These are interesting times in the Tampa Bay area. Not only is our promising, young, baseball team about to embark on a quest for its first World Series title, our beloved Buccaneers are once again making noise in the free agent market.
Big noise, as in they’re looking to sign the highest-profile, free agent out there: defensive back Darrelle Revis, the only man in the NFL with his own island.
It is no secret that the Buccaneers secondary was the worst in the league last year. After losing Eric Wright to injury (and drug suspension) and trading the troubled Aqib Talib to the New England Patriots, opposing teams were passing at will against the Bucs. They gave up a league worst 297 passing yards per game which, by the way, is 100 fewer yards than the Jets, for whom Revis currently plays.
The question isn’t whether the Bucs should pull the trigger on the Revis deal. They’re really the only team rumored to be in the hunt. It’s what they should give up to get him. Defensive backs rarely make Garnett money but Revis does. The numbers rumored to be floating around are upwards of $15 million, which is a boatload considering the penny-pinching Buccaneers generally don’t cough up of that sort of coin.
Last September, Revis tore his ACL. To call him damaged goods would be inappropriate. To say paying him $15 mil is a risk, or that he might not be the player he once was after knee surgery, is not.
I remember when the Orlando Magic signed an injured Grant Hill to a multi-million dollar, multi-year contract. In six years, he played in only 200 games. The Magic paid him $84 million over that time, not exactly the return on the investment they were hoping for. The Hill signing handcuffed the Magic for years.
I’m not saying the Buccaneers shouldn’t sign Revis nor am I suggesting he won’t be the Revis of old. I am saying the Bucs should prod and probe and not back down to the Jets’ demands. There is too much at stake, namely their immediate future.
Behind closed doors, both war rooms are jockeying for position, the Jets wanting draft picks the Bucs are unwilling to part with. Both parties hold bargaining chips, the Bucs in the sense that no other team is looking to spend that much money on Revis and the Jets knowing the Bucs have a dire need in that area.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a proud tradition of stingy defense which of late has become a shadow of its former self. It’s a franchise that has always won not by outscoring opponents but by shutting them down defensively. A healthy Revis would go a long way in restoring that tradition. That’s the only caveat. Is a healthy Revis what they’re getting?
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I’m not giving a corner $16 million in a league with a $120 million salary cap. Period.
Dub…
Particularly not one with a bum wheel.
You know what the worst part is, Dub?
They’re gonna do it.
I truly believe some pundit from New York who happens to be a Jets fan cooked this whole thing up… First they said it was the 49ers who were interested in Revis as they looked with envy at all those 49er draft picks… The 49ers’ management finally had to make a public statement they were not interested. Next it was the Atlanta Falcons and they too denied any interest. Finally whoever was pushing this deal around the league got a rise out of the Buccaneers’ GM. This is a pipe dream and my respect for the Bucs is really going to suffer if they destroy the team’s salary cap cushion by signing a guy who is simply not worth what he’s asking (not to mention his abilities may have been compromised by his ACL injury). Are they really this stupid? The Jets are in terrible shape. They’ve got a lame duck head coach so why not let them keep their lame duck cornerback as well… Like the old man on “Legends of the Fall” said… “SCREW ‘EM!”
Dwin…
As much as I like the fact that we’re in the running to land a key free agent, the more I thought about it, the more I became leery of the signing.
First of all, nobody wants him at that price. Second of all, from what I’m hearing, the key cog in this whole thing is the fact that they want this year’s first rounder which the Bucs don’t want to part with.
Seems like a pricey gamble to me when there are other capable corners out there that they can land at a third of the price.
The problem I see with the draft is that there’s quite a fall off from Dee Milliner who will probably go in the top 5-10 picks. TB should trade down if CB is so damned important to them and go for Xavier Rhodes (Florida State) who has been rising in the draft… They could most likely move down in the 1st round and parlay the move into a late round pick to boot! It appears the Bucs’ real problem is once again they need a top defensive lineman whether it turns out to be a DT or a DE, they could use either or both. Sooo, why in hell don’t they go after Brent Grimes (ATL) or Tracy Porter (DEN)? Both are unrestricted free agents, both are experienced NFL starters and neither would take 15-16 million bucks to bring in… The Bucs need to look at the big picture or they’re going to be in the same boat the Jets have found themselves in by relying on the free agent market to build a team…
Not only a bum wheel but a bum attitude. The price is too high for a super-hyped corner that had his best days behind him.
Revis wouldn’t look quite so good against those NFC South QBs six times a year. No more Miami and Buffalo to pad stats against, Darrelle.
Chris
Revis hasn’t aged like a good bottle of wine , instead he’s become a member of the geriatric crowd , and we will see that in his play this upcoming season . Idzik the new Jets’ general manager says he’s reluctant to let the player go , and that it isn’t about money or lack talent . That’s a complete crock of s#it from the exec and the whole world knows it .
Meanwhile Timmy Tebow can now be found reading stories to Pre K kids while awaiting his next opportunity in the NFL to make a complete @ss of himself .
Florida Gulf Coast College has now become the state’s newest party school . Do the female co-eds there, ” put out “and when we will them go viral on You-tube showing us what they can do ?
Sweet Sixteen bro , sweet sixteen and that’s not the ages of the females I know you like to stalk ! LOL,LOL,LOL !!
Courtesy of CBS Sports
Tophatal ……….
Not for this year’s first round pick. Maybe for next year’s pick. Unless the money is absurd they should make a deal, they are awfully thin at conerback.
The Jets are a train wreck and there is no reason for any team to help them right the ship…especially by taking a high priced player who’s health is unknown.
Ditto what Dub said.
No 16 million dollar corner…no way no how.
But Dwin…
The Bucs can’t rely on strictly youth at that position. They’ll get burned again.
I agree with you on both needs but they just can’t start rookie corners. They need to build for the future but they have to have some experience back there.
Bets….
That’s another intangible they need to stay away from. This team is teetering on the verge of something positive.
Signing a head case or locker room cancer is not the direction to go.
Han…
Another good point. Hadn’t thought about it like that although Cam Cam did regress last year.
It’ll be interesting to see what he does in his third year.
Al…
Florida Gulf Coast is the story of the tournament this year but I have a feeling they’re run is coming to an end on Friday.
Call me a homer but there is no way in hell they make it past Florida.
Aer…
From everything I’m hearing, that’s what’s holding up the deal. The Jets want this year’s number one which promises to be a higher pick. The Bucs don’t want to part with that.
Exactly, Jed.
They’re a mess but if they get over on the Bucs, that’ll just show who’s REALLY the mess.
Bleed…
I still get the uneasy feeling they’re going to pull the trigger on this deal for a hefty sum.
If FGCU gets past Florida , you can kiss your own @ss , because no one else will be doing it , unless they’re paying for the alleged privilege ? LOL,LOL,LOL !!!
What makes the team so damn dangerous is their all round athleticism < . And that is why their opponents in the tourney became so complacent ! They simply misjudged the team as being nothing more than an ordinary D1 school from a mid tier conference .
If interested let me know what you think ?
Shoot for the Moon and the Stars
http://tophatal.wordpress.com/2013/03/26/shoot-for-the-moon-and-the-stars/
Tophatal ………..
The Jets’ circus makes the antics of Monty Python seem almost archaic and asinine !
From top to bottom that entire organization is one big cluster $$ck , completely clueless and simply bereft of any goddamn intelligence .
Tophatal ………..
Al…
FGCU is not getting past Florida, not with nearly a full week for Donovan to prepare for them.
And the Buccaneers have their own organizational problems so excuse me if I don’t feel sorry for the Jets and their woes.
Haha the Jets sold a broken down cornerback for a first round pick. And Tampa Bay is paying him 16 million a year.
Only time will tell how this thing plays out, Joe.
I can tell you that Tampa is glad to have him.
And only that first year is guaranteed money.