Russell Gage Cut
March 11th, 2024
He’s gone, too.
To the surprise of no one, wide receiver Russell Gage is a former Bucs receiver.
Greg Auman of FOX Sports broke this news.
Gage was acquired with a fat free agent contrat before the 2022 season to replace Hall of Fame headcase and insanely talented Antonio Brown. Instead, he reminded folks more of Hurt Emanuel than Brown sans Brown’s antics. Gage wasn’t bad when he made it on the field healthy. His problem was staying on the field. Gage blew out a hamstring in OTAs in 2022 and never fully recovered.
Last year in training camp, Gage told Joe that he never was 100 percent healthy after suffering the hamstring from hell. And he was beyond frustrated because he was almost always healthy when he played for the Dixie Chicks.
Then in an August controlled scrimmage against the Jets right in front of Joe, Gage blew out his knee. That was the last time Gage wore any Bucs equipment.
March 11th, 2024 at 6:32 pm
It just didn’t work out. Injuries derailed his potential.
March 11th, 2024 at 6:33 pm
If he was healthy, he was worth keeping for the $6m in free cap space, because that’s all you get back. The Bucs badly need a 3rd WR, and you’re not getting one as good as Gage for that money – but again, health is the big concern there.
March 11th, 2024 at 6:39 pm
Palmer came in good late last year n should continue to develop liked Moore also he showed he can play. No loss here
March 11th, 2024 at 6:39 pm
Between Gage and Davis maybe we can get an edge rusher or left guard.
March 11th, 2024 at 6:42 pm
i would not be surprised if he gets a 2nd shot in atlanta with cousins…….he was really good in atlanta
March 11th, 2024 at 6:45 pm
His career is OVER! Turn the page
March 11th, 2024 at 6:45 pm
It’s a bummer this guy didn’t work out.
The Bucs really got screwed by injuries the past few seasons –
– Jenson
– Gage
– Shaq Barrett
Huge waste of salary cap invested with little to no return on investment.
March 11th, 2024 at 6:48 pm
No brainer here.
March 11th, 2024 at 6:51 pm
Gage was brought in because he wasn’t much of an injury risk, and Evans and in particular Godwin kept getting injured – and he could have been a spot starter without killing you. Just go look at the Packers game in ’22 – he played that game injured, and there was no one else the Packers needed to defend, and Gage still had a huge day.
But just bad luck, he got injured, kept getting injured. If healthy I was hoping they’d just keep him, since, again, if OTC is correct, you’re only freeing up $6m – and if people haven’t noticed, WR’s have gotten super expensive.
But perhaps he’s not 100% or they don’t think he’ll be 100% – but his injuries were fluky, and he’s not the kind of guy (build/speed) that should get injured a lot.
Oh well.
March 11th, 2024 at 6:52 pm
Just added $12m in cap space in the last fifteen minutes. Can we please sign LVD and Whitehead?
March 11th, 2024 at 6:52 pm
I really never understood the Gage signing, other than Tom Brady wanting the Bucs to sign hm. That was $10 mil or so a year taken away from the pass rush. They probably had high hopes for JTS at the time.
March 11th, 2024 at 7:00 pm
Joe in Michigan – Christian Kirk got $20m… that’s why Gage cost $10m. WR’s are very expensive, its the market.
March 11th, 2024 at 7:10 pm
This was inevitable given the Bucs’ salary CAP situation and Gage’s contract numbers. Still, there’s always the possibility that the Bucs will bring him back at a much-reduced contract (maybe with incentives if he can stay healthy).
Just noticed also that the Packers signed RB Josh Jacobs & parted ways with RB Aaron Jones. Their bull, AJ Dillon, is a UFA and might not be re-signed now that they have Jacobs. Dillon would be a great addition to the Bucs stable of RBs IMO (really wanted us to draft him back in 2020 but the Pack got to him first). Spotrac gave Dillon a Market Value of $3.6 mil, very comparable to what they gave to RB Gus ‘The Bus’ Edwards (who just signed a 2-year deal with the Chargers).
March 11th, 2024 at 7:12 pm
Marine Buc … ‘Huge waste of salary cap invested with little to no return on investment’.
That’s the gamble you take when you sign these guys to the big bucks contracts. We were snake-bit for sure.
March 11th, 2024 at 7:14 pm
I know we have a Ring of Honor…..
But if we had a Ring of Dishonor…….
March 11th, 2024 at 7:35 pm
CTBucs Says:
March 11th, 2024 at 6:52 pm
Just added $12m in cap space in the last fifteen minutes. Can we please sign LVD and Whitehead?
đź‘Ť đź‘Ť agreed 100%
March 11th, 2024 at 7:44 pm
It is a shame he was never healthy because he could’ve been a great third receiver but they wanted him in slot and Godwin on the outside.
I think they’re better with Evans & Palmer on the outside and Godwin in the slot.
March 11th, 2024 at 8:07 pm
Need cap space. Palmer is ready.
March 11th, 2024 at 8:08 pm
Said it Before, There was no way he was going to be back, Bucs get back 10 million in cap space for 2024+2025 with this move. Is Gage worth minus 10 million in cap flexibility over the next two years, the answer is no. I hope he gets a prove it contract somewhere and recovers but its an upfield battle for him.
March 11th, 2024 at 8:30 pm
Finally! NFL when your hurt unfortunately we gave him way to much. Palmer is da man!!
March 11th, 2024 at 8:57 pm
What do you guys think about drafting mccafrey at wr?
March 11th, 2024 at 9:15 pm
DR. The Packers did sign Jacobs… and X. Mckinney. They probably will sign another safety and RB. If that happens, I’d expect them to draft a DE or CB. Like Dillion, but when given the chance to play the number 1, he couldn’t do it. He has no elusiveness. So he would be a situational. Jones is definitely a number one, but is subject to injury. It may cost far more than the Bucs are willing to pay, though.
March 11th, 2024 at 9:39 pm
mark2001 … ‘Like Dillon, but when given the chance to play the number 1, he couldn’t do it. He has no elusiveness. So he would be a situational.’
I see Rachaad being our #1, Dillon being a ‘situational’ #2, and Edmonds being our change-of-pace #3. Dillon at 6′ & 247 lbs racked up a 4.1 YPC average with the Packers, and I’m sure that many of his runs were in short-yardage situations against stacked DLines. We missed out on a lot of TDs last year IMO because we didn’t have that short-yardage beast to punch it in.
March 11th, 2024 at 10:47 pm
This guy was a modern day Bert Emmanuel with a dash of Alvin Harper topped with Michael Clayton and a side of Arrelious Benn