Holy crap, what a crazy pair of off-seasons we've seen in Tampa. Let's recap:
1. They've signed Carl Nicks to a 5 year deal worth up to 47.5M
2. They've signed Vincent Jackson to a 6 year deal worth up to 61M
3. They've signed Dashon Goldson to a 5 year deal worth up to 43M
4. Impending: they are about to sign Darrell Revis in the neighborhood of 15M a year. Oh yeah, and forfeit their #13 pick along with a couple later picks as well.
Let's see what they've accomplished here. They locked up 20M a year in a guard and wide reciever, after which their pass offense was #10 in the NFL and their running production was #15. They spent over 8M a year on a safety when other very good options are _still_ available and desperate for jobs. For example, Kerry Rhodes is a solid player, was available and could probably have been signed for 2-3M a year on a shorter deal. Unless you're the Steelers or Ravens, that elite safety does not change your defense considerably versus having a solid player there. Adding Revis to the mix means locking up 15M a year for a player to take away half the field, but the Bucs don't do a terribly good job of pressuring quarterbacks ... so ... yeah.
43M a year locked up in 4 players, none of whom play the real premium positions (quarterback, tackle, defensive tackle and defensive end).
And we haven't looked at the impact of the Bucs losing their draft pick in a year with really good quality depth at a lot of positions that they happen to need. I'm pretty sure they'd be better off taking a chance on Bjoern Werner or Star Lotulelei or any other defensive lineman available at 13 than trading it for Revis. Or, just reach a bit for one of the corners in the draft and pay them 20% of what Revis is making.
Oh yeah, don't forget Revis is in love with being the top-paid guy in the league. The moment he's not, you've got a contract holdout on your hands.
Well done.
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