WEBVTT - Draft Needs & Free Agent Contract Negotiations | Bucs Insider 0:00:04.640 --> 0:00:07.840 Good morning, Buck, sayans, how's everybody doing? Casey Phillips was 0:00:07.840 --> 0:00:10.200 a senior writer and editor Scott Smith. And this is 0:00:10.200 --> 0:00:13.640 where we take all of your thoughts, comments, questions in 0:00:13.680 --> 0:00:16.800 regards to the Buccaneers on Buccaneers Insider Life presented by 0:00:16.840 --> 0:00:18.880 Miller Lte And if you have a question for us, 0:00:18.920 --> 0:00:20.840 make sure you head on over to the Facebook page 0:00:21.000 --> 0:00:22.880 put it in the comments section. That is how I 0:00:22.920 --> 0:00:25.320 will be able to find it to ask it. And uh, 0:00:25.360 --> 0:00:27.000 I know that right now it is so weird, Scott, 0:00:27.040 --> 0:00:29.760 to think about what normally would be happening and things 0:00:29.800 --> 0:00:31.360 that we normally would be talking about that you and 0:00:31.400 --> 0:00:33.519 I would have done about a thousand of these normally 0:00:33.520 --> 0:00:36.720 in the last week from Indianapolis, that the combine typically 0:00:36.800 --> 0:00:39.120 would have been happening this last week and now would 0:00:39.159 --> 0:00:42.960 be pretty much over um. Just talking about the timeline 0:00:42.960 --> 0:00:44.400 of things that we give people a chance to to 0:00:44.400 --> 0:00:46.920 submit some of their questions. What normally is happening this 0:00:46.960 --> 0:00:49.199 time of year, what's happening now in this kind of 0:00:49.240 --> 0:00:52.319 altered reality that we have, and how that's affecting what 0:00:52.360 --> 0:00:55.040 we know and what we don't know across the league 0:00:55.040 --> 0:00:57.440 about things like free agency and the draft and all 0:00:57.440 --> 0:00:59.520 of that. Yeah, I think we would have just gotten 0:00:59.560 --> 0:01:03.240 home last day or two from our usual Indianapolis trip 0:01:03.280 --> 0:01:06.520 and missed the place. Huh, I know, right, Who would 0:01:06.520 --> 0:01:10.280 have thought I would miss Indianapolis in February? You know? Um, 0:01:10.319 --> 0:01:12.959 I think you probably would have some more rumors, uh, 0:01:13.160 --> 0:01:16.440 some more reports of teams meeting with agents. And I'm 0:01:16.440 --> 0:01:19.560 not talking about tampering, even though everybody believes that goes on. 0:01:19.840 --> 0:01:22.440 I'm talking about teams meeting with agents of their own players, 0:01:22.640 --> 0:01:25.440 their own potential free agents. I'm sure that is still 0:01:25.480 --> 0:01:27.520 happening in whatever method they want to do. So, I'm 0:01:27.520 --> 0:01:29.839 sure the gears are turning, but we're not really hearing 0:01:29.959 --> 0:01:32.720 very much about it. So um, it feels like the 0:01:32.720 --> 0:01:36.720 calm before the storm right now. Uh. The the deadline 0:01:36.800 --> 0:01:40.920 for franchise tags is six days from now, um, so 0:01:42.200 --> 0:01:45.039 you know, and most of those things probably won't happen 0:01:45.120 --> 0:01:48.200 until close to the deadline. It's definitely a deadline driven business. 0:01:48.520 --> 0:01:51.840 I just feel like we're not really without the combine, 0:01:52.160 --> 0:01:54.240 we don't have the same rumor mill that we normally 0:01:54.240 --> 0:01:56.000 would have right now, which I don't know if that's 0:01:56.040 --> 0:01:57.480 good or bad, but it would be kind of nice 0:01:57.520 --> 0:02:00.320 to be hearing some reports. Yeah, it's probably be good 0:02:00.320 --> 0:02:02.240 for the team and bad for us, because this is 0:02:02.280 --> 0:02:05.120 just what we enjoyed talking about. Um. We had a 0:02:05.160 --> 0:02:07.559 question from Yas who asked, do you see the Bucks 0:02:07.600 --> 0:02:11.680 picking up o J's fifth year option? Um? Which I 0:02:11.720 --> 0:02:13.959 definitely see it because it already happened, right, So yeah, 0:02:13.960 --> 0:02:15.920 I wanted to maybe let us kind of discuss what 0:02:15.960 --> 0:02:19.880 happened with o J. Howard, what his situation is currently. Yeah. Well, 0:02:19.880 --> 0:02:22.040 first of all, if anybody doesn't know what y'all just 0:02:22.080 --> 0:02:25.000 talking about, when you draft a player in the first round, UM, 0:02:25.080 --> 0:02:28.160 the way the c b A works UM is that 0:02:28.360 --> 0:02:31.880 all those players get automatically get four year deals with 0:02:32.240 --> 0:02:35.840 a fifth year team option, with the fifth year salary 0:02:35.840 --> 0:02:38.560 going up quite a bit. But the thing about that 0:02:38.680 --> 0:02:41.200 is you have to choose as a team to exercise 0:02:41.200 --> 0:02:44.239 that option between the third and fourth season. So even 0:02:44.240 --> 0:02:49.360 though so that already happened last like May with OJA Howard, 0:02:49.480 --> 0:02:52.160 the Buccaneers did decide to do that, which is a 0:02:52.200 --> 0:02:53.959 good sign. You know. It means they they thought it 0:02:54.000 --> 0:02:55.440 was important to be able to keep around for a 0:02:55.440 --> 0:02:58.760 fifth year. Absolutely. And then we also had Richard asked 0:02:58.880 --> 0:03:02.680 when will the NFL really least compensation picks for all teams? 0:03:02.720 --> 0:03:05.480 Pretty soon? Pretty soon? Yeah, real soon, probably within the 0:03:05.520 --> 0:03:08.680 next week. I would assume it could be a little 0:03:08.680 --> 0:03:12.600 bit maybe maybe, uh maybe with the way everything is different, 0:03:12.680 --> 0:03:14.880 maybe this is different too, and it's it's taking a 0:03:14.880 --> 0:03:17.799 little bit longer than usual, but that should be pretty soon. 0:03:17.919 --> 0:03:21.160 I I have read, I believe that there's a chance 0:03:21.200 --> 0:03:23.920 the Buccaneers will get a fifth round pick out of it. 0:03:24.080 --> 0:03:26.720 Um the way that it seems hard to believe that 0:03:26.760 --> 0:03:29.639 you could sign Tom Brady and still somehow come out 0:03:29.680 --> 0:03:32.120 on the positive side of it, but the way that 0:03:32.160 --> 0:03:35.200 it works really the first step in conversation picks as 0:03:35.240 --> 0:03:39.440 a simple um comparison, you know, just a map of 0:03:39.480 --> 0:03:42.600 how many you signed and how many didn't, and only 0:03:42.800 --> 0:03:45.000 only a certain number, I mean, only a certain sort 0:03:45.240 --> 0:03:48.040 of agents count. So like Leonard four Nett doesn't count 0:03:48.040 --> 0:03:50.640 against does as an example, so the Buckets really lost 0:03:50.680 --> 0:03:54.040 two players account or three that is, and and gain 0:03:54.600 --> 0:03:57.400 and signed to in Tom Brady and Joe hag So 0:03:57.840 --> 0:04:00.080 there that's the first step. You've got one more, you 0:04:00.160 --> 0:04:03.120 lost one more than you gained. And after that then 0:04:03.120 --> 0:04:07.040 they decide what that one spot is worked so um, 0:04:07.280 --> 0:04:09.000 I think that I think the player that matters for 0:04:09.080 --> 0:04:11.480 us as Brashon Perryman, and it could come back. It's 0:04:11.520 --> 0:04:13.680 like a fifth or six round pick. Yeah. And I 0:04:13.760 --> 0:04:15.640 was thinking, I think I'm gonna get to do an 0:04:15.640 --> 0:04:17.880 interview with Jason light soon, which I'm really excited about. 0:04:17.880 --> 0:04:19.840 But I was thinking about just wanting to hear your 0:04:19.839 --> 0:04:22.560 thoughts on how all of the things that have been 0:04:22.600 --> 0:04:25.760 different in this last year are affecting their decision making 0:04:25.800 --> 0:04:28.279 process right now. That you lost a lot of college games, 0:04:28.320 --> 0:04:30.960 scouts weren't able to do a lot of what they 0:04:30.960 --> 0:04:34.880 typically do in terms of visits, you didn't have a combine, um, 0:04:34.920 --> 0:04:37.200 the salary cap is lower. There are just so many 0:04:37.240 --> 0:04:40.760 things that have been different in this last year. What 0:04:40.800 --> 0:04:42.600 do you feel like are some of the biggest things 0:04:42.600 --> 0:04:45.359 that will impact the way they make decisions on what 0:04:45.480 --> 0:04:47.960 free agents you want to keep, How how comfortable you 0:04:47.960 --> 0:04:50.919 feel signing guys to certain contracts or the attempts to 0:04:50.960 --> 0:04:54.120 restructure and there, and who you're gonna target in the draft. 0:04:54.120 --> 0:04:56.680 Do you rely on the draft more or less than 0:04:57.160 --> 0:04:59.000 you know typical years when when you might have a 0:04:59.000 --> 0:05:00.800 lot less tape on some of these guys, I just 0:05:00.800 --> 0:05:02.240 want to hear what do you think are the different 0:05:02.240 --> 0:05:06.160 factors of that will most impact the way they're making 0:05:06.160 --> 0:05:08.760 decisions right now. Well, when you look at some of them, 0:05:09.440 --> 0:05:11.440 some of the top guys available in the draft, a 0:05:11.440 --> 0:05:15.800 lot of them opted out of the college season, So 0:05:15.839 --> 0:05:18.760 you're relying on two thousand nineteen tape and those players 0:05:18.760 --> 0:05:21.159 are probably still just as good, and you've you've you've 0:05:21.160 --> 0:05:24.479 scouted them already, but there you know, you've seen instances 0:05:24.480 --> 0:05:27.120 of a player whose senior year wasn't as good as 0:05:27.160 --> 0:05:29.240 their junior year, and that hurts their draft stock. And 0:05:29.240 --> 0:05:31.200 they're sure there's sure to be some of those guys 0:05:31.200 --> 0:05:34.040 out there. So maybe it's a little bit more of 0:05:34.080 --> 0:05:36.160 a crapshoot. But as we've talked about, the draft is 0:05:36.200 --> 0:05:39.039 already a pretty big crap shoot. And and I I 0:05:39.080 --> 0:05:41.919 throw out the idea last week that may be trading 0:05:41.960 --> 0:05:44.440 down is a good idea for the Buccaneers because if 0:05:44.480 --> 0:05:47.040 you get more picks, you just have more chances to hit. 0:05:47.320 --> 0:05:49.800 If it's if it's harder to hit this year, if 0:05:49.800 --> 0:05:52.680 you want to go with that theory, then you should 0:05:52.960 --> 0:05:56.200 have more options if you if you have more picks, 0:05:56.200 --> 0:05:58.640 you have more chances to hit. Um. The way the 0:05:58.640 --> 0:06:00.680 Buccaneers are set up right now, though, if they can 0:06:00.720 --> 0:06:03.159 get and Jason Light said this when when he spoke 0:06:03.200 --> 0:06:05.680 a couple of weeks ago, if they can keep that 0:06:05.760 --> 0:06:08.880 core intact as much as possible from last team, get 0:06:08.880 --> 0:06:10.880 a lot of these free agents back, they'll hit the 0:06:10.960 --> 0:06:16.120 draft not really needing uh anything really particularly one one 0:06:16.200 --> 0:06:18.480 or two positions that they have to hone in on. 0:06:18.560 --> 0:06:20.120 And you and I have talked about that a lot, 0:06:20.160 --> 0:06:23.159 but to hear him say specifically obviously validates it a 0:06:23.160 --> 0:06:25.440 lot more. Um. You know, he even used the word 0:06:25.440 --> 0:06:28.320 and luxury pick at one point. So if the Bucks 0:06:28.360 --> 0:06:31.240 can succeed in keeping most of their core intact, the 0:06:31.320 --> 0:06:33.640 draft will be interesting. You know. They pick so late 0:06:33.640 --> 0:06:36.120 that it's hard to predict what who could possibly be there. 0:06:36.120 --> 0:06:38.160 But they could go up, they could go down, they 0:06:38.160 --> 0:06:41.839 could hit a lot of different positions. So um, to me, 0:06:42.000 --> 0:06:44.640 that's more than the pandemic and the way that everything 0:06:44.680 --> 0:06:47.320 has been changed. What affects the Bucks in the draft 0:06:47.360 --> 0:06:49.640 more is assuming that they can keep most of his 0:06:49.720 --> 0:06:53.520 core intact, is they don't have as glaring of a 0:06:53.560 --> 0:06:56.200 need as you would normally have. And I was wondering 0:06:56.440 --> 0:06:58.760 with that, um, knowing how many of your guys you 0:06:58.800 --> 0:07:01.279 want to keep that you don't have these glaring needs 0:07:01.279 --> 0:07:04.120 like maybe you haven't in some other years. Um, is 0:07:04.160 --> 0:07:05.599 this the first time that it is kind of nice 0:07:05.600 --> 0:07:07.800 for us that free agency is first that we typically 0:07:07.800 --> 0:07:09.840 talked about how it would be great to like, you know, 0:07:10.080 --> 0:07:11.760 be able you know a little bit more of what's 0:07:11.760 --> 0:07:14.000 out there in free agency than you do the draft, 0:07:14.320 --> 0:07:16.920 and we've typically said, oh, yeah, we really wish that 0:07:17.000 --> 0:07:19.720 we could we could draft first. Um, is this a 0:07:19.800 --> 0:07:23.400 year that you think this actually helps the Buccaneers. Well, 0:07:23.400 --> 0:07:25.480 it definitely will will allow them to go into the 0:07:25.520 --> 0:07:28.080 draft with a good idea if they have blaring needs 0:07:28.160 --> 0:07:29.840 or not, because I all that I just said about 0:07:29.840 --> 0:07:32.200 the Bucks having no glaring needs will be different if 0:07:32.200 --> 0:07:34.440 they lose some of these key free agents. If if 0:07:34.480 --> 0:07:36.680 you were to lose Shack Barrett or Lavante David or 0:07:36.920 --> 0:07:39.560 Chris Godwin or in Dominican Sue, you can see right 0:07:39.600 --> 0:07:43.880 away that one of those positions could easily become much 0:07:43.920 --> 0:07:46.120 more a need. So yeah, it'll it'll be good to 0:07:46.120 --> 0:07:49.680 go into that knowing and really will probably know within 0:07:49.720 --> 0:07:51.920 the next three weeks or so. I mean, if you 0:07:52.000 --> 0:07:55.120 go by what happened last year, the franchise dag came 0:07:55.120 --> 0:07:56.640 down on the last day that you could do the 0:07:56.680 --> 0:07:59.400 franchise tag, which this year would be March nine. Um, 0:07:59.480 --> 0:08:01.600 some of the other guys like Jason Pierre Paul signed 0:08:01.720 --> 0:08:04.400 right before free agency started, and some of them like 0:08:04.640 --> 0:08:07.360 Don mckensoe started or resigned about a week end of 0:08:07.400 --> 0:08:10.320 free agencies. So we're talking about two or three weeks 0:08:10.320 --> 0:08:12.320 if it's anything like last year, where most of this 0:08:12.360 --> 0:08:15.160 will be resolved. And when it comes to the franchise 0:08:15.200 --> 0:08:18.000 tag when you start looking at you know, we we 0:08:18.040 --> 0:08:20.120 do have several guys that it would kind of make 0:08:20.120 --> 0:08:22.200 sense to use it on potentially, or you know, guys 0:08:22.240 --> 0:08:24.640 that you really want to keep, and um, what do 0:08:24.680 --> 0:08:26.080 you think are going to be some of the factors 0:08:26.400 --> 0:08:29.480 of deciding who you franchise tag That it's easy for 0:08:29.560 --> 0:08:31.000 us to all as fans just be like, oh, put 0:08:31.040 --> 0:08:32.200 it on this guy, put it on this guy. But 0:08:32.440 --> 0:08:34.920 you know, there's a lot there in terms of what 0:08:35.080 --> 0:08:38.000 the franchise tag would would be, and you know what 0:08:38.080 --> 0:08:39.480 some of your other options are. How deep erre at 0:08:39.520 --> 0:08:40.839 that position, what what do you think are going to 0:08:40.920 --> 0:08:43.679 be the things that lead to them deciding whether to 0:08:43.760 --> 0:08:45.679 use it and who to use it on. I think 0:08:45.679 --> 0:08:47.719 we'll have a lot to do with how negotiations are 0:08:47.720 --> 0:08:50.920 going right now. Um. Jason Light said about the franchise 0:08:50.920 --> 0:08:52.480 tag a week or so, a week or two ago, 0:08:52.960 --> 0:08:55.240 that he couldn't tell you who we might use it 0:08:55.280 --> 0:08:57.520 on because they don't know themselves. And I think that's 0:08:57.520 --> 0:09:00.480 because if you signed LaMonte David well and there's one 0:09:00.520 --> 0:09:02.000 off the board, you don't have to worry about using 0:09:02.000 --> 0:09:03.679 it on, you know, see what I'm saying. So if 0:09:03.720 --> 0:09:05.880 you can get Chris Godlin sign and Lavante David, then 0:09:05.880 --> 0:09:08.640 maybe use it on somebody else. Um. The one guy 0:09:09.080 --> 0:09:12.000 that is a little more complicated is Shack Barrett because 0:09:12.000 --> 0:09:14.720 he just had the franchise tag, So giving him the 0:09:14.720 --> 0:09:18.120 franchise tag again this year means a bump of from 0:09:18.120 --> 0:09:20.240 what he got last year, So getting pretty high up 0:09:20.280 --> 0:09:23.160 there in terms of what he would be getting for 0:09:23.200 --> 0:09:26.240 the year. Um. So you know, in a in an 0:09:26.280 --> 0:09:28.959 ideal world, you'd probably get him signed to some sort 0:09:29.000 --> 0:09:31.079 of long term deal and then if you couldn't get 0:09:31.080 --> 0:09:33.400 the others, you'd have the franchise tag available for say 0:09:33.480 --> 0:09:37.000 Chris Goblin or Lavante David. But every player would prefer 0:09:37.080 --> 0:09:39.480 to get the long term deal, and so hopefully they're 0:09:39.880 --> 0:09:42.560 making some headway in that regard. All right, well, that 0:09:42.600 --> 0:09:43.719 is gonna do it for us on this edition of 0:09:43.720 --> 0:09:46.360 Buccaneers Insider Live presented by Miller Lite. Thanks so much 0:09:46.400 --> 0:09:48.000 for being with us, and we'll see you next time.