Buccaneers take offensive lineman Graham Barton with pick No. 26
By Mike Florio
PublishedApril 25, 2024 11:19 PM
Now that the Buccaneers have quarterback Baker Mayfield under contract through 2026, they need to protect their investment.
They did it on Thursday night by making offensive lineman Graham Barton the 26th overall pick in the draft.
Barton is a versatile player, who can handle center, guard, or tackle. That gives the Bucs flexibility, along with a talented player to account for the retirement of Ryan Jensen.
The biggest knock on Barton is arm length, which could force him into the middle of the line. Regardless, he has the potential to be a great player at the next level.
Offensive line is never a sexy pick, but players like that lay the foundation for the guys who gain the yards, score the points, and lead the team to wins.
Bucs waive CB Richard LeCounte
By Charean Williams
PublishedApril 24, 2024 04:56 PM
The Buccaneers tweaked their roster on the eve of the NFL draft.
They announced they waived cornerback Richard LeCounte on Wednesday.
LeCounte, 25, spent the past eight months with the team.
He signed with the Buccaneers during the 2023 preseason and ended up on the practice squad to start the regular season. LeCounte remained on that unit throughout the season, including the playoffs, and was elevated on game day the maximum number of three times.
He saw action in two of those three games, seeing four snaps on special teams.
LeCounte entered the NFL as a fifth-round draft pick of the Browns in 2021. He played in 10 games with one start over two seasons in Cleveland, recording three tackles.
He played his college ball at Georgia, appearing in 41 games over four seasons and totaling 176 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, eight interceptions, 10 passes defensed, four forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries.
Patriots bring in LB Cam Gill for a tryout
By Myles Simmons
PublishedApril 23, 2024 04:42 PM
The Patriots have done some work to evaluate a linebacker before this week’s draft.
Per Mike Reiss of ESPN, Cam Gill had a tryout with New England.
Gill, 26, entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2020 and was with the Buccaneers for his first four seasons. He suffered a Lisfranc injury that kept him sidelined for the entire 2022 season.
Appearing in 40 career games, Gill has been a significant special teams contributor while playing limited offensive snaps.
He’s recorded 29 total tackles with one tackle for loss, four QB hits, 2.5 sacks, and one forced fumble.
Live roast of Tom Brady will happen on May 5
By Mike Florio
PublishedApril 22, 2024 11:06 AM
Nearly two years after it was first announced, it’s happening.
The Greatest Roast of All Time: Tom Brady will happen live on Netflix on May 5, at 8:00 p.m. ET.
From the Netflix post announcing the date and time: “Hosted by Kevin Hart with an all-star lineup of surprise roasters. No Brady Rule. No Pads. No Mercy.”
A roast basically consists of a group of friends and/or celebrities telling jokes about each other and the person who is the subject of the roast. It can be a little raunchy and over the top.
It can get a little too personal, too. We’ll see how personal it gets for Brady. And we’ll see what he has to say when he has a chance to turn the tables at the end of the festivities.
The news comes at a time when Brady has dropped a strong hint about playing again in 2024, if a starter is injured during the season. It’s still possible that, after the draft, a time that still needs a quarterback might give Brady a call.
Ali Marpet: Tom Brady offered cash incentives for successful screen passes
By Mike Florio
PublishedApril 17, 2024 08:36 PM
Tom Brady’s time in Tampa Bay was largely successful. He might have helped encourage the success by taking cash out of his own pocket.
Via JoeBucsFan.com, former Buccaneers guard Ali Marpet recently claimed that Brady offered incentives to teammates for one specific thing.
Appearing on the Wam Bam podcast, Marpet offered the offensive line a bonus if one specific type of play reached a certain level of success.
“[Brady] took our starting offensive line to the side and he’s like, ‘Hey, if you guys can get a screen to go for more than 15 yards, I will give you $1,000 cash each,’” Marpet said. “‘That is for you guys, so every time that we get that, I will be happy to make that payment.’”
Marpet said there were “multiple” plays that met the standard for payment.
“Tom just knowing how guys are wired and what goes a long way and inspiring and getting the most out of his guys,” Marpet said.
The issue of offering players off-the-books incentives became the focal point of the Saints bounty scandal of 2012. Programs like this technically run afoul of NFL’s rules, even when they aren’t premised on potentially incapacitating opponents.
It’s unlikely the NFL will do anything about it. It’s also unlikely that similar incentives aren’t commonly employed on a wink-nod basis within NFL locker rooms.
