The Tampa Bay Buccaneers want to build off their impressive 2023 campaign by keeping their star players and trimming the underperformers from the roster. Finding the right players to cut from the roster would help the front office find better talent that would improve their chances of winning the Super Bowl.
One of the players who’s most likely going to be cut from the team is Carlton Davis III. The 27-year-old corner regressed over the past two years, leaving him a far cry from the form that helped the Buccaneers win their first Super Bowl ring with Tom Brady under center.
However, the question the Jason Licht must answer is whether Davis should be cut or shipped off somewhere.
Analyst suggests for Tampa Bay Buccaneers to trade Carlton Davis III to avoid cap penalty
Pewter Report’s Joshua Quiepo noted that Davis will be owed $14 million in basic wages for the 2024 season, so it would make sense for the Buccaneers to just cut him and get $6 million in cap space for the offseason.
However, he suggested that they should look to moving him onto a team that would be interested in his services:
Cornerback is one of the most difficult and high-variance position in the NFL. Every team is looking for more corners as it is a position that also has a high attrition rate. While Carlton Davis III’s current cap hit for 2023 with the Bucs looks high at $20,370,275, a team that opts to trade for him would only be picking up a $14,352,941 cap hit. And they could always restructure that number down to less than $2 million this year.
When you consider the lack of long-term investment and the relatively low price-tag associated with Davis, it becomes much more appealing for another team to consider trading for him. This is especially prudent when you consider there isn’t a very good crop of free agent cornerbacks who will be available this offseason.
Davis was the weakest link in the secondary of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season. His standout stats looked decent at 40 solo tackles, two interceptions, and nine pass deflections. However, the Auburn product allowed 61.4% of passes and a 96.1 pass rating whenever he’s targeted. These numbers are the highest they’ve been since his rookie season.
Davis is still an effective corner under the right system, so there will be teams that are interested in his services. It will be up to the Bucs to figure out how they can maximize Davis’ value.
