Julio Jones is the newest member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Meaning, on paper, the Bucs receiver room, which consists of Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Russell Gage, is absolutely fully-loaded heading into the 2022 NFL season.
On the surface, it would appear the rich are getting richer, with Bucs quarterback Tom Brady once again flexing his influential TB12 muscles to get the seven-time pro bowler into a Bucs uniform for the upcoming season.
There is little debate that Jones is a future Hall of Famer and is arguably the best receiver of his generation. The Bucs know this firsthand seeing that Jones has more receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns against his former NFC South rival than any other team.
Jones has been giving the Bucs secondary fits for the better part of a decade, but the pertinent question that remains is what version of the two-time 1st-team Associated Press All-Pro selection are the Buccaneers getting?
The 33-year-old receiver has missed seven games in each of his past two seasons. As a member of the Tennessee Titans in 2021, he posted career lows in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns.
Those poor stats led the Bucs to potentially get a steal on a one-year deal, for the man who currently sits at 17th on the all-time receiving yards list.
One could argue that Jones felt like a ghost during the 10 games he appeared in a Titans uniform.
However, that was with Ryan Tannehill throwing him the football. Despite his two decades of tenure in the sport, Tom Brady is a significant upgrade under center, to put it very kindly.
Allow me to digress, while we’re on the subject of the G.O.A.T., can we just admire Brady’s work as a pure recruiter since his arrival in Tampa Bay?
The Bucs have seen the likes of Ryan Jensen, Leonard Fournette, Antonio Brown, and Rob Gronkowski among many others, all take team-friendly deals rather than market themselves for a potentially larger paycheck. Why would superstars put team ahead of coin? They chose the relatively safe gamble of reaching for the dream of getting the chance to be a contender for a Super Bowl with seven-time winner, Tom Brady.
The same goes here for Julio Jones, who decided to come play alongside Tom Brady. You’ll remember, Tom led a 25-point second half comeback in Super Bowl LI against Julio’s Falcons.
“Why we got to bring up old stuff? He did it. He did it. He did it,” Jones acknowledged before displaying a level of excitement to play with Brady. “It’s just a surreal moment. It’s amazing.”
From the view at Training Camp, landing a former Falcon on this pirate ship appears to be a welcome one. This short-term deal screams in favor of a low-risk, high-reward for the Bucs.
From a scheme-fit perspective, Jones should fit in right alongside Mike Evans as a capable deep-threat in the Bucs vertical passing attack while Chris Godwin continues to get back up-to-speed following a torn ACL last season.
Assuming he can remain healthy, then worst-case scenario, even if Julio has truly hit the proverbial wall when it comes to age and ability, at the very least he should give the Bucs, and Brady, competence, knowledge and experience on the field as veteran option to complement Evans and Godwin.
Best-case scenario, however, if #85’s last two campaigns were simply injury-riddled aberrations and he is able to stay healthy in 2022, then all eyes certainly will continue to focus on a direct route to the “big game”, because the Bucs passing offense is a quantifiable threat to lead the league in passing.
On the surface, it looks like the Arizona Cardinals gave quarterback Kyler Murray one of the best paydays the position has ever seen, signing him to a five-year contract extension worth $230.5 million, with $160 million of that massive sum being guaranteed. That dream offer almost sounds too good to be true.
Upon further review, it turns out only $103.3 million is fully guaranteed at signing. Included is an independent study addendum, detailing that Murray must watch four hours of game film a week outside of the team’s facilities. The catch, if you will, also prohibits Murray from watching television or playing video games while doing his own film study.
Between now and the end of his contract extension, Murray signed on the dotted line to complete a minimum of 476 hours of film study on his own time. For those of you keeping track at home — here’s one way to look at the math: Murray is set to be compensated $267,226 per hour for the time he’s required to sit in the comfort of his own home and review football games.
What has come into question since news of this contract addendum was leaked — largely has to do with Murray’s work ethic.
Murray took issue with the very suggestion at an unscheduled 10-minute press conference. “Of course, I watch film by myself, that’s a given. That doesn’t even need to be said. I refuse to let my work ethic, my preparing, to be in question,” Murray stated with conviction. “I’ve put in an incomprehensible amount of time and blood, sweat, tears and work into what I do, whether it’s football or baseball. People can’t comprehend the amount of time that it takes to do two sports at a high level in college, let alone be the first person to do it ever at my size.”
To be fair, Murray has a valid point.
He has excelled at every level at the game of football. He has seen an incredible amount of individual success very early in his NFL career, winning NFL Rookie of the Year and being named to the Pro Bowl twice in his first three seasons. Murray is also an outstanding off-script player who operates very effectively within the structure of the Air Raid passing scheme.
Murray rightfully defended himself. After all, those accomplishments speak for themselves. But I still have a question… Why did his employer feel it was necessary to have this stipulation added to his contract?
Were they unhappy with a statement he made during an interview with the New York Times in December of last year about not killing himself watching game film? Possibly.
Are the Cards really worried he does nothing but play video games at home after he’s done at team facilities for the day? Maybe.
Whatever the reason, it is beyond unconventional for a franchise to essentially put a “homework clause” in the contract of a player they just gave a nine-figure contract to.
For those of us who don’t run a football franchise, it is an interesting hard work versus talent speculation to discuss. How much time do you believe a quarterback has to invest into studying film to excel in the NFL?
Household names like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees can all be categorized as film junkies, and are renowned for the results their hours of preparation heading into the next game have yielded over their Hall of Fame careers.
But is that the only way to succeed at the quarterback position?
To that point, another guy who runs in that pack, Brett Favre, didn’t know what a nickel defense was by the time he reached the NFL, but he was beloved for his gunslinger, improvisational style that led him to multiple league MVP awards, a Super Bowl title and a Hall of Fame career.
Now, is it still fair to question why the Cardinals wanted this addendum tacked on to Murray’s contract? Sure.
But as the saying goes, today’s newspapers will line tomorrow’s litter boxes. Frankly, no one cares about the jargon that was part of the contracts of Brady, Manning, Brees or Farve over the years.
If Kyler Murray goes on to win a Super Bowl as a member of the Arizona Cardinals, do you think anyone will remember this homework addendum?
My guess is probably not.
Oh, and to the franchise in Phoenix: if you’re still hiring people to conduct NFL film study at home, yours truly comes at a much cheaper price. Call me.
Derek Tate was born and raised in the Tampa Bay Area. He has been covering the NFL for the last five years and is currently the Sports Director and Play-by-Play Announcer for the TV station in northern Michigan, NewsNet. When he isn’t watching, analyzing, living, eating or breathing NFL Football, he enjoys spending time with his one-year-old daughter, Kennedy.