Gronk Flexibility Is Priceless
March 22nd, 2022
“They’ll call you in June.”
The Bucs found a way to wedge another fat salary on the books with the signing of Leonard Fournette this morning.
So does that mean Fournette is a greater priority for the Bucs than Rob Gronkowski? No. But it does mean the patience Gronk is willing to have as a free agent fully trusting Tom Brady and the Bucs’ front office is a huge benefit.
It’s obvious Gronk is coming back for his third season in Tampa, but he’s unsigned and that could be the case for months. Having Gronk sitting on the sidelines is almost like a form of salary cap flexibility/room for general manager Jason Licht.
Joe can see Brady saying to Gronk: “Let’em sign everyone else and then they’ll work the cap to fit you and me in at X million however they have to do it.”
Gronk and Brady might be the only players on the roster (or in the NFL) willing to operate that way. A few potential salary cap casualties on the Tampa Bay roster might need to send them a thank you note.
March 22nd, 2022 at 10:41 am
It is great to know that Gronk is coming back!
March 22nd, 2022 at 10:42 am
#8 is impressed his few brain cells were firing when he typed the same thing several days ago.
March 22nd, 2022 at 10:43 am
is it obvious? man, i hope so!
March 22nd, 2022 at 10:45 am
Surely hope so. We really need him. Hate to wait so long but understand the (possible) logic.
March 22nd, 2022 at 10:46 am
If Geonk was going to leave he would have taken that slot wirh Buffalo that OJ Howard has now
March 22nd, 2022 at 10:47 am
That’s true leadership…..take care of your guys first, we’ll figure out our situation at the end. MJ started the approach of taking less salary to be extremely competitive each year, Brady has followed that. This is why i laugh when Rodgers complains the Packers dont give him what he needs to succeed. He eats up a ridiculous amount of cap space despite having endorsements and made a fortune already. He’ll never share the wealth and likely never win another SB.
March 22nd, 2022 at 10:49 am
I just wonder who will play DL. Lol
March 22nd, 2022 at 10:50 am
Jason “Hey Gronk……when it comes down to it, we’ll cut our kicker & punter to fit you in….as you know, I’m not afraid to draft a kicker”
March 22nd, 2022 at 10:50 am
I don’t want to sound like I’m talking about Michael Clayton (who I always felt got handed such a bad card but not being utilized more on the Gruden) but as much as Gronk is a security blanket in the passing game and works well with Brady, he might be just as valuable blocking.
March 22nd, 2022 at 10:51 am
There’s absolutely no way Gronk doens’t come back to play with his buddy.
March 22nd, 2022 at 10:57 am
Gronk is waiting for everyone else to sign, then Brady re does his deal and Gronk and Edelamann sign.
March 22nd, 2022 at 11:01 am
We still have a few contracts to restructure – Smith, LVD, Brady, Pinion and Succop.
We should have @ $20-$25M left to add a few more free agents and sign our draft picks.
Gronk, Suh, Gholston, Gabbert, Triner can all be re-signed – hopefully before the draft…
March 22nd, 2022 at 11:07 am
Buffalo was wanting him. The fact they took OJ instead shows he likely told the Bills he’s staying here.
March 22nd, 2022 at 11:18 am
I heard that Gronk banks all of his salary and just lives off of his endorsements . So playing for whatever he can get is good enough for him. The ring is probably enough. We’ll that and another USAA commercial deal!
March 22nd, 2022 at 11:22 am
@Marine: I would be surprised if Succop is extended.
March 22nd, 2022 at 11:41 am
These guys are a blessing. If only more were like this…
March 22nd, 2022 at 12:01 pm
Imagine playing for the love of the game more than the love of more money. They are a dying breed.
March 22nd, 2022 at 12:08 pm
A sniper and his fun loving spotter
March 22nd, 2022 at 12:18 pm
Remember when Gronk needed one more reception to hit a $$Million bonus? He’s miked up. Comes over to Tom, tells him and Tom slaps the helmet on, throws Gronk a little slant pass. Gronk exits and tells D Smith….”A million in the City”
Of course, he’s coming back.
March 22nd, 2022 at 12:19 pm
@ Cobra
Probably not. One option is to cut both Pinion and Succop. That would produce @ $5M…
But then we need to find a new punter and kicker. If they really like Jose Borregales perhaps Succop becomes a cap casualty.
March 22nd, 2022 at 12:42 pm
Give him Succup & Pinions $$
March 22nd, 2022 at 1:04 pm
Excellent strategy to sign all the supporting cast first and then TB and Gronk last, whether or not anything is left in the cap.
March 22nd, 2022 at 1:41 pm
The Dynamic Duo!
March 22nd, 2022 at 1:50 pm
They are checking to see if Eldeman can come to the Bucs.
March 22nd, 2022 at 2:02 pm
Dynamic Duo.
March 22nd, 2022 at 2:16 pm
So we are trying to buy another superbowl and Brady still will get all the credit for it if we do win another superbowl. This is a all-star team but Brady suppose to be the goat. I never seen a goat needed so many hall of famers and pro bowlers to win . And some of yall say he hasn’t decline this is the proof right here!!
March 22nd, 2022 at 2:26 pm
That’s why the Trask and Dardens picks annoy me so much!!!
Trask should have been a DT (To replace Suh and/or Gholston)
And Dardens looks like a high schooler!
March 22nd, 2022 at 2:38 pm
Teachmerbuc 77. Trask will be the starter next year because I believe this is Brady last year playing football or last year with the bucs. So you might as well get ready Brady is 45 years old how much longer do you think he’s going to play?? And how many times do you think they keep trying to buy superbowls??
March 22nd, 2022 at 3:17 pm
Brady will sign a new three year deal, and play till he’s 47. Before that at age 46 he’ll sign a new deal to save cap space, and play till he’s 50!
March 22nd, 2022 at 3:40 pm
O’Neil – have you gone back and read all the crap you’ve tortured Bucs fans with? Stop it and go back to the Patriots website.
March 22nd, 2022 at 4:15 pm
Oneilbuc your comment about Brady is beyond stupid, most teams are loading up in today’s NFL, no quarterback has ever played even close to this well at the age of 40+
March 22nd, 2022 at 4:41 pm
New England Patriots Fan Says:
March 22nd, 2022 at 10:57 am
Gronk is waiting for everyone else to sign, then Brady re does his deal and Gronk and Edelamann sign.
————
I agree on the first two points, but I don’t see the Bucs signing Edelman. He’s a very poor fit for Arians offense, but I think they’d get past that except Edelman looked washed up at the end for the Pats. BUT if he looks good, like he can still play, I’d certainly have no issues with it, you need as many talented WRs as you can get – the Bucs can’t be down to having to start Tyler Johnson in the playoffs again.
March 22nd, 2022 at 4:44 pm
Oneilbuc must be one of those Florida fanbois who really thought the Bucs would Tank with Trask this year and got excited about it. Now he’s complaining about it, trying to say if Trask was the QB they’d still be considered a SB contender. LOL! Out of all the stupid things I’ve read on this site, that’s one of the dumbest.
March 22nd, 2022 at 4:45 pm
Question for anyone who knows: Gronk and Suh both have significant dead cap money on the books for this year adding up to nearly 12m combined. If they re-sign will the dead cap money be able to be absorbed into their new contract and spread out or is it completely separate and an additional hit from their new contract amount.
March 22nd, 2022 at 5:25 pm
Rob Munch. I don’t care about the gators like that he’s the youngest quarterback on the team and we drafted him in the second round. But again you can’t take away what he done in college. He was the number one quarterback in college in every stat that year and you can’t agure facts. Brady is 45 he ain’t coming back next year. He didn’t want to come back to the bucs and that has already been confirmed with him in Miami. The bad part about it they haven’t done nothing with defensive line and drafting rookies ain’t going to get it without a veteran or 2 on the d line. Without a good defense ain’t no superbowl and that’s a fact regardless who the quarterback is.
March 22nd, 2022 at 5:34 pm
Mike pizzlo. Quarterbacks that played at 40 never played with a all-star team on offense either. And most of the other teams are going into the future and getting better every year. While we trying to buy championships . They’re future looks waay better than ours I can tell you that. This defense right now ain’t winning no championships. Defense wins championships ask the Rams and any other team in the history of the NFL.
March 22nd, 2022 at 7:15 pm
Onail thinks he is better than the Bucs coaches , just see how they are happy when Tom unretired. Godwin would not sign without Tom Brady
March 22nd, 2022 at 7:20 pm
Gronk gud.
March 22nd, 2022 at 8:04 pm
@oneilbuc remember Winston did nothing for us owned all kinds of records in college another example is Tebow college is NOT the NFL not saying Trask couldn’t do it but you can’t put all faith in a great college player as far as Succop goes best kicker we’ve had on a while and I thought the whole point was to surround yourself with the best confused about buying a SB some people would complain if hung with a new rope
March 22nd, 2022 at 8:20 pm
Edelman was beat up, not washed up at the end. Just like Gronk when he retired. Edelman would be a fabulous addition if he’s ready to party in Tampa.
March 22nd, 2022 at 11:10 pm
Buc13. I’m all in with my bucs this year and the last 26 years I’ve been a bucs fan. And you right about Trask when you brought up the college stat. But you ain’t going to know what he has until he gets his shot. But I feel that way about every draft pick regardless where they are drafted. And yes I don’t believe in buying championships . Because now it’s back to superbowl or bust and I hope it’s superbowl. However Brady will always get all the credit for us winning the superbowl from the national media and other fan bases. But it’s bad when you have your own fan base saying the same thing while they ignore the rest of the team. And it’s not Brady fault that people act they way . But to me I like to earn championships by having our own players at key positions .
March 22nd, 2022 at 11:20 pm
Mikejp. If Godwin came back only because of Brady than forget him to. I believe we can win with Brady or without Brady. When Brady retire we still will be ok 👍🏽. This is my whole point on what I be talking about and it ain’t no knock on Brady. But Brady will always be a Patriot. I’m ready to move on to the future because even if he sign another contract I still don’t believe he’s playing past 45 . Other teams are setting up for long term success and we will be back at the bottom if the bucs keep depending on old players that you have to ask every year are they coming back. If Brady was 35 than yes it’s worth it but he’s 45 and next year at this time it will be the same question is Brady coming back or not and watch how many bucs fan panic!!