Zuttah Re-signs according to Stephen Holder

[Samari28]

And there you have it, we are players in free agency. Dominik was right, we are gonna be active. Now all we need to do is re-sign Barth and a couple of average players from other teams and he will have kept his word.

[MUSCLE_HAMSTER]

So.....are we still going to pursue Carl Nicks??

Depends if we're keeping Faine

[ryan24]

And there you have it, we are players in free agency. Dominik was right, we are gonna be active. Now all we need to do is re-sign Barth and a couple of average players from other teams and he will have kept his word.

Technically incorrect. Zuttah never made it to FA.

[geetech84]

So.....are we still going to pursue Carl Nicks??

Probably not "Rather just sign our key players and no outsider starters, only backups"  like last year

[alldaway]

As always it depends on the terms of the deal Zuttah agreed to.  But negotiations can focus on Barth now before the 4 PM deadline.

[yungbull]

So.....are we still going to pursue Carl Nicks??

Probably not "Rather just sign our key players and no outsider starters, only backups"  like last year

I'm pretty sure that won't be the case again.

[Beatles123]

Zuttah can move to C and free up room for Nicks.

[yungbull]

Zuttah can move to C and free up room for Nicks.

Thats what im hoping for...

[ALong13]

I really would Zuttah to move to center and cut Faine, but unfortunately I don't see it happening, and if he got any kind of deal, I don't see us spending money on Nicks unfortunately. I think we got heavy at safety (Michael Huff or Landry) and cornerback (I think Finnegan is our top target, with Carr being #2). I also wouldn't be surprised to see us go after a MLB, whether we land any of these guys or not is a different story, hopefully we will though

[bfarbs]

Beatles123,

My thinking exactly. He is scheduled to make $5.925 million in 2012 and $7 million in 2013 while his cap value is $7.925 million in 2012 and $9 million in 2013. We could pay Nicks $8-$10 million per season and  the cash outlay per season (after paying his large signing bonus) would only be an incremental $2- $3 million. Assuming a $21 million signing bonus ($1 million more than Logan Mankins), and $59 million over 7 years (vs. 51 million over 6 years for Mankins), his cap value, would be less than what Faine's cap value would be in 2013 and less than $1 million more than what he counts for in 2012. Cutting Faine would free up $1.925 million in cap value, though more cap space is not what we need. In terms of cash outlay for the Glazers, in my scenario it would cost $22-$29 million for Nicks in year 1 versus the $5.925 million in savings so $16-$23 million of cash from the Glazer's pockets to sign him. If they can get him for a lower signing bonus than $21 million than that cash outlay would diminish.

An interior oline of Nicks, Zuttah, and Joseph should create enough holes for even a mediocre running back to run through. Personally, I think Bucs MUST have a linebacker first and foremost with Tulloch and Lofton topping my wishlist. We really need two starting linebackers, something not possible to acquire in the draft, thus leaving atleast one starting LB a priority in free agency. After that, I'd like to see the Bucs acquire a cornerback (Finnegan or Carr preferably). After LB and CB, I'm open to speed WR (Vincent Jackson, Eddie Royal, or Pierre Garcon), RB (Michael Bush or Mike Tolbert), Safety (LaRon Landry), or Carl Nicks. I think G/C is probably the least need of all these positions but Faine has not shown an ability to stay healthy and gets pushed around a fair amount by bigger defensive tackles. Lastly, his salary expires after the 2013 season so now is as good of a time as any to upgrade him. By re-signing Zuttah and signing Nicks, we would essentially be upgrading two positions with one signing. I think that is a good use of money at a position we would not have the ability to upgrade in the draft given our numerous needs (CB, LB, speed WR, RB who can block blitzers and catch ball, S)

[Feel Real Good]

Do we now have the highest paid offensive line in the NFL?

[Dolorous Jason]

Good. Slide him to center, cut Faine, and sign Nicks, 12:01 March 13th.

Except don't cut Faine until after you sign nicks...

[JC5100]

My thinking exactly. He is scheduled to make $5.925 million in 2012 and $7 million in 2013 while his cap value is $7.925 million in 2012 and $9 million in 2013. We could pay Nicks $8-$10 million per season and  the cash outlay per season (after paying his large signing bonus) would only be an incremental $2- $3 million. Assuming a $21 million signing bonus ($1 million more than Logan Mankins), and $59 million over 7 years (vs. 51 million over 6 years for Mankins), his cap value, would be less than what Faine's cap value would be in 2013 and less than $1 million more than what he counts for in 2012. Cutting Faine would free up $1.925 million in cap value, though more cap space is not what we need. In terms of cash outlay for the Glazers, in my scenario it would cost $22-$29 million for Nicks in year 1 versus the $5.925 million in savings so $16-$23 million of cash from the Glazer's pockets to sign him. If they can get him for a lower signing bonus than $21 million than that cash outlay would diminish.

He won't get a signing bonus if he signs here. We have too much cap room to use signing bonuses. His deal would be structured similar to Joseph's, just for more money.

Joseph's deal. 7 years, $52.5M, $19M guaranteed
2011: 9.5M (guaranteed)
2012: 9.5M (guaranteed)
2013: 6M
2014: 6M
2015: 7M
2016: 7M
2017: 7.5M

Speculating on Nick's deal. 7 years, $61.5M, $24M guaranteed
2012: 12M (guaranteed)
2013: 12M (guaranteed)
2014: 6.5M
2015: 7.5M
2016: 7.5M
2017: 8M
2018: 8M

[blind melon]

Good. Slide him to center, cut Faine, and sign Nicks, 12:01 March 13th.

Except don't cut Faine until after you sign nicks...

Agreed.

[jvato24]

Good points guys.  But keep an eye out for Grubbs too.