Xavien Howard Highlights Bucs Conundrum
February 26th, 2024
Contract year for Carlton Davis.
So one of the game’s great cornerbacks was cut this week.
That’s Xavien Howard, the four-time Pro Bowler formerly of the Dolphins. He was just too expensive. The Dolphins no longer wanted two massively paid cornerbacks. They’ll stick with seven-time Pro Bowler corner Jalen Ramsey.
Miami does not have a highly paid safety.
Enter the Bucs. They’ve got big contracts in place for cornerbacks Carlton Davis and Jamel Dean, eight figures a year for each without a Pro Bowl to their names. And now they want to pay Antoine Winfield Jr. $17 million-plus per season.
Joe is very confident that potential reality would give the Bucs the highest paid defensive backfield in the game.
Is that a good idea? Joe wrote about this previously but Howard getting launched brings the question back into focus.
Sure, going that route won’t kill the Bucs for a year. Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht easily could move off the Dean contract following the 2024 season and Davis would be a free agent. But the thought of that kind of investment outside the defensive trenches makes Joe a little queasy.
Bucs head coach Todd Bowles has such a great track record of developing defensive backs. It feels like the Bucs don’t need that kind of cash invested in that area.
Still, as Joe has written, Joe can’t blame the Bucs for drafting quality Super Bowl pieces and keeping them.
February 27th, 2024 at 12:15 am
Cooper Dejean…. S/CB/Returner, but probably wont be there at 26…sure would be nice though.
February 27th, 2024 at 12:30 am
Think Bucs will stick with what they have with both Davis and Dean this season.
^^mtn^^
since ’76
February 27th, 2024 at 1:07 am
I think the Bucs stick with Dean and Davis as well.
They will both have better seasons with an added pass rusher.
Xavier Worthy has interesting tape.
Not round 1 but round 2 IMO.
He returns punts as well.
You could replace Mikes height with Johnny Wilson in the 3rd or 4th.
Dude is 6’7”.
February 27th, 2024 at 2:17 am
No pro bowls, few pass break ups, even fewer picks… to go along with plenty of injuries and missed games. You can just look at the cap spent in the backfield and the rankings and it’s clear something isn’t right. At around $50M in cap space between the 3 (including AWJ) next year, teams should dread passing against us. Anyone who has watched the Bucs the last two seasons knows that is far from the case. While I honestly don’t think either CB has EVER been worth the contracts they’re on, it really makes it hard to say with the scheme bowles has been having them play. They’re both press man CBs being made to play charmin soft bowles zone (did I mention we have ZERO pass rush?). The reasons for that escape everyone. As I’ve said before, it looks like our defensive game plan is to allow the receiver catch the ball, then tackle him with limited YAC (which is a funny plan since CDIII would rather cut off a finger than make a tackle). So passive, just like you know who. Hard to defend passes or get a pick when you START the play 10 yards off the receiver and STILL immediately backpedal, even on 3rd and 6. What a mess. I’d like to see us get rid of Carlton before this season, and Dean the next if he can’t stay healthy and improve. If these guys are such studs, why is there never any mention of a trade market for them? Maybe another coach would let them play to their strengths.
February 27th, 2024 at 3:58 am
Trade one of the CBs and draft their replacement with the pick. What could we get? 2nd or 3rd rd pick maybe.
February 27th, 2024 at 4:57 am
Bucs pretty much have to keep Davis and Dean this year because of their contracts, can kicking, etc….
Both are good to very good CBs who had down years in 2023 – somewhat due to lack of consistent pass rush IMO…..
Bucs need to use one high (rds 1>3) draft pick this year and one next year on CBs in order to safely replace these stone handed, overpriced guys we have now.
And can we PLEASE make sure their replacements are able to hold onto footballs that hit them in the chest? We need ballhawks back there to pair with McCollum and Winfield Jr..
Which is why (despite all the talk of an expensive defensive backfield) the Bucs should find the $5Mish per to bring back Jordan Whitehead this year.
February 27th, 2024 at 5:16 am
Pickgrin … Agree that they’ll probably have to keep both Davis & Dean this year because of their contracts, but wouldn’t mind moving on from Davis right now anyways. His CAP Hit right now is $20.4 mil, and his Dead CAP is $14.1 mil. He has VOID YEARS spread from 2025-2027, and we could pretty much clean up that by releasing him now.
SMB’s a free agent, and I’d like to see us bring him back. I expect McCollum to make strides this season, and possibly be ready to assume a starter’s role in the Secondary. Draft 1 CB like you said, bring back Delaney and we should be pretty well set back there. I loved Whitehead, but not sure the Bucs would be willing to shell out $5 mil to get him back.
February 27th, 2024 at 6:35 am
My guess with another season under his belt Zion will be the best DB we have out there next season.
February 27th, 2024 at 6:56 am
Winfield more like 19 plus!
February 27th, 2024 at 7:21 am
We haven’t spent our top pick on skill positions
Our last top picks 5 of 7 have been defense…….3 dline and 2 LBs
We need to replace some high salaries with draft picks and soon.
February 27th, 2024 at 7:48 am
The 49rs have made themselves perennial contenders by repeatedly drafting the trenches. It’s a winning formula. As the salary cap increases, the contracts in the defensive backfield will become less and less of a problem.
February 27th, 2024 at 7:57 am
@ Bucs guy ……….. you couldn’t trade either one of
them for a 7 th !! The cap hit doesn’t come close to
The performance ……….. Licht does some good things but he
doesn’t have a knack for trading players and getting
Value for the team ………… He is kinda one dementional
As a GM …… evaluates certain positions well and resigns
players but can’t get rid of players and collect value …….
D White , Dean or Davis ……….. Bunting should still be on the team
Cap hit of 6 mil vs Davis or Dean ,,,, could hv kept Edwards also .
Sign Winfield , trade Winfield …… resign Bunting , Sheldon Rankiins , A TE
Or Safety in F Agency ……. Draft a Te , Center and Safety …….. Remember
The Bucs won a Super Bowl with a very low qb cap hit ….. Lichts does some good things but is flat out terrible at others …… D White should have been gone
Two years ago …… that’s a HUGE HUGE blunder !!
February 27th, 2024 at 8:23 am
The trenches matter more
February 27th, 2024 at 8:40 am
TBBF … ‘We need to replace some high salaries with draft picks and soon’.
No question about that. Every year we end up having to dole out big bucks to keep several players. This year there are at least 5 of our own UFAs we’re hoping to keep in the fold. SHOULD be 1 or 2 more than that actually, since it’s always a good idea to ‘fix’ major holes (like pass rush?) by adding a quality FA or 2 from other teams.
Top-3 rounds of the draft are critical IMO. If you look at the last 5 years (since 2019 when Arians & Bowles arrived) you can see some interesting trends in those Top-3 Rnds:
o 2023: 2 defense (Kancey & Diaby); 1 offense (Mauch)
o 2022: 1 defense (Hall); 2 offense (Goedeke & White)
o 2021: 1 defense (JTS); 2 offense (Trask & Hainsey)
o 2020: 1 defense (Winfield); 2 offense (Wirfs & Vaughn)
o 2019: 4 defense (White, SMB, Dean & Edwards)
So over those 5 years Bucs drafted 9 defense & 7 offense in the Top-3 Rounds, with 2019 being an anomaly (4 defense to 0 offense). The offense guys have for the most part become starters (5 of the 7). The defense guys have a number of question marks amongst them (Hall, JTS & only 1 of the 2019 class still remains as a Buc). It’ll be interesting to see how the Bucs draft this year.
February 27th, 2024 at 8:42 am
They overpaid for cornerback. That was obvious at the time and is sucking a ton of cash out of their ability to pay for other players that are important in the game.
Todd Bowles was a defensive back, so of course those positions are going to get overpaid by this team.
February 27th, 2024 at 9:31 am
I remember what a bad secondary looks like and it isn’t my money and there is plenty of cap room, so I am not especially bothered
February 27th, 2024 at 10:16 am
3xNFCS Championships and a Super Bowl
Licht has had a great plan. I’m good with however Licht decides to invest the team’s $.
February 27th, 2024 at 12:51 pm
Awful roster building and salary cap allocation by Licht.
Paying two CB’s that much who can’t stay healthy or shut down WR’s or intercept passes is just a bad move. If the Bucs have a insanely overpaid secondary and still get thrown on easily the season will not be pretty at all
February 27th, 2024 at 1:46 pm
I said ‘two-weeks’ ago (when talking about Davis & Dean), that I think the CB position is NOT as highly valued anymore, & is just not worth-it. And, I think teams are also, beginning to see this and will be moving a lot more in that direction. The TOP Teams already have. The ‘top-level’ Receivers are just ‘uncover-able’ nowadays, no matter WHO is opposite them. There are MUCH MORE valued positions & you can cover-up and mask A LOT of your ‘issues’ at CB in lots of other ways, just by scheme/coaching, & a STRONG pass rush, etc. Back when we signed Revis, CB ‘was’ one of THE most important position on the field. Now, it is not. The TOP-5 Positions on a roster in 2024 are QB, LT, Edge, Weapons, & Then MORE WEAPONS. You HAVE TO Get Those Positions Right, FIRST.
February 28th, 2024 at 12:14 am
Eckwood
TE Ja’Taveon Sanders if he’s on the board in the second.
February 28th, 2024 at 1:15 am
Davis shouldn’t have gotten the contract he got last time. The word “overrated” comes to mind. Dean can’t make an interception to save his life. He could’ve saved a victory for the Bucs in the playoff loss to the Lions. Winfield is worth every penny they end up paying him. Find better value in corners through the draft/free agency and use the money on trench hogs.