:07 am
Bury your dead, keep moving. Another robber gets away. Nothing to see here.
February 22nd, 2024 at 9:21 am
He’s never had to deal with injuries but comes here and has a chronic hamstring issue? The Bucs seem to have a lot of hamstring issues. They’re the only team I follow closely so I’m wondering if a lot of hamstring issues is normal for a team, or is the training staff lacking in that particular area of expertise?
February 22nd, 2024 at 9:31 am
He gone….
February 22nd, 2024 at 9:56 am
Yeah its a sad one. What could have been without the injury
February 22nd, 2024 at 10:09 am
Meh….can’t miss what you never had.
February 22nd, 2024 at 10:58 am
The Bucs have had some really bad luck with some of these high priced contracts.
– Godwin – $27.5M in 2024 – overpaid
– Jenson – inujred – waste of cap
– Gage – injured – waste of cap
– C. Davis – $20.4M in 2024 – overpaid
– J. Dean – $14.7M in 2024 – overpaid
– V. Vea – $21M in 2024 – overpaid
– A. Nelson – $5.4M in 2024 – overpaid
– S. Barrett – $14M in 2024 – overpaid
This is what is killing the Bucs cap situation. Overpaid under-performing free agents.
I understand that Jenson’s injury was a freak incident but we really should have franchise tagged him instead of giving him that huge contract with all that guaranteed money at his age.
Our GM needs to re-evaluate his process.
February 22nd, 2024 at 11:08 am
Wait, he had a time with the Bucs. I must have missed that game
February 22nd, 2024 at 11:13 am
Most of those people are only making that much on ’24 because of restructuring
February 22nd, 2024 at 11:23 am
I was excited when RG was signed ……….. then he couldn’t stay on the field
……….just a complete flop of a signing……..
February 22nd, 2024 at 11:33 am
@ Beeej
Not really buddy.
When a player restructures a contract – base salary is converted to guaranteed signing bonus money then VOID years are added to the end of the deal in order to create more cap space.
For instance – Godwin has 3 VOID years with @ $18.9M in them…
Vea has one VOID year with $2.3M in it…
Davis has 3 VOID years with $8M in them.
The restructures result in those VOID years being added. The figures I listed are not affected by past restructures at all.
February 22nd, 2024 at 11:38 am
@ Beeej
Shaq Barrett’s deal has already been restructured so much that his $14M includes a $12.5M in guaranteed money but all that money was included within his original deal.
Restructuring can be a temporary fix but it blows up in a GM’s face when injuries occur like with Jenson and Barrett.
February 22nd, 2024 at 12:05 pm
Bucs would save close to 10 million over the next two years by cutting him due to the void years. Can’t think of any reason why they would keep him as his availability has never lived up to the contract.
I do think he is going to need to take a prove it contract somewhere and see how much he has recovered from his injuries before ever getting a big contract again. Going to be an uphill battle for RG.
February 22nd, 2024 at 12:19 pm
Marine Buc.
Visit other teams fan sites. EVERY SINGLE TEAM IN THE LEAGUE HAS THE SAME ISSUES WITH FAs AND SALARY CAP.
Actually, most far worse.
Balancing the salary cap, while keeping your Free agents, is normal off season in the NFL.
Last year being slightly out of the normal, due to the Brady dead money
We were in a panic about Godwin. Davis. Dean. Etc, etc.
Only thing strange, is that noone remembers all their panicked post every other off season.
Its like an episode of the Twilight zone.
February 22nd, 2024 at 12:48 pm
Agree with Capt Tim
Look at Spotrac and the teams way over the cap.
How would you like to be NO right now some $85 Million over the cap?
I commend this management group for what they have done.
Actually probably Top 5 in the very area you are complaining about.
Hindsight is 20/20.
February 22nd, 2024 at 1:10 pm
@ Billy
“I commend this management group for what they have done.”
Well we won a Super Bowl a few seasons ago – so I agree.
However – the contracts I listed are all questionable investments IMO. Keep this word in mind – VALUE…
“How would you like to be NO right now some $85 Million over the cap?”
I spent a few moments looking at the Saints cap situation. I don’t know how they are going to get under the NFL cap figure by March 13th. They made a move today by restructuring their starting center but that only saved @ $7m…
What a mess indeed and they don’t have anything to show for it other than one NFC South title – LOL!
February 22nd, 2024 at 1:22 pm
RG, should have adopted the TB12 way he’s one of those players that works hard and does most things right except take care of his body. Mike Evans has said he really learned how to take care of his body and it really started to show when he went on the TB12 program. RG may learn this, but unfortunately it won’t be with our team. Your best ability is availability.
February 22nd, 2024 at 1:31 pm
Too bad. I thought he showed a lot of heart in 2022.
February 22nd, 2024 at 2:10 pm
BillyBucco … ‘Look at Spotrac and the teams way over the cap.
How would you like to be NO right now some $85 Million over the cap? I commend this management group for what they have done.’
I agree that ‘mortgaging the future’ by using VOID YEARS has become much too common in the NFL. What it really seems to indicate IMO is that teams are paying exorbitant salaries to relatively few players in the hopes of competing. Teams are betting that the players’ past successes will continue. In some instances they do; in many they most surely don’t. Lots of risk involved, especially due to injuries.
Bucs for instance CURRENTLY have $129.7 mil of our $246.3 Adjusted 2024 Salary CAP (52.7%) allocated to just SEVEN players (Godwin, Vea, Davis, Wirfs, Dean, Shaq, Gage). So from the remaining $116.6 mil (47.3%) we’d have to pay the other 46 players who’ll comprise our 53-man roster, PLUS other incidentals like injured players and Practice Squad guys. And included in those ‘other players’ this year are guys like Winfield, Evans, Mayfield, LVD and McLaughlin with supposed Market Values totaling about $80 – $85 mil.
It’s become an impossible situation to manage WITHOUT mortgaging the future it looks like IF you want to be competitive. It also puts a tremendous burden IMO on GMs to DRAFT well AND on coaching staffs to DEVELOP young players. For teams to stay competitive, their youngsters have to produce. The only way I see to get this thing back under control is for NFL teams to get a better handle on the top salaries. They’re out of control right now and it’s hurting various NFL teams’ abilities to successfully compete.
February 22nd, 2024 at 2:20 pm
I’m say it. We keep gage and let mike go. Mike already hit us with 14 mil cap hit. And that’s without him.
February 22nd, 2024 at 2:30 pm
@ DR
Looking at the Saints cap situation – it’s pretty insane.
They are stuck with a bunch of over-paid players who are either injured or elderly. Due to all the restructuring madness their GM has done.
Aging players like –
– Kamara – $18.7M
– C. Jordan – $23.3M
– T. Hill – $15.7M
– M. Thomas – $12.4M
– R. Ramczyk – $27M (has no knee cartilage left)
Plus they are stuck over-paying for a below mediocre QB D. Carr.
February 22nd, 2024 at 2:37 pm
Agroyboy Says:
Mike already hit us with 14 mil cap hit. And that’s without him.
————————————————————————-
It’s a $12.2M DEAD cap hit and doesn’t have anything to do with Evans other than ME accepting lump sum bonus checks for $ that was already part of his contract….
The Bucs did that – pushing $ into future years to gain cap space in previous years….
February 22nd, 2024 at 2:44 pm
Pickgrin … ‘The Bucs did that – pushing $ into future years to gain cap space in previous years’.
Bingo. I know that was the cost of competing in 2020 & 2021 especially when Brady was our QB, but it’s still a reality that the Bucs have to live with in 2024 & beyond.
Strange thing is that ‘kicking the can down the street’ has become a way of life for many (if not most) Americans today. My mama’s words still ring in my head to this day … ‘You made your bed; now you’ve gotta lie in it’. Pretty much where the Bucs are today.
February 22nd, 2024 at 2:59 pm
Marine Buc … The Saints are a textbook case of how NOT to manage a salary CAP. The nail in the coffin IMO was when they signed Derek Carr. His 4-year, $150 mil contract with a $28.5 mil signing bonus AND $100 mil guaranteed will haunt them for years.
Carr’s not a franchise QB yet they paid him like one. And that’s why I really hope the Bucs don’t walk the same road with Baker. At his $27 mil Market Value he’ll keep us competitive as a TEAM for several years I’m convinced. But when folks start talking paying him $35-$40 mil per year that’d take us down the same road that Carr took the Saints down. Hopefully we’re smarter than that.
February 22nd, 2024 at 3:06 pm
@ DR
“Carr’s not a franchise QB yet they paid him like one. And that’s why I really hope the Bucs don’t walk the same road with Baker.”
I agree.
I believe the Bucs are being smart by letting both Baker and Evans test the free agent market.
Evans will probably leave but I bet we sign Baker to a mid-level QB deal.
February 22nd, 2024 at 3:08 pm
The bucs seemed poised to be in the same situation as the saints. Just a few key signatures away. We’ll see.
February 22nd, 2024 at 3:13 pm
WillieG this team does have an unusual amount of hamstring injuries.
February 22nd, 2024 at 3:44 pm
Marine Buc … I’m still HOPEFUL that we get ALL 5 of our top FAs … Winfield, Evans, Mayfield, McLaughlin & LVD … back for 2024 as a minimum. I’d love to see 3-year deals for the first 4, and a 2-year deal for LVD. That’d put us in a better position to weather 2025 (still convinced that’ll be our toughest salary CAP year).
February 22nd, 2024 at 4:15 pm
@ DR
I believe we will get 4 out of those 5 free agents back.
I think Mike Evans is done in Tampa.
That public statement by his agent was the writing on the wall.
I’m thinking Houston or KC are the probable front runners to sign him.
February 22nd, 2024 at 4:19 pm
These postings today were better than usual almost like those haters got finger string pulls hope they don’t recover or at least as long it takes a ham string pull to recover that is usually a 2 year process
February 22nd, 2024 at 6:52 pm
Hey Pull My Finger,
When Mike Evans signs with Houston (or Kansas City) Russell Gage will look good as #2 WR with Chris Godwin. ‘
However, if Baker signs elsewhere Bucs should trade Godwin, cut Gage and draft 2 WR’s to go with interim QB Kyle Trask.
February 22nd, 2024 at 7:03 pm
Very informative, lads. In other words, every team gets forked eventually. At least we got our Super Bowl 55 to show for it.
February 23rd, 2024 at 2:13 am
I’m not sure that Jason does anything with Gage till after he deals with Mike Evans. We have nothing behind Godwin as far as a real proven threat. It costs us nothing to keep him till then, and he may provide us with some value yet, if he can stay healthy. Same with Moore.
Sorry but between Palmer, Thompkins and Jarrett we dont’t have a real threat at WR if Mike moves on. We would then be forced to spend an ultra valueable draft pick at WR. Or gamble some more in the FA market with little money to spend.
Go Bucs