Latest on Rice...

[cvillebucfan]

If this is the case I am not seeing Rice being traded. If anyone has any info on this that would say otherwise, please let me know. Why would a team trade for Rice if he is counting 10 mill against the cap next year and it is rumored that we are going to release him? I was wanting to get something out of Rice but I am having a hard time seeing how this could be done...

• Word out of Tampa is that DE Simeon Rice has played his final game with the Buccaneers. Rice was placed on the injured-reserve list last week because of an ailing shoulder that kept popping out of its socket. We hear Rice, whose contract is up after the 2007 season, is scheduled to count nearly $10.5 million against the salary cap next year and that the Bucs have too many other areas of concern on defense to pay Rice's expensive salary. We're told the Bucs will try to trade Rice in the offseason, but if they don't find any suitors, they could just release him.

[mjs020294]

If this is the case I am not seeing Rice being traded. If anyone has any info on this that would say otherwise, please let me know. Why would a team trade for Rice if he is counting 10 mill against the cap next year and it is rumored that we are going to release him? I was wanting to get something out of Rice but I am having a hard time seeing how this could be done...

• Word out of Tampa is that DE Simeon Rice has played his final game with the Buccaneers. Rice was placed on the injured-reserve list last week because of an ailing shoulder that kept popping out of its socket. We hear Rice, whose contract is up after the 2007 season, is scheduled to count nearly $10.5 million against the salary cap next year and that the Bucs have too many other areas of concern on defense to pay Rice's expensive salary. We're told the Bucs will try to trade Rice in the offseason, but if they don't find any suitors, they could just release him.

His 2007 salary is $7.25 million, which isn't a deal breaker if he is fully fit.  Any new team would re-negotiate his contract before the 2007 season starts anyway. If a team has a chance of competing next year and needs a pass rushing DE, then a trade is possible.

[bradentonian]

If this is the case I am not seeing Rice being traded. If anyone has any info on this that would say otherwise, please let me know. Why would a team trade for Rice if he is counting 10 mill against the cap next year and it is rumored that we are going to release him? I was wanting to get something out of Rice but I am having a hard time seeing how this could be done...

• Word out of Tampa is that DE Simeon Rice has played his final game with the Buccaneers. Rice was placed on the injured-reserve list last week because of an ailing shoulder that kept popping out of its socket. We hear Rice, whose contract is up after the 2007 season, is scheduled to count nearly $10.5 million against the salary cap next year and that the Bucs have too many other areas of concern on defense to pay Rice's expensive salary. We're told the Bucs will try to trade Rice in the offseason, but if they don't find any suitors, they could just release him.

His 2007 salary is $7.25 million, which isn't a deal breaker if he is fully fit. Any new team would re-negotiate his contract before the 2007 season starts anyway. If a team has a chance of competing next year and needs a pass rushing DE, then a trade is possible.

^^What he said.  It wouldn't surprise me, though, to see the Buce try to renegotiate his deal as their first option, though.

[stereochemistry]

We ask this question all the time when a big name player is set to be cut because his salary is too much; and then we all stand amazed when teams trade picks to get that player.  Everyone knew the Jets were set to cut Abraham, because he was going to make too much and was underachieving and hurt too often for that price.  And yet, someone was willing to trade a pick for him so that they didn't have to bid with other teams.

Any team that is serious about wanting Rice could take his 1 year contract and restructure it, giving Rice a minor signing bonus and stretching the money out over a few years.  While it seems that it would make more sense to just take the 10.5M for one year, it's up to his agent to detemine if he's likely to be signed to a new contract for that amount after getting cut, or if he's likely to make more money on a new deal that uses his current deal as a base.

[mjs020294]

While it seems that it would make more sense to just take the 10.5M for one year,

$7.25 million......he has already had the rest of it off the Buccs in signing bonuses.

[PewterReportJF]

But remember -- many trades involve the player restructuring or signing a new deal with their new team.

[BuckEmUp]

"We're told the Bucs will try to trade Rice in the offseason, but if they don't find any suitors, they COULD just release him".

 Â   This does not mean that Rice is for sure gone, it simply states that the Bucs will try to trade him.  That has been said around here since before the trade deadline and some during the offseason.  If the Bucs get what they believe to be a valuable exchange they will let Rice move on.  Any trade that may occur could rely on Rice reworking his contract.  The problem with that is Rice has shown that he wants nothing to do with that.  His feelings may change when he realizes he may be out of a job making no money or even less then what he wants.  The leverage the Bucs have aginst other teams is that they don't have to release him, they are far enough under the cap that they could hold on to him.  

[cvillebucfan]

Good points here. I like Rice but if we could get something in return (draft pick R1 or R2 or a young impact player or the ability to go after someone special) I am all for parting ways with Simeon. He will be a year older and we need to infuse some youth.

[Pick6]

i think if the bucs don't get the trade they want, they'd be better off keeping rice and eating his contract this year....with $25+ mil in cap room, we have the luxury of keeping him around even if it's just as a situational player...if he's healthy, he'll make his plays, and we can groom younger DEs as part of a platoon next year instead of putting the pressure on them to have a 10-sack rookie year...and sim has always been known as a mentor for young DEs

people don't give rice enough credit - when he was on last year we were a #1 defense....non-factor this year, and teams march downfield on us....just like sapp, we'll find that replacing  the impact of a player like that at an important position, even in decline, is not as easy as it sounds....

still, i never count out bruce allen when it comes to trades...nobody thought we could trade keyshawn or keenan because everybody knew we'd eventually cut them, and he still made it happen

[cvillebucfan]

BucINT I agree, Rice gets a bad rap and he has a tremendous game. Its just the fact (IMHO) that he will be another year older and if we CAN get something we had better do it now.

[Pick6]

agree, but no need to settle on value when we can afford to (and benefit from) keeping him....if we don't get a pick in the top 2 rounds, we're better off with rice in a contract year as a mentorpass-rush specialist than being without him and banking our defensive success on some rookie, FA, or former part-timer to fill the void on their own....insurance against ending up with a booger at RDE

i'm just saying cutting him shouldn't be one of the top 2 options....keep him on unless we desperately need cap space, and let him fight for playing time alongside his eventual replacement...

[SamoaJoeBucFan]

Well, if we can get a second round pick for him, then why not?  That would give us 5 picks on the first day, plus some cap room to go make a deal to bring in a FA DE, or DT.

[escobar]

I say get rid of him either way, through trade or outright release. Not because I think he is completely washed up, more so because I want to get the youth movement on D started ASAP. If we use a premium draft pick on a DE and bring Rice back as well, that just pushes back the development of our draft pick for another year. The way I see it, a lot of our D players are gone next year and it's either going to be a ligtning in a bottle type of year where we get lucky with a bunch of draft picks and FA's on D that gel and form a top D, or the same players need a year to adjust and it's more of a learning type of year. My money would be on an adjustment type of year, and that year will be pushed back if we bring back guys like Rice who definitely won't be here in 2008. I say just cut the dead weight now and move on. IMO Rice, Quarles, Spires, and Brooks are all gone next year. Either cut, traded or benched. BK might also be gone, as well as Phillips. If all of that happens there is no reason to keep Rice around.

[gharen]

Simeon would look good in a Denver uniform

[Pick6]

next year is supposed to be our year to win.  developing youth at the expense of results on the field is a goal for this year.  next year, we put as many guys who are ready to play and win on the field, and resort to rookie starters only when they've legitimately won the job or circumstances require it.  keep rice and let the kid win the job. 

DE is not like QB, you can acclimate much faster and can gain alot more from practice reps than a QB, so it's not as essential to max out game snaps for a rookie DE, IMO...you don't get a ton of different looks, moves, etc that you don't see in practice. and if we make another marcus jonesregan upshaw pick, we'll regret not keeping a veteran like rice in the fold when we could still afford to.