Will The Bucs Show Adam Humphries Respect?
March 9th, 2018
One way to build a winning culture is to reward the players who fit your ideal mold and to immediately dump the players who don’t — if you made a mistake putting them on the roster in the first place.
Receiver/returner Adam Humphries (Rudy!) is a restricted free agent, and it’s up to the Bucs to either sign him to a new contract by Wednesday, or slap a one-year tender on him and see if another team is willing to give Humphries a better offer sheet for the Bucs to match.
Yeah, the NFL is a business, but if the Bucs truly respect Humphries’ 143 catches, durability and work ethic over the past three years, plus the consistent praise he’s gotten from Jameis Winston, then they’ll put a second-round tender on him. That would mean he’d earn about $3 million this season and another team, if they beat that price and signed Humphries, would have to cough up a second-round draft pick to the Bucs.
Reality says that’s too big a price for Humphries. That’s overpaying.
The Bucs could probably get away with sticking him with a no-draft-pick tender, which would pay him just under $2 million to return. But why risk it, and why not make a statement that the Bucs will reward those who work consistently hard and succeed?
The Bucs aren’t drafting a wide receiver this year, and Humphries is an important contributor who worked himself up from undrafted tryout player with limited talent, a stunning overachiever.
Pay the man. Pay Cameron Brate. Pay Kwon Alexander — three young players you want shaping the pulse of your team.
March 9th, 2018 at 6:40 am
Paytge man already. Hard working receiver who is a first in the building last one out type of guy. King of the Koetter bubble screens.
March 9th, 2018 at 6:58 am
I’ve got no problem with this. We need guys like Hump. He is replaceable though, lets not get too enamored. It’s not like he’s burning up scoreboards.
March 9th, 2018 at 7:03 am
Better to just go ahead and sign Hump to a 3 year deal in the $2-$3M per range.
Seeing if anyone wants to bite on that 2nd rd tender is tempting though.
Would be awesome to get a 2nd round pick out of Humphries considering we got him for free as a UDFA and are set at 1,2 and 3 spots for WR currently.
March 9th, 2018 at 7:06 am
Pay them. Continuity.
March 9th, 2018 at 7:19 am
Replace him please, very limited player. Should be our 5th option if anything.
March 9th, 2018 at 7:20 am
Only on the Bucs does this guy get so much playing time. Maybe the Patriots, Brady might like his skill set better than Jameis.
March 9th, 2018 at 7:24 am
Trade Hump, move D Jax to the slot, Godwin, Evans outside. Trade Brate, spent a first rounder on a T.E. last year, still have a good prospect in Auclaire. New England could be a trade partner for either. If you can get a second, and third round pick for these two you could fill many of the holes this team has at a cheap price. Keeping Brate, and Hump is a luxury this team can’t afford. We have more then capable replacements for them on the team already, but little talent, or depth where it really counts along both the offensive, and defensive lines. There are some good D tackles, and guard centers that can be had with those extra picks in this draft. Injecting some talent in the lines will give us a better chance at winning then a slot receiver, and a tight end will.
March 9th, 2018 at 7:38 am
I think the right time like the Panthers or saints would jump all over him.hes good enough to be WR #2 on some teams and those teams would jump at the chance to sign him.
March 9th, 2018 at 7:40 am
Get rid of Hump ?
Id get rid of Coach Smith first, at least Humphries actually does contribute something to this team.
March 9th, 2018 at 7:40 am
Licht is so clueless he probably does not know who Adam Humphries is or what position he plays.
March 9th, 2018 at 7:57 am
“143 catches in 3 seasons” spending a lot of that time either as our #2 receiver or in the slot. Less than 50 catches a year in that type of role is mediocre, especially considering the lack of targets around him until last year. Honestly, 3-4 million a year sounds a little rich for my taste on a guy that we shouldn’t be trying to feature on offense.
March 9th, 2018 at 8:00 am
Great teams make bold moves…..the bold move is save the money and bring up “Bobo”. Humphries is a great feel good story but we have more WR options then Winston could ever dream of. His production and consistency fell off a bit last year and there’s simply not enough balls to go around. Frankly i would rather see Desean catching those screen passes, he has the ability to take it long on every touch. Humphries makes a few folks miss but his top end speed is nothing special. Again, good find but we need the few million to add impact players at other positions and there’s plenty of options already on the roster that can replicate what Humphries brings to the table.
March 9th, 2018 at 8:08 am
Hump could barely make any other team in nfl. only bucfans fall in love with medocrity. he should never see the field as a receiver.
March 9th, 2018 at 8:09 am
I will give hump credit he is good at the 9 years catch and fall
March 9th, 2018 at 8:15 am
Yet he leads the team in YAC…
March 9th, 2018 at 8:18 am
Hump is an ok player, but what kind of a “winning culture” do we have assembled here?
We need a pass rush in the worst way, but our GM was unable to acquire Robert Quinn, and unwilling to make an offer for Calais Campbell… We passed on Michael Bennett.. And, to top it all off two stud CBs were traded for pennies on the dollar, and we decided to sit that one out too. To me, that says Licht believes in VH3, and as the #11 overall pick he needs to quickly get better.
I am ok with resigning Hump, but we have won squat without him. The only play that sticks out for me was last year when he fumbled a PR at the end of the game, which sealed a loss..
I am most concerned with our poor defense. We need to get better all the way around, and I just can’t fathom why we decided to not trade for any of the 4 studs traded this offseason, especially when it is known that Calais Campbell received zero interest from our brain trust. I am “ok” with our non-moves, as long as we can achieve the results needed to make a playoff appearance… If our season is disappointing and we finish in last place (again), then I will point to the non-moves for: Rob Quinn, Marcus Peters, Mike Bennett, Aqiib Talib, and last year’s Calais Campbell as the catalyst..
If we overpay FA defensive linemen this year, it will further point out the MISTAKE of not pursuing Campbell or closing the deal on Rob Quinn… We are not in a position to bargain, or let the market fall to us. We are firmly planted in the basement of the NFC S. Our other 3 division rivals are all coming off playoffs last year, which makes our task more daunting and further shows we need to be bold.
I remain hopeful we have the opportunity to draft one of Brad Chubb, Saquon Barkley, or Quentin Nelson. If not, please trade back. Minkah looks like a fine player, but a S in the 1st round from Alabama smells like another underachieving Mark Barron…
If we are stuck with the pick and those three are off the board, then we better take Vita Vea.
If we “reach” bc of the inactivity Licht has shown to close a trade this off season, it will further piss off fans.
I am faithful, but I need to see these jokers make some changes for the betterment of our team.
March 9th, 2018 at 8:18 am
I like Humphries….but I wouldn’t pay $3mil for his services……lets offer him $2 and give the rest to the lounge singer.
March 9th, 2018 at 8:35 am
I completely agree Joe.
I think the Bucs are foolish to not wrap up some of their young talent long term.
March 9th, 2018 at 8:40 am
Yeah weve seen what low balling will do over the last week. I could see the Patsies swooping in and grabbing hin if they dont put a high tender on him. He would probably be the next super bowl hero pats wr. He does his job. Pay him.
March 9th, 2018 at 9:01 am
Anyone who says trade hump and he isn’t worth 3 million are crazy! I remember on more than one occasion this man showed up to play when the so called star receivers didn’t. He’s a clutch guy and comes through 90% of the time. He’s not flashy but he’s consistent. And his yac ain’t too shabby either. He’s also probably the hardest if not the hardest worker on the team. If your team is getting crap for weak practices and players not playing to their 6 potential then why in the world would you want to get rid of a great example of how it should be done like hump. And most importantly he’s Winston’s security blanket along with Brats. Why would you take that away from your young franchise quarterback? Makes no sense. Pay the man his due and give him what he’s earned.
March 9th, 2018 at 9:08 am
Who cares. They’ll suck with him or suck without him.
Either way 2018 will be a big pile of suck.
March 9th, 2018 at 9:08 am
Humpty would probably be a 50 catch, 750 yard receiver on the Pats….was thinking the same thing Darin…
March 9th, 2018 at 9:15 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jUBbCgMWmE
March 9th, 2018 at 9:49 am
Humphries has three career touchdowns, enough said. He’d be great in N.E., we’ll take their third round pick for him, thank you very much. Gronk might retire. We’ll take your second, third, and swoop 6ths for both of them.
March 9th, 2018 at 10:00 am
I am not so sure keeping him at that money is worth it. we need to get Godwin in the game more often than Humph.He will end up at New England or Saints.
March 9th, 2018 at 10:28 am
This is silliness … pay the man. DJax will be gone in 2019 more than likely, and Bucs will have 3 primary WRs … ME13 & Godwin outside and Hump in the slot. We’ve got enough other problems to choke a horse. Why screw up what’s not a problem? Hold onto Humphries & Brate.
March 9th, 2018 at 11:56 am
The Bucs started to finally play well late in the season when they focused on Brate & Humphries and less on Djax. Humphries is a great YAC receiver. Trade Djax for the DL.
March 9th, 2018 at 12:09 pm
the patriots love and respect julian edelman, as does tom brady. and yet they squeeze him every year because they know his value is heavily tied to his chemistry with his QB. Jameis is not Brady, but it’s hard to imagine another QB looking for him as often as Jameis does unless they are totally barren of talent like the 2015 bucs were behind mike evans
March 9th, 2018 at 12:26 pm
Waste of money if you ask me. He is the definition of average. Doesn’t excel at anything but hey we drafted him so let’s dump our cash in a position we have 3 studs for to begin with. So so stupid. This is the type of guy we trade to get something of value to trade in a draft pick scenario. He’s like a scoop of ice cream to go with the cake we really want.
March 9th, 2018 at 12:39 pm
Defense Rules
the goal is to win games and get more talented each year not collect a bunch of average players. hump will never be more than a number 5 he is NOT a slot receiver just a slow possession receiver with no upside.
March 9th, 2018 at 1:22 pm
Hump literally costs the Bucs a game last year (Buffalo) that probably changed the course of the entire season. He’s a good #4 WR, if he can stay back near the line and play against LBs and 3rd strong safeties he can be productive – and he’s OK at being a #3 WR but can’t get open against against anything close to starting corners. He should get 2nd round protection and the Bucs should do backflips if someone actually wanted him. Not saying to get rid of the guy – just saying he’s not in the top 3 of the depth chart and I very much doubt he gets a second contract.
March 9th, 2018 at 2:10 pm
Godwin is way better!
March 9th, 2018 at 3:21 pm
This is my same argument against Sims. Are they respectable? Yes, but I’d rather have Brate, OJ80, D-Jax, Godwin and Evans on the field rather than Brate, Sims (Split wide) Humphries, D-Jax and Evans
We saw way more of the latter. Not sure we ever saw the former
March 9th, 2018 at 3:51 pm
A lot of folks (like tmaxcon) undervalue what Adam Humphries has contributed to the Bucs in his 3 yrs here. First yr (2015) was pretty good for a rookie, but he’s improved a lot in 2016 & 2017. Led Bucs in YAC for those 2 yrs (553 YAC total) & contributed 61 1st downs (made 1st downs on over half of his catches). Averaging right at 70% catch % which is excellent considering that he’s catching in traffic mostly. Also averaging 10.5 yds/catch & has accumulated over 600 yds receiving these past 2 yrs. To say that “Hump will never be more than a number 5 he is NOT a slot receiver just a slow possession receiver with no upside” is hogwash. Not much different than most of your other opinions of Bucs’ players tmaxcon.
March 9th, 2018 at 7:11 pm
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ What Defense just said in Spades!
March 9th, 2018 at 7:47 pm
It’s time to move on from Humphreys. He’s a special teams performer at best on this team. I like the plan as they are attempting to get the most out of this roster. We have Godwin and Djax although im for trading him as well the guy deserves to be elsewhere winning at this point. I still say Djax may end up in Oakland but Hump is gonna be obtain by someone else if they dangle that second round pick on him. I say Brate may be gone as well for a second or third round pick which would be right on time. We are not gonna always have $73 mil in cap space real soon. Just signed Evans today and I like I said he was getting $15-$20 mil and he inked for $18 mil. Now we should definitely let Brate and Hump go for some kind of value. I can see us getting the Raiders first round pick for Jackson though and I think Richard Sherman will go there as well after his release. If we trade Jackson we need to draft Ridley at #7 find a way to get back in the first and draft Derwin James. Use a second on Nick Chubb and get back in the second round and draft Josh Sweat to be that speedy edge rusher. No need to draft on the oline though I do feel a coaching change at that position wouldn’t hurt this offseason though. They brought Dotson back and can’t get rid of Sweezy so we looking stuck on that end this season unless we get lucky in that draft plan and find a pair of o lineman late in the draft. One in the third and another maybe in the fourth. With Conte coming back we could have some flexibility for training camp before he inevitably becomes meat.
March 9th, 2018 at 8:07 pm
Is this the same front office who held on to Glennon instead of get value for him?
March 9th, 2018 at 9:50 pm
Defense Rules – He’s better than a #5, he’s a #4, just with no real upside, at least not in the offense the Bucs run. Of course he could go to the Pats and in that offense which requires guys with good quickness he could put up some numbers, but in a deep ball offense like the Bucs run, that require speed or size, he has neither. Running routes underneath and screens is what he provides and he does a good job at it, but when he’s #3, or God forbid #2, we already know what that abortion looks like, and it’s very very very ugly. The Bucs will keep him this year, but after that someone will likely pay him quite a bit, and I doubt it’s the Bucs.