“Close To 40” Valuable Free Agents
March 6th, 2016
Clinton McDonald represents hope that Jason Licht can win in March free agency.
It’s free agency week in the NFL! Joe has the refrigerator stocked with beer, and Hooters and Delco’s are on speed dial for essential nourishment.
Your beloved Bucs will have more than $50 million to work with, if they choose to frolic in the sandbox of hope.
Former Jets personnel guru and linebackers coach, Pat Kirwan of SiriusXM NFL Radio, one of the great NFL minds working in media today, talked last week about how free agency can be a boon. Teams with cash can and should not only dabble, he said, but they can cut dead weight and take cap hits comfortably. For example, think of the way the Bucs paid Michael “Ghost” Johnson more than $10 million to leave town last year.
In the audio below, Kirwan talks about how “close to 40 guys” on the street this week will be better than starters at their position on another roster.
It’s a steady theme of Kirwan’s.
Translation: pick the right freakin’ guys.
March 6th, 2016 at 5:23 pm
Licht has to pick up 4 to 5 quality free agents with 3 being starting caliber. Good teams have to win in all phases free agency, draft and game days….
March 6th, 2016 at 5:26 pm
Well Joe..this girl too will have ears and eyes open all week..since I own my own business, I work out of my home office..which is NOT in usual girly colours, such as pink and and frilly..but Red and Pewter and all Bucs memorabilia on my walls..
That being said..will make a run to Publix and stack up on food, MT Dew..and sleeping pills..
BIG WEEK!
Hope Joe has some really good threads on who we signed up…
March 6th, 2016 at 5:27 pm
We have enough cap space to improve at all of the following positions….
DE, CB, S, LB, WR, FB………that’s 6 positions at 6m average each….leaving about 17 mil for Martin…..rookies and some other minor tweaks.
March 6th, 2016 at 5:42 pm
If you like Delco’s you should try Lenny’s on Kennedy near Dale Mabry. I recommend their Italian sub.
March 6th, 2016 at 5:49 pm
Hope? I hope they stay out of the arena they are TERRIBLE participating in….McCown, Collins, Carter, Verner, Johnson, Myers, English, Wright, should I stop yet or keep going? Conte, Jenkins, Johnson (this one is George, the other was Michael). I know the Johnson thing can be confusing when you have multiple misses. This crew is the worst free agency front office ever! Maybe its good Robinson left for Tennessee? Don’t go blaming Lovie for all of this, if you do then time to apologize to Bruce Allen and Mark Dominik
March 6th, 2016 at 6:35 pm
I’m glad we have this cap space available, however we have spent big on free agency and have been disappointed every year. We need to continue to draft well in order to rise up beyond mediocrity. Find a few veterans here and there to fill gaps and front load their garunteed money. But the key to long term success is through successful drafts and the continued development of our franchise QB.
March 6th, 2016 at 7:07 pm
I was very high on this org when lovie was fired. But the debacle, cluelessness and idiocy of not resigning martin and showing little interest in other free agents is getting me very worried
March 6th, 2016 at 7:12 pm
be prepared to be disappointed!
March 6th, 2016 at 7:20 pm
@ I K WHY
If lovie didn’t study the tape and decide to replace: Glennon with Mccown.
Jonathan Banks with Mike Jenkins,Zutah with Evan Smith.Bring in Wright and Melton from Chicago. Let Donald penn go most of this mess would have been a distant memory instead of a canker sore.Lovie was a poor judge of talent he proved it with (all his ex Chicago players (with the possible exception of Conte) .
Further proof is his blind love for Toast Jenkins.Tim Jennings was brought in because he fit lovies System.
March 6th, 2016 at 7:23 pm
DB55 Says:
If you like Delco’s you should try Lenny’s on Kennedy near Dale Mabry. I recommend their Italian sub.
———————–
If I dint just quaff down a Sonny Corleone portion of Biff’s meatballs, ziti and gravy, Id hate you for talking Italian subs right now.
March 6th, 2016 at 7:27 pm
BTW,, Valrico Bob should win a chili dog with that truth squad post.
March 6th, 2016 at 7:28 pm
Majority of our needs are on defense as we’ve all seen. We have money to improve there by bringing some quality FAs aboard, and we have a highly-experienced DC named Mike Smith who knows what to look for. No question in my mind that Jason Licht will do his best to get him what he needs to build a quality defense. If we can add some top talent in free agency, the draft will be much, much easier. The dinner bell hasn’t even rung yet … we all need to be patient for a bit. And that includes with Doug Martin’s contract … he’ll end up a Buccaneer at a fair contract to all.
March 6th, 2016 at 7:32 pm
Schiano a rookie NFL coach got far better play out of Banks and Verner.
Lovie got far worse play out his hand picked replacements than Schiano and he won half the games.
March 6th, 2016 at 7:38 pm
Gruden and lovie were much the same in that they wanted to spend all the cap money available. Both left us with a lot of players that were stiffs.
March 6th, 2016 at 7:56 pm
Our fans complain when we spend to much on players and complain when we don’t, ah it’s a Bucs life. Screw the high priced free agents, we need good quality fair priced depth and capable starters out of free agency and we need to keep drafting well. Screw Doug Martin, clearly he’s just in it for the money, Jason Licht see’s that as well. Let him walk.
March 6th, 2016 at 7:58 pm
Quit crying already, the dude had to miserable years and two good years. Odds are next year he will suck, I for one don’t want to have 8 mill tied up in a soon to be 30yo running back.
March 6th, 2016 at 8:27 pm
“Sandbox of hope” ????
That’s funny, as it’s more like the sandbox of despair most of the time, and not just for the Bucs. The first wave of free agency is where 90% of the NFL’s personnel mistakes take place. It’s fun to speculate and hope we pull an Olivier Vernon, maybe, but I’d be happy with a few mid-level starters with paychecks that more accurately reflect their contribution.
March 6th, 2016 at 8:53 pm
Joe,
I used to live in walking distance from the Delco’s in Dunedin. Is this the Declos you speak of?
Thanks…I just ate dinner and now I’m yearning for a magical cheese steak. Oh..did I mention I moved to ATl two years ago???
FML
March 6th, 2016 at 8:55 pm
Be careful in the sandbox, this is Florida where sandspurs are king. Talk about trying to remove just one is not easy if you can’t get a tweezer on them. So stay away from sandspurs in acquisitions.
March 6th, 2016 at 9:17 pm
Mediocre doesn’t motivate.
For several off seasons now, we have brought in marginal players thinking we can coach them up because somehow the osmosis of them having been on a winning team is supposed to inspire our quiet thunder leadership. That doesn’t work!
Premium, outspoken leaders with a proven work ethic.
We don’t need someone who was great 3 years ago or coming off a major injury.
The draft should be like a candy shop where we can salivate over the bpa, not walk into with our tongues hanging out of our mouths and looking emaciated wondering what could have been.
March 6th, 2016 at 9:54 pm
Biff
👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽
March 6th, 2016 at 10:25 pm
I am the best Kinect One Sports Bowler Ever!!!…………..Wait……..
Um………..sorry
March 6th, 2016 at 10:50 pm
Jolly Bucs Fan Says:
March 6th, 2016 at 7:07 pm
Little premature on the conclusions there, dontcha think? Doug Martin could very well still be signed, and what do we really know about there interest in other free agents yet. I mean, this is why Bucs fans are always miserable. Jumping to conclusions too quickly. I’m optimistic. I see big improvements ahead.
March 6th, 2016 at 11:00 pm
Other than Vernon, there arent many fa im inter
March 6th, 2016 at 11:08 pm
Interested in. Looking at who’s available, very few names jump out and say gamechanger. But I would be thrilled if we can grab Oliver vernon, but im not big on Johnson, Pierre. Williams maybe, but I have a hard time beleiving rex ruined him, and if h
March 6th, 2016 at 11:15 pm
RHe did, that still dosent justify him quitting on his team and fans. In short im cool if we lay low and focus on the draft. Good coaching>big spending, as evidenced by Lovie and Schiano the past four off seasons.
March 7th, 2016 at 12:53 am
Ok enough, time to go shopping, we are about to embark on a shopping spree, maybe we get outbid, maybe we spend too much, either way this is how we spend our offseason lol
March 7th, 2016 at 3:05 am
How can anyone say there not big on Charles Johnson or Jason Pierre-Paul? Does that mean you are content with Jacquies Smith, William Gholston, George Johnson and Howard Jones? I actually like Gholston and Smith as rotational players. It would be huge if we could land JPP but Johnson, Williams, Olivier Vernon, Robert Ayers or William Hayes would help us over the next two years especially with so many other holes to fill. I just hope we don’t ignore CB and Safety which to me is a bigger priority. We should go all in on CB Sean Smith and SS Walter Thurmond. Then we draft Ezekiel Elliott at nine and Vernon Butler in round two. Round thee WR Tyler Boyd and in round four my killwe pick CB Cyrus Jones. He is an excellent kick returner as well as CB.
March 7th, 2016 at 12:33 pm
Stay away from Charles Johnson he’s consistently injured and Mario Williams I’m sure will want too much and he’s on the backside of his career. After all the swings and misses in fa it has been strong drafts of late that have kept this team afloat.. Look at Green bay Seattle New England you know the contenders.. They rarely use the avenue of fa but yes when they do they hit however it’s all about draft and develop