Will The Bucs Chase Carson Palmer?
March 30th, 2013
The Bucs pursued and were shunned by new Vikings backup quarterback Matt Cassel a couple of weeks ago, and there were rumblings the Bucs made phone calls to Matt Hasselback’s agent before Hasselback joined the Colts.
So national chatter about soon-to-be-ex-Raider Carson Palmer joining the Bucs is hardly surprising. It’s not a stretch to assume the Bucs want a veteran backup with significant experience around Josh Freeman.
FOXSports.com senior NFL writer and Sirius NFL radio host Alex Marvez, a guy who broke a lot of Bucs news last offseason, was Twittering last night about a fit between Bucs and Palmer.
@AlexMarvez: Most intriguing Carson Palmer landing spot to me:
#Bucs. Need a backup. Have cap space. J Freeman isn’t cemented as long-term starter either …… Palmer would put heat on Freeman to step up his play. If Freeman does, he gets paid in 2014. If not, Palmer is viable option potentially
What Greg Schiano’s desire for “competition” for Freeman really means is anyone’s guess. Palmer put up very solid numbers last year in Oakland, and Joe gets how the New Schiano Order wants to load up on talent and insurance at the most important position.
But do the Bucs really want another QB challenging Freeman?
Freeman needs every first-team practice rep he can get. He took 100 percent of them last season, and a second season in the Mike Sullivan system and the natural pressure that will come in his contract year seems like plenty of motivation and “heat” on Freeman.
Freeman seems far too mentally fragile to successfully handle having a strong backup breathing down his neck. Joe would rather see the Bucs draft a QB.
March 30th, 2013 at 9:21 am
Palmers best days are behind him . . . . I personally think his play dropped off when he got to the raiders . . . Be sides he is set to make 13 mill and raiders offered him 10 mill and he said no . . . I think a vet would be great behind freeman to help build him mentally but not sure Palmer is affordable
March 30th, 2013 at 9:34 am
I don’t care about Freeman’s “Feelings” and if they’re hurt. I want to win and win now. Buc Fans deserve that, and Freeman falls to pieces as he has so often in games, Palmer is a QB that can right a ship. of course he needs good weapons, solid protection and a running back with some wheels. The Bucs have all of those things, which Palmer had never really had on a team. I think Palmer could go deep in the playoffs with a healthy Buc team. I’m not sure Freeman can do that. Staying healthy as usual is the key to success.
I remember the knock on Freeman out of the draft was is inconsistent passing in College. He dispelled that moniker in 2010′, but BAM!! there it was in the following seasons, right back in your face. I think he’ll bounce back, and Lord I hope he does, but I’d put odds at 47-53 that he can bounce back. If the Bucs can get Palmer for under $7 mill per year, I’d be all over that.
March 30th, 2013 at 9:40 am
As much as we all moan and groan over #5’s issues (me included), he is the best option we have. If he goes down due to injury, we are done! Dan O is not the guy to pick up the team and continue forward, nor is rookie QB. Yes, I’m aware of Luck, Wilson, and RGIII, put that is not typical. A “Carson Palmer” type of guy would make sense to me. 13M and 10M is way too much however. I’m sure the Rock Star and the NSO have got all that in mind.
March 30th, 2013 at 9:41 am
@Joe
If we don’t get someone like Palmer and Josh get’s hurt, what happens then? I don’t think we want to start a late round draft choice.
March 30th, 2013 at 9:46 am
Obvious troll is obvious.
March 30th, 2013 at 9:48 am
I would welcome Carson, we need a viable #2 on the team. If Free would get hurt, all we have is the infamous “run out of the endzone” Danny O. I don’t know about, but that would make our offense so 1 dimensional it would be scary. Competition is good. May the best man win. And Joe, haven’t you been writing about how Josh needs someone to push him? Why the back pedal?
March 30th, 2013 at 10:08 am
Should have aquired Alex Smith and let Freeman fizzle out and dissapear.
March 30th, 2013 at 10:17 am
Frankly, if Freeman is too fragile to deal with a potential starter competing for his position, I doubt he has the “lack of emotional fragility” to win a big playoff game or SB game. If Freeman has a let down this year, do we want to start from scratch trying to replace that position? Just because SF and Seattle caught “lightening in a bottle” doesn’t mean we would. Or would that mean that we likely win enough games to continually have mid round draft picks, almost forever cycling between good mediocre seasons and poor mediocre seasons.
March 30th, 2013 at 10:20 am
I thought Carson Palmer wanted to play for a SB contender. Which we are not… Solo even if we wanted him, he doesn’t want us.
March 30th, 2013 at 10:24 am
We would have to overpay him. Reat competition but not best value.
March 30th, 2013 at 10:25 am
Best for competition.
March 30th, 2013 at 10:44 am
When does overpay become overpay in the case of a first-rate QB alternative at the back-up? It’s a different deal than ‘overpay’ for a back-up offensive tackle. Be bold if you want to put points on the board, otherwise tune out.
March 30th, 2013 at 10:46 am
Menatlly fragile? He’s mentally deficient!
March 30th, 2013 at 11:00 am
The only person that made sense on here was @SeanyMac in SC, everybody else just talking sh-t
March 30th, 2013 at 11:18 am
Carson sucks!! Make no mistake about it. He had one good year in his career other than that he chokes by throwing interceptions in crucial points always. Watch hard knocks with cincy bangles the coordinators say something about him. Would be a big mistake , don’t need more int and a locker room cancer
March 30th, 2013 at 11:22 am
Why pay for qb millions who will sit bench and we still have no corners to start season. Pay millions to 2 corners we do play the saints and falcons twice a year.
March 30th, 2013 at 11:34 am
@That Guy
The post previous to mine was not up there when I started typing.
March 30th, 2013 at 11:35 am
When we drafted Freeman our first mistake was getting rid of Jeff Garcia IMO. He would have been a great mentor for Freeman. Why not pick him back up. He still looks like he can play.
March 30th, 2013 at 11:37 am
Sarcasm on Jeff Garcia
March 30th, 2013 at 11:40 am
@FIRETHECANNONS – You wrote: “And Joe, haven’t you been writing about how Josh needs someone to push him? Why the back pedal?”
How the hell does anyone know if Freeman needs someone to push him. He may very well crumble? Freeman had a great 2010 season with nobody pushing him. He also had great stretches last season with nobody pushing him. Greg Schiano and Mark Dominik (for years) have gone out of their way to NOT have someone push Freeman. Dan Orlovsky took ZERO first-team reps in practice last season. Not every QB needs competition to be successful. It’s not necessarily a fix or a good thing.
Joe’s not backpedaling. Joe’s hardly convinced Freeman will benefit from another distraction, which a strong backup would provide.
March 30th, 2013 at 11:41 am
Good thing the Bucs didnt spend a whopping one year 5 mil on grimes lol. Jesus what are the bucs thinking? They’re basically saying we’re all in on revis…and probably letting wright stay on the team. Makes me sick.
March 30th, 2013 at 11:53 am
Mentally fragile? is this football or tiddly winks? Palmer would fair better with our line than he did in Oakland.
March 30th, 2013 at 12:15 pm
Grimes to the Dolphins for 5.5mil. Means they’re likely to move up and try to get OT to replace Long which makes it more likely for Xavier Rhodes to be at 13 if the Bucs are so inclined.
March 30th, 2013 at 12:31 pm
Macabee
It’s a one year deal with Grimes and they could still use another corner even with Grimes. It’s not crazy for them to take Rhodes or Trufant at 12
March 30th, 2013 at 12:38 pm
I agree with Macabee. I think the plan all along is to eventually get Revis and draft Rhodes. Rhodes being a big corner with the tools to fit this system perfectly and he’s a FL guy. To me, the million dollar questions are: 1) Are we willing to keep Wright? 2) How low is he willing to structure a contract? I have to believe being so close to the draft, we are strongly considering keeping him at a reduced price. Now imagining Revis, Rhodes, Wright, Goldson, Barron and maybe Barber manning the secondary would be a significant upgrade to 2012’s disaster. DT, OT and TE etc are positions that could be upgraded in the draft from rounds 2 on. The keys to me are getting Revis and whether or not we keep Wright. I hope we do but I want him in the slot and for less than half of his original ridiculous contract.
March 30th, 2013 at 12:42 pm
It has been reported that Carson Palmer wants to go to a contender… That is not what the Bucs are thought to be at this time… It was reported yesterday that he is interested in the Cardinals or 49ers…
Looking at other available options, we are likely STUCK with JF for this season with our hopes and prayers on the QB 2014 class being far more improved from this year!
However, I did see on the NFL network the other day that Ryan Mallet was available for a second round pick! {if only it was a higher round!}
March 30th, 2013 at 12:52 pm
we dont need anyone else’s garbage, its all about fit or did everyone forget the byron leftwich experiment, he was garbage here but went back to steelers and balled out. Same goes for cornerback, there was a website saying brent grimes cant even jump yet. we didnt need an old corner coming off of that kind of injury anyway. Its better to correct the little things josh can do to be more accurate than bring in palmer and have two interception prone qb’s
March 30th, 2013 at 1:14 pm
Call me a homer but to say as a matter of fact that this team will not be one of the 10-12 teams that has the potential (with a few more good moves in FA and some key contributors from this years draft) to make it to the Superbowl next year seems pessimistic and not true.
March 30th, 2013 at 1:34 pm
@cmurda…
You nailed it! Asked the right questions and yes I think Rhodes is an answer.
@Joe
Completely agree.final year of a contract is motivation enough.freeman doesn’t need a competitive backup, he needs more confidence and a style of offense that allows him to move out of the pocket. shiano has said josh is his guy, bringing in Palmer would not only undermine josh but reflect poorly on his coaching and support of the team.hence why we won’t pay for him…
March 30th, 2013 at 1:36 pm
@tye
You obviously are just ignorant.you said the cardinals are better Super Bowl contenders than the bucs? Just leave the city man or find a new team cuz tampa is above you homeboy
March 30th, 2013 at 1:53 pm
All the haters on here are saints fans,just trying to piss us all off ,so dont faal for it .BUCS 11-5 in 2013
March 30th, 2013 at 2:06 pm
Fins go fishing and hook Grimes while the Bucs fall on their sword.
March 30th, 2013 at 2:18 pm
Man, when we as Bucs fans are so fortunate to have Mark Dominik as our GM, i find it hard to believe anyone could second guess what he has ever done or what he should do. I mean, we have won 37.5% of our games since he has been the GM. Patience everyone – the man has a plan!
March 30th, 2013 at 3:08 pm
Other than Joe- who has said Freeman is “Fragile”? Not a very subtle touch in “stirring the Sheep”
March 30th, 2013 at 3:13 pm
i WOULD LOVE TO HEAR SOME OF YOU FANS BACK THE TEAM,THIS IS THE BEST OFFENCE WE HAVE EVER SEEN IN TAMPA AND I BELIEVE ITS ONLY THE BEGINING OF WHAT MIGHT BE THE BEST OFFENCE IN THE LEAGUE!
March 30th, 2013 at 3:16 pm
Seems that being a major college Quarterback, then an NFL Quarterback- would require a great deal of mental toughness
Probably a great deal more than is required to post opinions on a spots blog- without any real insight whatsoever- based solely on someone else weiting something derogatory.
Of course, His Mental Toughness is probably why he gets paid millions of dollars a year. And the majority of his critiques are at poverty level.
Not just a coincidence.
March 30th, 2013 at 3:56 pm
@bucobruce
Been agreeing with you the whole time.no one wants to support this incredible team we’re building because its easier to be a nay sayer and get rewarded when we do well.no one wants to get there hopes up.i say that’s the only place anyone’s hopes should be=up.we’re scary good on offense and are so young it’s exciting to see how the bucs shock the world.
March 30th, 2013 at 7:18 pm
Joe,
I was just wondering because I remember reading articles here about how you (or another Joe) believed competition for Freeman would be a good thing. I agree with you that ” Not every QB needs competition to be successful.” But let’s face it, #5 isn’t Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers or a Peyton Manning – not yet at least. I want #5 to succeed just as much as the next guy, I really do. But this team really does need a viable #2 guy, whether it be Carson Palmer or someone else. Behind Freeman we have no one. Being a Bucs fan, I’ve (unfortunately) become accustomed to lackluster Qb play over the years. I want to see this team in the playoffs again. I don’t care who we have at Qb. Bring in people who will help this team win, just just gift people roster spots without competition because you drafted them #1. Happy Easter Joe and all JBF posters.
How the hell does anyone know if Freeman needs someone to push him. He may very well crumble? Freeman had a great 2010 season with nobody pushing him. He also had great stretches last season with nobody pushing him. Greg Schiano and Mark Dominik (for years) have gone out of their way to NOT have someone push Freeman. Dan Orlovsky took ZERO first-team reps in practice last season. Not every QB needs competition to be successful. It’s not necessarily a fix or a good thing.
Joe’s not backpedaling. Joe’s hardly convinced Freeman will benefit from another distraction, which a strong backup would provide.
March 30th, 2013 at 7:20 pm
Oops, disregard that last paragraph, I forgot to delete that. Doh!
March 30th, 2013 at 11:54 pm
I think Orlovsky will win the backup battle during camp. Dan is not that bad, and he also will do better with an extra year under Sullivan’s offense.
I agree with Joe. Draft a prospect and let him battle it out with Orlovsky for the backup role.
March 31st, 2013 at 10:52 am
Haveing palmer would create a good old qb contraversy.