Buccaneers Face Rough Seas as Wave of Salary Concerns Hits
While all of the attention in the NFL is on the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks, the other 30 teams are going about their business of evaluating college talent, filling coaching positions and figuring out ways to get themselves under the NFL's salary cap by March 3.
For the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, that means there's plenty of work to do.
The Bucs entered the offseason $19 million over the cap and may face some tough roster decisions in the next four or five weeks.
General manager Bruce Allen said two weeks ago that the top 15 salarycap players will all be approached to restructure their contracts.
The Bucs currently have 16 players whose cap numbers are higher than $2 million. Those 16 count $73.2 million against next year's cap. By March 3, that sum must be significantly lower.
It's likely not all 16 will stay with the team. Don't expect players such as guard Matt Stinchcomb ($2.1 million) and linebacker Jeff Gooch ($2.05 million) back next year. Running back Mike Pittman ($2.12 million) may also be a cap casualty.
Who goes, who stays and who restructures is all part of a complex process that doesn't specifically center on one or two people.
"I know it's fun to try to pick one person and say, `Can he fit into our salary cap or not?' " Allen said two weeks ago. "That's always dictated by the other 52 players on the team because it's all interchangeable. There's only one salary cap for one team and you've got to fit them all in."
And as Allen pointed out, there are only two ways to reduce the salary cap -- by releasing some player or restructuring contracts. Allen will use both.
Some cap issues rate a higher priority than others. Getting linebacker Derrick Brooks ($11.75 million) and defensive end Simeon Rice ($9.2 million) to restructure will be one.
Rice, in the past, has refused to restructure his contract. If he does again, he could be released.
Brooks, after the Bucs' 17-10 playoff loss to Washington, gave an indication of what he might do when quizzed about his status for next year.
"I plan on being back," he said. "There's no place I'd rather play than Raymond James Stadium."
Settling the current quarterback situation may be the highest priority of all.
Brian Griese, who started the first six games before injuring his knee, has a cap figure of $7.1 million, which includes $3.5 million in salary and $2.85 million in bonuses. Complicating the issue is that Chris Simms, who replaced Griese, is a restricted free agent. That means the Bucs will have to give him a significant raise to keep him. Simms made $380,000 this past year with a cap hit of around $500,000.
Allen has already started contract talks with Simms' agent. The Bucs don't want other teams setting the price on what it would take to keep Simms.
Simms, however, looks content to see whether a new collective bargaining agreement is reached by next month. That will have an impact on all free agents.
In Simms' case, if 2007 is an uncapped year, it would mean under the current rules that it would be another three years before he could become an unrestricted free agent. If it isn't, he could play next year under a oneyear tender offer then become a free agent in 2007.
Allen said emphatically that he wants to keep both quarterbacks.
"That's our goal," he said. "I don't need to talk about how important the quarterback position is and how quickly it can change.
"If Brian doesn't start us out 51, we're not going to win the (NFC South) division," Allen said. "And if Chris doesn't finish the season so well, we wouldn't win the division."
That said, with cap decisions on specific players being part of a larger process, the negotiations with the quarterbacks could have a big impact on other players.
The Bucs actually need to clear more than $19 million because they also have some unrestricted free agents of their own they'd like to re-sign. Tops on that list is defensive tackle Chris Hovan, who counted the NFL veteran minimum of $480,000 in 2005. Other unrestricted free agents include tackle Kenyatta Walker, safety Dexter Jackson, wide receiver Ike Hilliard and kicker Matt Bryant.
No matter how Allen and Gruden put the pieces together, some of this year's pieces will not be part of 2006. That's just a part of life in the salary-cap-ruled NFL.
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