The OFFICIAL 2024 Bucs off-season thread

[Primeminister]

Somehow, many people are going to blame Mike Evans for not being a buccaneer if he ends up leaving.

Only the dumbasses. Licht should have re-signed Evans last offseason. Bootz has Licht nailed on this point. He delays the signings a step too far.

[Bootz]

Somehow, many people are going to blame Mike Evans for not being a buccaneer if he ends up leaving.

Only the dumbasses. Licht should have re-signed Evans last offseason. Bootz has Licht nailed on this point. He delays the signings a step too far.

It's not just the delayed signings either. He doesn't get maximum value. Look at the league in recent years.

Tyreek Hill wanted a new deal from the Chiefs. They traded him before it expired and got a major draft package.

AJ Brown wanted a new deal from the Titans. They traded him before it expired and got a major draft package.

Davante Adams wanted to be traded so the Packers did and got a major draft package.

Terry McClauren wanted a new deal from the Commanders. They extended him before his deal expired.

Meanwhile it seems to be a non zero chance the best we have to look forward to is a comp pick in next year's draft. I get that having Evans as a Buc for life sounds great. But this is a business. A fluid, evolving business. You have to explore all options.

I could do the same with Antoine Winfield as well and look at other DBs like Jamal Adams/Jets/Seahawks situation or Jalen Ramsey/Jags/Rams and then Dolphins situation. He comes up small in getting max value or ends up overpaying.

[Grahamburn]

It takes both sides to get a deal done. Do we think the Bucs haven’t made any offers and are just sitting on their hands waiting for these deadlines to pass?

I doubt it.

[Bootz]

I'm willing to bet Brandon Aiyuk is either traded or extended this offseason with 1 year left on his deal.

[Bootz]

It takes both sides to get a deal done. Do we think the Bucs haven’t made any offers and are just sitting on their hands waiting for these deadlines to pass?

I doubt it.

So it's just a major coincidence that year
after year top free agents reach free agency for this team instead of being extended before it comes to that?

[Phantom]

I'm sorry, this is next level incompetence.

Gotta save all that huge money for our star QB, amirite?

you’re quick to make judgments, aren't you?

[Snake]

I’m sympathetic to Jason’s predicament. He does not want to commit so much cap to a wide receiver over 30. Especially when the NFL draft is producing so much wide receiver talent every year.

But, Mike Evans’s gravity on offense is irreplaceable next year. And it’s not just the stats, it’s how Evans’s presence distorts a defense. Losing Evans and replacing him with a first round rookie, even a precocious one, is going to make Baker Mayfield look worse. It just is. The probability is not in one’s favor to gamble on an outside option.

The situation is why my mantra is “it’s better to be too early in pro sports, then it is to be too late.”

[acmillis]

Gotta save all that huge money for our star QB, amirite?

you’re quick to make judgments, aren't you?

What judgment am I making?

[Phantom]

Just in case Evans leaves for free agency, do you trust Godwin as the #1 WR? I wouldn't.

[Phantom]

you’re quick to make judgments, aren't you?

What judgment am I making?

“ Gotta save all that huge money for our star QB, amirite?“

This post about Mayfield is tiresome We get it you don't like him.

[Grahamburn]

It takes both sides to get a deal done. Do we think the Bucs haven’t made any offers and are just sitting on their hands waiting for these deadlines to pass?

I doubt it.

So it's just a major coincidence that year
after year top free agents reach free agency for this team instead of being extended before it comes to that?

Who was the last big free agent we lost? Seems to me we're typically able to re-sign our core guys to extensions, which I personally think is ideal.

I'd prefer not to have our players demanding trades so we can get draft packages, but that's just me. Pretty sure the Dolphins and Eagles are happy with the WRs they ended up with.

[Grahamburn]

Just in case Evans leaves for free agency, do you trust Godwin as the #1 WR? I wouldn't.

Deep WR class.

[Cheb]

I'm sorry, this is next level incompetence.

Agreed. This is a bad look. We've basically just burned an amount of money that could've paid for AWJ's extension this season.

As far as I understand it, we have until the end of the day to recoup those funds, but it doesn't look good.

The pessimist in me thinks that these could be the first steps down the darkest timeline when most if not all of our priority dudes walking.

[Grahamburn]

Maybe Licht doesn't have a blank check from the Glazers this year?

[Snake]

I’d guess a Winfield re-signing is imminent.

[Bootz]

@Snake you mean this right

[Snake]

@Snake you mean this right

I knew they would retain him. I didn’t see this angle coming.

he’s being made a top five player at his position in terms of money. But…how quickly things can go south.

[Doctor]

Makes the most sense. Cheapest tag. Lets us settle the other pieces too.

Watch Pats steal both Baker and Evans. Draft Harrison Jr. They got Van Pelt. Ufff.

[Bootz]

@Snake you mean this right

I knew they would retain him. I didn’t see this angle coming.

he’s being made a top five player at his position in terms of money. But…how quickly things can go south.

Then in that case....Trade. Him.

[Bootz]

Bit of an update on our cap situation.



$21.7mil in dead space to players not under contract. Spotrac projects a $242.5mil salary cap with us having $43.6mil in space. Subtract the $21.7mil on voided years, that leaves $21.9mil in cap space.

We're reportedly going to tag Winfield within the next 2 weeks. The projected tag value for safeties is $16.2mil. Subtract that from the $21.9mil left over, leaves about $5.7mil in space.

So we go from $43.6mil to $5.7mil in cap space and retain 1 player.

#ItsABucsLife

[Snake]

The cap payment always comes due.

Just wait until they give Baker a 30 million AAV and Mike isn’t around to bail him out.

Get a cost controlled stud rookie quarterback and pay everybody else.

[acmillis]

Bit of an update on our cap situation.



$21.7mil in dead space to players not under contract. Spotrac projects a $242.5mil salary cap with us having $43.6mil in space. Subtract the $21.7mil on voided years, that leaves $21.9mil in cap space.

We're reportedly going to tag Winfield within the next 2 weeks. The projected tag value for safeties is $16.2mil. Subtract that from the $21.9mil left over, leaves about $5.7mil in space.

So we go from $43.6mil to $5.7mil in cap space and retain 1 player.

#ItsABucsLife

...and even you know that is a fake number. Cheb had a post roughly a month or so ago showing how we could get to 100+M in cap. Please don't act like the sky is falling now.

[Bootz]

Bit of an update on our cap situation.



$21.7mil in dead space to players not under contract. Spotrac projects a $242.5mil salary cap with us having $43.6mil in space. Subtract the $21.7mil on voided years, that leaves $21.9mil in cap space.

We're reportedly going to tag Winfield within the next 2 weeks. The projected tag value for safeties is $16.2mil. Subtract that from the $21.9mil left over, leaves about $5.7mil in space.

So we go from $43.6mil to $5.7mil in cap space and retain 1 player.

#ItsABucsLife

...and even you know that is a fake number. Cheb had a post roughly a month or so ago showing how we could get to 100+M in cap. Please don't act like the sky is falling now.

His post didn't take into account the voided years that were tacked on today. In fact IIRC his post offset those dead cap hits which is how it got to that high of a number i.e. extensions for Baker, LVD, Evans, Winfield before their deals expired. The difference is substantial.

[Doctor]

Take a breath. We can resign those same players all the same, all this does is make sure we eat a certain part of it now. Which, given how we approached last year, was always the plan.

We weren't going to pay off the entire credit card in one year. We took the bulk of it, probably 80% of it, last year. The remaining 20% is still due, but it's not a big deal the massage into the cap with modern structuring techniques.

[Snake]

Yes. Put it all on the 0% APR card for 18 months. the month before you pay that off, buy a motorcycle with a 23% interest rate that kicks in after 12 months.

[Bootz]

Take a breath. We can resign those same players all the same, all this does is make sure we eat a certain part of it now. Which, given how we approached last year, was always the plan.

We weren't going to pay off the entire credit card in one year. We took the bulk of it, probably 80% of it, last year. The remaining 20% is still due, but it's not a big deal the massage into the cap with modern structuring techniques.

100% Wrong. Take a look at the dead money hits from voided years next offseason. Just between Chris Godwin & Shaq Barrett, $30mil+. And people were talking about us releasing Shaq.

You never stop paying off that credit card.

[Doctor]

Breath. Holy hell. Who knew the very expected soft deadline passing would hatch so many chicken littles. #itsabucslife

[Snake]

Winfield and Evans could walk and Doctor would make it a good thing.

[Bootz]

Breath. Holy hell. Who knew the very expected soft deadline passing would hatch so many chicken littles. #itsabucslife

How about you start looking at and spilling facts instead of your fictional hopium?

I'm not panicked. I simply corrected your misinformation that 80% of our voided dead cap hits were paid off last offseason. That's a lie. That's not even how it works.

Maybe if you started dealing in a world of reality and not whatever drug you're on, you'd see things for what they are

[acmillis]

Oh no....maybe we won't be able to afford signing Baker to a big money deal with only 80M in potential cap...

[Bootz]

Winfield and Evans could walk and Doctor would make it a good thing.

Right? He makes up a lie about our voided cap situation, gets called out and then tells me to relax.

[Buc2]

Winfield and Evans could walk and Doctor would make it a good thing.

Right? He makes up a lie about our voided cap situation, gets called out and then tells me to relax.

And he can't spell, breathe. That's twice now that I've seen.

[Doctor]

Who said anything about voided years? We'll likely never be fully free of those, they are a rolling mechanism.

Even then, I was referring to the full cap burden, both active and voided, that was put on the card. Godwin, Gage, Jensen, Brady, AB, Gronk, etc etc etc. We are over the worst but aren't out of its shadow just yet. The important thing is we didn't let it drag this team down even at the darkest point. More important still, what's left over is very very manageable.

[Doctor]

Right? He makes up a lie about our voided cap situation, gets called out and then tells me to relax.

And he can't spell, breathe. That's twice now that I've seen.

That's once actually. And it was originally Deep breath. Which yall still need to take. But hey, get your jabs where you can I guess champ.

[Jonny]

Am I supposed to be concerned about... stuff?

Looks like you guys are doing it for all of us combined. Go get em!