“I Don’t Think He’s Going To Get Done For 16, 17, 18 [Million]”
January 22nd, 2020
In late November on national radio, Bucco Bruce Arians talked about how a guy getting 16 sacks in a season is good enough production to earn him between $16 million and $20 million per season.
It was a telling moment on SiriusXM NFL Radio.
Perhaps Shaq Barrett heard that and it’s a reason he was smiling so much today at Pro Bowl practice at Disney World. The Bucs’ 19 1/2-sack linebacker knows he’s about the break the bank.
But how much will he earn?
CBS Sports insider Prickly Pete Prisco was adamant that he thinks the Bucs will need to approach $20 million per season to sign Barrett to a multi-year contract. “I don’t think he’s going to get done for 16, 17, 18 [million], Prisco told WDAE Radio today.
Prisco noted Jaguars stud defensive end Yannick Ngakoue turned down $18 million per year from Jacksonville last offseason because he was looking for the $20 million+ per year that was scored by pass rushers Frank Clark (Chiefs) and Demarcus Lawrence (Cowboys).
Shaq was better than all three of those guys this season, Prisco added. None of them recorded double-digit sacks.
Of course, the Bucs could slap the franchise tag on Barrett, which likely will cost $16 million and change for 2020. But using the franchise tag limits the Bucs’ options with America’s Quarterback, Jameis Winston, and certainly Shaq’s agent is well aware of the Tampa Bay’s quarterback situation.
Bucco Bruce Arians and Jason Licht will need to be very business savvy this offseason as they look to build a team that can contend over the next few years. Joe can’t claim to be confident in their abilities, only hopeful.
January 22nd, 2020 at 5:28 pm
even a kid like Ngakoue has more of a track record as a stud edge rusher than shaq. 2019 was amazing but that ought to give the Bucs at least a little leverage to not have to classify him at the very top of the market for the position group
January 22nd, 2020 at 5:29 pm
In a world where Jameis wants $30, Shaq can surely fetch $19-$20. Pay Shaq!
January 22nd, 2020 at 5:31 pm
For the record, I’d take Shaq over Yannick for comparable dollars. Shaw is lauded for being a grinder and a great teammate, Yannick has sulked publicly about his contract and fought during practice with at least 2 teammates that I am aware of. This is not a locker room ready to take on high maintenance personalities
January 22nd, 2020 at 5:34 pm
Man he has no idea lol. Yannick was publicly postering and Shaq has been saying he’s staying in Tampa – one big difference in those scenarios.
Do what you need. Front load it the way we do most contracts.
January 22nd, 2020 at 5:43 pm
Was hoping that $16 mil a year for 4-5 years would ‘git er done’ for Shaq but sounds like that’s too optimistic. Sounds more like $18 – $20 mil a year for 4-5 years with 3 years guaranteed will be required to keep him.
Ngakoue isn’t worth anywhere close to $20 mil a year (he had 1 really good year with 12 sacks but 3 others averaging 8.5 sacks a year). Frank Clark is in about the same situation (KC paid him after Seattle grew him & he rewarded the Chiefs with 8 sacks this past year). Demarcus Lawrence had 2 fantastic years (2017 & 2018 with 25 total sacks but then fell off this year to 5 sacks on the season. Not impressive for a DE due to make $21.9 mil this year.
Sorry, but salaries have gotten absurd when players get paid $20 mil plus a year for multi-years for one year of production. IT’S THE SYSTEM that allows them to be super-productive. Pay 1 or 2 ridiculous salaries and you can’t afford to feed the others who allowed them to excel.
January 22nd, 2020 at 5:45 pm
Hes only.done it once, franchise tag is the smartest move.He wont get those numbers again next year
January 22nd, 2020 at 5:46 pm
This idea probably will get criticized but a question for the cap gurus out there… if we could deal Evans for 2 first rounders (remember the Browns gave up a 1st a 2nd and S Jabrill Peppers so i think its in the realm of possibility), could we afford to keep all of our core FA’s plus the QB of our choice (Jameis, Rivers etc..) AND would it be worth it?
I love ME and what he brings to the table but is it smart to allocate 30+ mil to the WR position? Just floating the idea out there…
January 22nd, 2020 at 5:59 pm
Manzielmadness, I suggested that when Evans went down and got roasted lol. My thought was if Godwin balled out without Evans opposite him, then he would have shown he could do it alone and Evans becomes expendable. Dump salary and gain 2 1st rounders, you gotta at least think about it.
January 22nd, 2020 at 6:01 pm
Why trade a top game-changing WR in his prime? OBJ was traded because he was a cancer, which has continued in Cleveland. ME is a professional and a leader. Franchise Shaq if he want over 16 million a year. Sign JPP to a 3-year contract at 10-12 million a year. Then sign Jameis to a 3-year contract worth $75 million with incentives that can reach $90 million. 1st round D-line, 2nd round OT. Sign Kareem Hunt or David Johnson in free agency and hopefully keep Suh and Nassib.
January 22nd, 2020 at 6:07 pm
Jameis isn’t taking less than 30 mill voluntarily. That’s the problem.
January 22nd, 2020 at 6:09 pm
Pay the producers market and let Jameis find his market value as a restrictive FA…and go from there
January 22nd, 2020 at 6:13 pm
So the difference between $18 mil and $20 mil is what- $2 mil. That is not quite chump change in the NFL. The old Bucs let Michael Bennett and Donald Penn walk.
Are the Licht era Bucs that stupid? Sorry. That IS a stupid question. Just ask Roberto Aquello.
Sign Shaq Barrett. Franchise Jameis for a “show me one last time” contract.
January 22nd, 2020 at 6:14 pm
Shaq already said he would take less in order to keep this defense together
January 22nd, 2020 at 6:15 pm
So…………Serious question. To Joe or Anyone else in the know.
What does the Transition Tag mean for Jameis?
I would rather Franchise Sack (If necessary ) and Transition JW3.
I am not clear on the Transition tag so I may have bumped my head. Don’t have time to look up the minutia.
January 22nd, 2020 at 6:23 pm
I’m not sure allocating so much cap to a WR1 ever makes that much sense. Especially one that can get game planned out 2-3 times a season like Evans does. And I REALLY like Evans. I just don’t think it makes sense. I don’t think it makes sense to place $30 mil on any QB either. Mahomes is AMAZING now, but when the chiefs have to pay him $35+ a season, then you will see what happens when a team starts paying a QB. The Chiefs had a cap hit of just over $5mil for him this season. Take Tyrann Mathieu and Frank Clark off of the team and either Watkins or Hill as well. Now you are looking at what it will be if Mahomes starts making market value.
Winston can stick around, for the right money. I’ve not seen Winston anywhere say he wants $30 mil. One guy tweets a theory and all of the sudden it is hard and fast news. I could tweet that Winston wants to stay for $15 mil and wants the Bucs to lock up Godwin. I have sources that would say that.
January 22nd, 2020 at 6:28 pm
Oh. and $18 mil is a bargain for an OLB with almost 20 sacks. That is your best use of the franchise tag.
January 22nd, 2020 at 6:32 pm
20 million is a lot for a guy who’s only done it for one season.I hope they sign him but don’t expect him to have another 19 sack season.
January 22nd, 2020 at 6:34 pm
This is it. Being up against the cap doesn’t give us the luxury to make the team better. Except for maybe a few backup replacement. What we have is what we got. In fact we may not even be able to keep all the key players that we have now. Hopefully we hit well in the draft. Paying Winston 30+ million really does limit our options. Looks like No more weapons for Winston.
January 22nd, 2020 at 6:43 pm
#1 – sign Shaq. #2 – sign JPP. #3 – lock up Godwin long term. #4 – QB.
January 22nd, 2020 at 6:48 pm
You franchise him, draft Chaisson from LSU, then swap the roles next season. Jameis won’t be here (hopefully) so we can draft and move on. It’s time to build up our OL and DL.
You know.
Like the 49ers.
Who are in the Super Bowl.
January 22nd, 2020 at 6:57 pm
Shaquille wants to stay in Tampa (he hates moving), Shaq said no matter what he makes, it will be more than he has ever made in his life, bu Shaq also has one of the most high profile agents in the game. When he said he hates moving, if someone offers him a longer deal and the Bucs don’t franchise him, he may be willing to relocate knowing he will be in a place for 4-5 years
January 22nd, 2020 at 7:00 pm
Like the 49ers? They traded for and signed Grapallo to a large contract. They did draft well with their D-line, but will be in cap hell and wont be able to resign some of the D-lineman. We have $90 million and should spend it wisely. I’m a Jameis fan and want the Bucs to resign him, but not for $30 million a year, that will kill us. Also can’t pay Shaq 18 million a year (one year wonder). If these guys want to win they will take to make the team better. Draft DL first then OT. We can find a OT in 2nd or 3rd round to replace Demar Dodson. We need at least another young beast to pair with Vea even if we are able to keep Suh.
January 22nd, 2020 at 7:07 pm
Only reason Shaq didn’t do this before is because the Broncos were to dumb to play the man lol it worked out great for Bucs pay JW pay Shaq an pay JPP
January 22nd, 2020 at 7:10 pm
I am hoping for a long-term deal here. With both him and Winston. One thing about it is that when Jason Licht goes to write up a long-term contract he can structure the money in a way that frees up extra CAP room. That can’t be done with a franchise tag.
We have enough money to keep the better part of this team in tact and it will more easily be done with multi year deals. And plus who doesn’t want Shaq Attaq Baq for the Long haul? You’d have to be crazy!!
GO BUCS!!!
January 22nd, 2020 at 7:18 pm
Like everyone else, I think Shaq should get paid. However, Shaq had a lot of help[ to get those 19 1/2 sacks. In fact, I noticed Nassib helping push the QB’s into Shaqs path quite often. And how many sacks did Shaq have when JPP was out? It took our whole D-line to help Shaq. So I think 20mil is a bit much.
January 22nd, 2020 at 7:20 pm
Jameis will get the transition tag if they need to franchise tag Shaq.
January 22nd, 2020 at 7:27 pm
Winston shouldn’t play in Tampa’s ever again! See ya chump
January 22nd, 2020 at 7:29 pm
If we lose Barrett for no good reason, Joe’s will never let us live that down on this site.
Here’s my shi(t) post for the day: Let Jameis walk, trade Evans for a one and two, draft Jerry Jeudy, build up the trenches, tank for Trevor next year, and enjoy the next 15 years of success.
January 22nd, 2020 at 7:31 pm
Under the current CBA, I doubt that any teams will be able to replicate some of the dynasties of the past. As soon as a player has excellent production in a contract year, he’s either gone or you have to pony up huge $$$ to keep him. Doesn’t take too many players like that and you no longer have a well-balanced team.
It seems obvious that drafting well is the key to winning long-term. Hit on say 3 key players every year as starters or key rotational players PLUS develop a couple of the other draftees over time as solid depth players and you could have a pretty solid team every year without overpaying. Problem is, that’s just about impossible to do. Some teams, however, seem to do it much better than some other teams. A big key there IMO is having a stable, long-term coaching staff (aka, Bill Belicheck or Andy Reid types) and a quality GM & scouts. Doesn’t exactly describe teams like the Bucs or Browns over this past decade or so.
January 22nd, 2020 at 7:32 pm
@SickofLosing and BucBoy
I agree losing Evans would hurt… i really do love him as a Buc but the reality is we cant afford everyone and Evans could get us a lot in return… not saying they should do it.. but with Godwin balling out and Perriman stepping up recently.. I think its a possibility to be considered…
January 22nd, 2020 at 7:34 pm
Buc fans are the dumbest in the NFL. $20M for a one-year wonder? Laughable. Winston for a paltry $15-20M? A total joke. Locking up Godwin should be the lowest priority. Some of these posters make the GM look genius.
January 22nd, 2020 at 7:40 pm
Joe can’t claim to be confident in their abilities, only hopeful.
Selling the farm for Gruden was only a short term fix because of bad drafting and giving up premium picks to get him. After the super bowl we never were a serious contender again. Barrett wont hold bucs hostage with the 14 th pick we may fall into a pass rusher even Brian burns sacks as a rookie would be welcome. I dont want to sell out at any position if it wont end in a team that can compete for playoffs. The scheme helps and so did jpp, he ain’t getting 16 sacks if jpp isn’t on the other side
January 22nd, 2020 at 8:19 pm
Crazy money for 1 yr starter. I wonder if he will duplicate result without jpp. Suh. Nassib.
January 22nd, 2020 at 8:21 pm
Pay Winston 1 mil per int (30) and pay Shaq 1 mil per sack (19). The world is a strange place.
January 22nd, 2020 at 8:46 pm
Pay Winston’s Uber ride to the Airport
January 22nd, 2020 at 8:55 pm
basically half shaq’s sacks were in the first 4 games…
so he came down to earth after that and was a darn good pass rushing sack artist all year…
he and jpp were about on the same pace after jpp’s return and shaq’s first 4 games…
if everything going on leaned really positively toward just franchising him, that would be the move…
basically saying show me…do it again…
but the bucs have many moving parts to sign and lock in, so they have to use the tags judiciously…
licht and greenberg have a lot of work and shuffling to do
January 22nd, 2020 at 9:01 pm
Pay Shaq the $18 to $20 million as required. Give him the right incentives in the structure of the contract.
Let Suh go. Bring in another FA defensive lineman and draft another as well.
Draft an OT and an OG/C.
Championship teams require stout offensive lines and and great defenses.
January 22nd, 2020 at 9:26 pm
Maybe we’re looking at this wrong. Some folks are so giddy about having a guy get 19.5 sacks & so paranoid about letting Michael Bennett walk that we’re willing to sell the farm to keep the production. BUT … what if the COST of keeping that producer is so high that we have to diminish the SYSTEM that allowed him to create that very production? There are many ways to get the same production, and ultimately have an even better defense. Patriots (12-4) & Bills (10-6) are good examples.
The Pats had the #1 defense. They got 47 sacks & their 2 top sackmeisters were LB Collins (7 sacks) & LB Van Noy (6.5 sacks) (Butler on their DLine got 6 sacks). IOW, no one player hit double digit sacks, and the big producers (LBs) weren’t even on the Dline.
The Bills had the #2 defense. They got 37 sacks & their 2 top sackmeisters were DT Phillips (9.5 sacks) & DE Lawson (6.5 sacks). They had 3 other DLinemen get 14.5 sacks among them (DT Oliver with 5 sacks, DE Murphy with 5 sacks & DE Hughes with 4.5 sacks). In the Bills case, their DLine (not their LBs) got most of the sacks.
Two 4-3 defenses using much different defensive approaches yet both ranked right at the top. There are more than one ways to skin a cat as they say. Bucs like the Patriots got 47 sacks, yet we did it quite differently. We had 3 players (Barrett, JPP & Nassib) get 34 of our 47 sacks. A very much different picture than we see with the Patriots or the Bills. As most folks will remember, Barrett started off like gangbusters, getting 9 sacks in the first 4 games, then stagnating for 2 games (0 sacks) once folks game-planned against him … until JPP came back (Shaq got 1 sack/game average over the last 10 games with JPP in there). Over half of his sacks (10) came in just 3 games this season.
The sacks are nice, but Shaq’s true value IMO lies in the pressure that he puts on the QBs and in his ability to play run & pass defense so successfully IN THIS SYSTEM. IMO we need to keep the SYSTEM intact before selling out for a single player. Hopefully Shaq realizes that & is reasonable in his salary demands.
January 22nd, 2020 at 9:34 pm
Never listen to these rumors.
Don’t buy into Winston asking for $30m. Don’t buy into Shaq wanting $20+ million.
In the end, it won’t be that.
January 22nd, 2020 at 9:34 pm
4ys / $66M…2yrs/$30 guaranteed…(14.5 / 15.5 / 17.5 / 18.5).
30 large guaranteed offers generational security to Shaq & his family.
His kids kids, if they do things right….If that’s not enough to keep him…So be it.
Bud Dupree sure would look good in Bowles system.
January 22nd, 2020 at 10:07 pm
Shaq had an awesome year and I want him back, but it was just ONE year. If he’s asking for more than he’s worth, put the non-exclusive tag on him and see if some team is dumb enough to give up two number one picks.
If Jameis’s situation prevents us from keeping players that are good “as of today”, not potentially, then he needs to go.
January 22nd, 2020 at 10:38 pm
Its time to move on from America’s QB Winston at $30M. Funniest & most unearned moniker ever. BTW Joe when you google America’s Quarterback it comes up with the bio of Dak Prescott. lol I see images of many past and current QBs but no Winston images when searching that name. I still dont understand where you got that from as it makes no sense to me and many others.
January 22nd, 2020 at 11:07 pm
Formerly Tampa 2. Are you even a bucs fan did you really just type that Shaq didn’t get sacks on his own it wast until Jpp came back and the whole defensive line started to come together. You said he didn’t get any sacks before Jp came back. Not any but didn’t do well until jpp came back. You might want to check the box scores of the first 4 games he had 9.5 sacks. Was something like the second most sacks ever through 4 games in the history of the nfl. And I can think of more missed sacks by Barrett than I can of dropped balls by defensive players from jameis all world entertainment americas qb Winston. Which is a lot
January 22nd, 2020 at 11:18 pm
Painful to read all this Evans trade talk. Some vets really are untouchable and Evans is one for the Bucs. Same with LVD, Godwin, Marpet, and some young pups like White, Davis, Dean, SMB and of course Vea. Culturally, I’d throw in FAs JPP and Suh too.
Everyone else is either onboard or traded based on price paid/value received. Same for the other FAs, including Winston and Shaq. Shaq sure seems like the real deal but probably only on a 1 year tag until he proves he can do it again. Checking my stat sheet as instructed, I too can see Winston was ballin… but tag is already Shaq’s and a longer term deal only works for Bucs with win/playoff incentives that ease cap hit while protecting against Bad Jameis… and JW is likely to get somebody with less mouths to feed that will roll the dice at $30M per yr with $60M guaranteed at signing… my bet is LAC.
January 22nd, 2020 at 11:30 pm
You have to franchise him and make him prove he isn’t a one hit wonder. The tool is there to save you financially use it. He will be the same price next offseason if he does it again. But if he doesn’t and you lock him up this year you can’t get that money back. And as for salary just do the right thing and get rid of jameis. He will never be a low turnover guy. The team or is fans can never trust him. Every game every throw you cringe and hope it is going to the receiver. You can not pay a guy team altering money to throw 30 picks. Rather draft a high talent rookie for a total 5 year contract of 30 million and tell him to let it rip. Than pay a 6th year rookie QB. It’s like every year is his rookie year and he is stuck in Groundhog Day. I would be happy if I never have to see the I just bit a sour lemon face jameis does after every interception. Enough is enough he is holding us back. Great he through for a lot of yards but he had more interceptions than anyone since Atari was hip. It would be like keeping a shooting gaurd because he led the league in 3s made but he was allowed to shoot 20 a game. Of course he will lead the league in passing when he is allowed to throw it up for grabs and dangerous throws all game long with no consequences for throwing picks. The only consequences are for us fans who pay money to watch the games who pay money for bucs gear. Only to watch us have a losing record 4 out of 5 years. And not see the playoffs or even be in the race in November. Then have to watch a rerun every Sunday night of jameis at the podium saying I can’t turn the ball over I have to give my team a chance. I am going to work on it. Then the next week throw 4 more with the same sour lemon face. Does any die hard on this site really trust jameis in a playoff game when he will be even more hyped and sail balls 10 more feet over receivers head. We would be one and done because of him. If he ever makes it to the playoffs with us or any other team I would bet my house he will throw Atleast 3 picks. And have a sub 30% completion percentage in first half. And he will never in his lifetime have a first half playoff lead. Give him another contract then what 3 years from now say he is only 29 he can still put it all together. Then before we know it every good player we have is retired or gone and we are still hoping jameis reaches his already reached in year one potential.
January 23rd, 2020 at 12:03 am
Jeffbuc, totally in agreement.
I’m really hoping that last pick-6 is a sour enough taste in Bruce’s mouth that he opens his mind to life after Blameless. We’ll all soon see.
January 23rd, 2020 at 12:47 am
Ain’t it great to be a Bucs’ fan!
January 23rd, 2020 at 7:38 am
FAMOUS HATERS /Manning is out there, if you don’t want FAMOUS …then you can jump on that Manning wagon! FAMOUS FOREVER!! KEEP GRINDING!!
January 23rd, 2020 at 7:56 am
Great teams don’t over pay for defensive players. Paying Shaq a huge contract is a detriment. Teams with high salaried defensive players rarely if ever go very far.
January 23rd, 2020 at 8:06 am
I could easily see the arrogance of BA saying ability plus the scheme allowed him to have that season thinking it wasnt all him. Fans and especially one of the Joe’s begged for a pass rusher all offseason last year and forget shaq was on very few radars when he signed with us. Suddenly this year it just has to be shaq? If bucs are going to ever get back to the greatness they once reached it cant be because they overpay for talent, the salaries were the main reason they couldn’t keep the team in place. Sapp walked because we couldn’t afford him.
January 23rd, 2020 at 9:11 am
THE DRAFT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF BUILDING A TEAM…DRAFT BETTER BUCS!!!
January 23rd, 2020 at 9:22 am
Before last season, when we got Shaq, I knew nothing about him. Several people here claimed he would be our next big sack guy. I was skeptical, but I hoped they were right.
They were.
Shaq has made a believer of me. However, paying him more than $16-$17 million per year would be insane. If it comes to that, Franchise him and put the Transitional tag on Winston. That way if a team wants Winston, we get two first round picks. If not, we get him for the tag price for a year so he can prove himself.
The claim that good teams do not pay a lot for defensive plays is ridiculous. I bet Gruden said that when he got rid of the Raiders best defensive player, who went on to have the best year of his career.
Shaq is the most important defensive free agent player we need to sign.
Order of importance for defensive free agents to me are Shaq, JPP (though I have my doubts he wants to), Nassib, then Suh.
Yes, I put Nassib before Suh. Suh is a run stopping DT. Those are extremely easy to replace. I would prefer to keep him because of his leadership, but objectively, he is the most expendable among those four.
I put Nassib above him because of potential and age. He is what Golston should have been all along. He started 8 games and got 6 sacks, which put him on pace for 11-12 sacks as a starter for the second year in a row. If JPP walks, Nassib is a good replacement.
January 23rd, 2020 at 9:30 am
Suh makes everybody better… can’t let him walk unless we want to see our D and DL regress like the Rams did last year. Every dollar you pay Suh counts multiple times given his impact on others. Similar for JPP.
January 23rd, 2020 at 10:05 am
The problem with franchising Winston its still going to cost the Bucs around 27mil. Way too much.
January 23rd, 2020 at 10:22 am
Jeffbuc, I have been a fan since probably well before you were born. But what I was saying is thqt Shaq would not have made all those sacks without Suh, Jpp, Vea, and Nassib doing a great job on that D-line. And his sacks did drop when Jpp was out. Not saying that he is not good at what he does. But he could not have done it by himself. So 20mil is too much for him when we need to bring back the whole defense, including those up and coming Dbacks.
January 23rd, 2020 at 10:36 am
Offer him 3 year 16-17 a year if he turns it down tag him.
January 23rd, 2020 at 12:00 pm
Who cares about signing Jameis. This guy is much more important, draft a qb and resign everyone!