Lower-Priority Carlton Davis
March 4th, 2022
Carlton Davis
Joe has a firm disagreement with The Sage of Tampa Bay Sports, Ira Kaufman, when it comes to how the Bucs will handle free agent cornerback Carlton Davis.
Sage Ira believes Davis is the most likely Buccaneer to get the franchise tag. You can put that number at about $17 million — Seventeen for the 2022 season.
Joe would bet anything that Davis not only isn’t tagged by the Bucs, but the Bucs won’t pay him that much cash.
As Colts general manager Chris Ballard, one of the very best in the game, said this week, “Some players add value just by their influence.”
Joe sees Bucs general manager Jason Licht as having the same philosophy. And because of that, Joe looks at huge-money free agents Chris Godwin and Ryan Jensen and sees two players who add a lot more value than Davis “just by their influence.”
That’s not Joe bashing Davis, just ranking him a full step below Godwin and Jensen on the influence meter. So Joe thinks the Bucs would prefer to spend their biggest cash on those two. Yeah, it’s safe to say the Bucs won’t be able to pay Jensen, Godwin and Davis at market value.
Through Joe’s week at the NFL Scouting Combine — from chatter on microphone and off — Joe didn’t hear anyone from the Bucs gushing about Davis being a must-have player.
Enjoy The Latest Ira Kaufman Podcast — With Fresh Audio From John Lynch and Jason Licht.
March 4th, 2022 at 8:57 am
Davis is a quality NFL corner and that is about it; Of course CG is #1 and then Jensen is definitely above CD for a zillion reasons
March 4th, 2022 at 9:03 am
There is no way Licht franchises Davis….$17 mil is at the very top of his value…..if anything a longer term contract at around $13 mil is called for……
If we lose Davis, we will either bring in a cheaper FA or draft a CB high….maybe both.
March 4th, 2022 at 9:14 am
I agree with Joe, no way we franchise Davis, and no way we pay him 17 million either.
March 4th, 2022 at 9:17 am
Average at best, I would let him go…Tons of CB on this draft, and also there is some quality on the FA market…
Spend the money on CG and the OL
March 4th, 2022 at 9:20 am
The play that sticks in my mind is C. Davis being hit in the hands with the ball – it bounces off his chest then he rips off his helmet and runs around the field like an idiot… 15 yard penalty. What a goober.
Dude drops an easy pick and celebrated like he just scored a pick-6.
I’m fine to see him go as long as we land a decent FA CB and draft another in round 2.
March 4th, 2022 at 9:24 am
He won’t be franchised. He also isn’t worth $17m anyway, so if I were him I’d be begging to get tagged.
It took a while for him to earn recognition. How do we know he can maintain the level of play?
March 4th, 2022 at 9:26 am
zzbuc Says
Average at best, I would let him go…Tons of CB on this draft, and also there is some quality on the FA market…
Spend the money on CG and the OL
I think he is certainly above average. I would imagine that bar is pretty low in the NFL these days. But I do agree on where to spend the money.
March 4th, 2022 at 9:39 am
I tell you one thing man, our free agents are high impact players, whoever gets them is getting serious upgrades… Jensen is PB, Grong is HOF, Whitehead is a future PB, CDIII is future PB, and the rest are very solid starters who will be big upgrades for teams… Our team was absolutely STACKED and I feel bad I took it for granted… If Godwin and Wirfs arent hurt, we beat the Rams, and win the Superbowl again
March 4th, 2022 at 9:49 am
our secondary was horrible last year, and joe doesn’t think our #1 CB is priority?
insanity.
Jensen —-love him, but he can be replaced and CG is an unknown with his knee
a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush…….
March 4th, 2022 at 10:15 am
I’m with you Joe.
I think anything over 8 mil is too much for the oft-injured CD.
Good but not that good.
March 4th, 2022 at 10:20 am
He’s a quality CB, but Dean is far from quality at #2. I will not tag CD3 for $17 million. If we’re able to make a good deal with above average CB (not a Richard Sherman type), and draft one, that’s my plan to resign Davis.
March 4th, 2022 at 10:21 am
Let him walk and pick up a cheap veteran and a comp pick.
March 4th, 2022 at 10:27 am
Austin, imho Wirfs alone would have given TB12 that extra 0.2 seconds in the DR to do his magic.
March 4th, 2022 at 10:29 am
In our defense the only CB that would be worth while would be a true shut down CB. I don’t know if those even exist in this league anymore but Davis certainly isn’t that type. He’s very productive in this scheme when the pass rush is effective, other then that, he’s not much of an impact player for the defense as a whole.
March 4th, 2022 at 10:52 am
I think we are better prepared to move forward without Jensen than we are Davis. Priority level is higher for a top 10 CB than a top 5 OC… those are just facts. Dean teamed with Davis is much more fearsome than Dean mixed with SMB.
March 4th, 2022 at 11:04 am
If you can only have two from Davis, Godwin, and Jensen at around the franchise price tag, I’d opt for Godwin & Jensen.
Davis is good, but I’m not he’s a top 10 CB. I’d let him get offers and see what he’s worth on the free market before committing to massive $$$.
My primary concern is he’s constantly hurt. Every tackle I wonder if he’s OK.
March 4th, 2022 at 12:03 pm
I can’t believe some of you people are serious. You all scoff at paying a 25 year old CB 17 mil but would have no problem paying a 31 year old center 17 mil which would be the franchise tag. And if they tag Godwin they will have to pay a 4 mil or so penalty for doing it two years in a row so that doesn’t make sense either. If anyone gets the tag it will be Davis so he probably will. Believing anything else is just plain stupid. Sorry.
March 4th, 2022 at 12:06 pm
Agreed Cobraboy. Availability is key when you start talking about paying players top dollar for their services. And when a CB has an availability of less than 80% over his 4 years with us, then his availability sucks.
Also agree that he’s good, but not Top-10 CB good. Has given up 20 TDs over 4 years which is too many to be considered a Top-10 corner. Best bet IMO is to sign a quality CB priced in the $10 mil neighborhood AND draft a CB in the Top-3 Rnds. Dean, SMB, Cockrell & Delaney are already under contract for 2022, so adding 2 more via FA & draft SHOULD help us to keep our head above water in that area.
March 4th, 2022 at 12:13 pm
Caleb … Don’t think anyone was recommending tagging Jensen (unnecessary). But at the same time I wouldn’t tag Godwin or Davis either (franchise tag cost can’t be slid to future years, and either of those two would be too expensive). Pass on the franchise tag; it’s just too much money for the sake of buying 1 year of service.
March 4th, 2022 at 12:32 pm
Am I the only one that thinks Davis is a stud?
Davis is our best CB. You keep your best CB.
March 4th, 2022 at 1:24 pm
Davis is our best CB because none of these CBs on the Bucs roster would be starting on most teams. The front 7 of this defense makes them look better. In all honesty we need new CBs they are all about average at best. That is why it is so important to keep Whitehead so the safety position is at least secured with him and Winfield.
March 4th, 2022 at 1:41 pm
@slypirate I think he is a very good and I have different opinion than most people on here that are talking about him. Good cbs are hard to find and if you find a solid one you try to keep him and it’s not going to be cheap. I feel most people are undervaluing him but it’s just my opinion. Jenson seems to old for me to keep and I think you can get a decent option for cheaper or even tryout hansey.
March 4th, 2022 at 3:19 pm
We still seem to play the CBs too far off of the LOS, too often to maximize their “cover corner” skills. A huge salary for a guy to play 8-10 yards off the WR seems like a waste, to me. If you draft a cover-corner, then have him cover, for Brady’s sake!
March 4th, 2022 at 6:53 pm
There are only a handful of free agent cornerbacks who can do what CD can do, which is match up with the #1 WR on the other team. The positional value of cornerback is huge, far more than center. Jensen is not worth the asking price of $13m a year, we can find an adequate replacement, and may already have it in Hainsey.
Replacing CD would be very difficult, I don’t think we can afford to let him go.
March 4th, 2022 at 7:43 pm
I wasn’t much of a fan of him or Dean coming out. Especially with Dean tearing his ACL then.
March 4th, 2022 at 11:06 pm
I think that Jensen is #1 priority,then Godwin,then Davis.But I think that Jensen is the best center that is a free agent.
March 5th, 2022 at 11:18 am
Davis tryin’ to chase down Cooper Kupp from behind when the game was on the line….twice. Buh-bye.
March 5th, 2022 at 12:35 pm
This is insanity, we have finally have a CB#1 and people don’t want him ? I’m in serious disbelief. It’s much easier to find replacements on the O-Line than it is a CB.
March 5th, 2022 at 3:07 pm
“It’s much easier to find replacements on the O-Line than it is a CB”
That’s good to know, because we need at least one of those as well…
March 7th, 2022 at 10:14 am
Jensen, first of all, is almost irreplaceable. We can find someone else, but Jensen brings the nasty demeanor to our o-line, and he sets it. We have to sign Chris Godwin, no matter what, because he is our best receiver, even as a number 2. He catches everything. Davis, here, on the other hand, gets injured pretty much every time he makes a tackle. People think he is good just because he is our number 1 corner but on other teams, he would barely make number 2. He has not become a shutdown corner, the type that actually makes big plays when we need it. I remember him lazily walking as Cooper Kupp ran a wide open route for a TD. DEfinitely replacable.