Antonio NOW Officially Released.

[Four Verticals]

Now that AB has been released, 100% there's at least a couple playoff GMs on the phone with their HC talking about bringing AB in. I'd be more shocked if he's not signed by someone than if he is.

Prepare to be more shocked.

Maybe this offseason a team will decide to ride the AB crazy train hoping to avoid this kind of episode, but he'll be 34yrs old this summer and while he still looked quick (despite his "broken ankle" ) out there I don't think a team will take the chance.

It was only b/c of Tom Brady and the cache he has that AB was brought into Tampa. Did AB get any offers as FA this offseason? Nope. He signed an incentive laden deal worth up to $3.1M. Which is peanuts for a player of his talent.

Maybe Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay (assuming Rodgers is back next season) IF Rodgers pushes for it the way Brady did here.

We'll see. I think it's more than probably he's done in the NFL. Which is too bad.

Won't it hurt his case if he joins another team and is declared healthy by that team's medical staff?

[Buc2]

I asked a contact I have in the league (not the Buccaneers) about the AB situation.

He said that the fact AB claimed he was injured is likely why the Buccaneers have not released him. He stated that most players who are injured can't be cut. They have to be paid and placed on IR or the team must negotiate a settlement as part of the player's release. This is why players who are injured and released are always under the waived/injured designation.

So, my guess is that as soon as AB came out publicly and claimed he was injured that forced this to be prolonged. The Buccaneers then asked for him to see a doctor of their choice (likely to verify the extent of the injury). Once verified they would have to negotiate an injury settlement before he could be released.

Except, apparently, AB refused to comply. Hence, since his injury could not be independently verified, he was released. End of AB in Tampa.

Next story!

[King Bootz]

AB has issues. Last year we force fed him some screen passes when we were just running out the clock so he could hit his incentives. He was expecting that again vs the Jets but it was a completely different situation (we were losing). When he realized he couldn't play and his injury would be uncovered and he'd likely be done for the year and miss out on his money he was backed into a corner.

And we know how AB gets when he feels he's got his back against the wall.

Meh.. We'll never know but I have a sneaking suspicion that if AB had 5 catches for 50-60yds and a TD in the first half of that Jets game his ankle would've been ok.

His actions last Sunday were rooted in greed and selfishness. He wanted to be targeted more and was already butthurt about the team not guaranteeing performance incentives.

Let's not forget his contract was negotiated by his agent and he got himself suspended this season. Brady would've ensured AB hit those incetives had he played.

Has Jason Licht told Shefty, the Bucs were willing to have medical review of his ankle this week, but AB declined. As if everyone is just supposed to take AB's word on this. SMDH..

https://www.hss.edu/physicians_omalley- ... ebsiteLink

No need for the Bucs to speculate. Dr was listed. Have team docs consult with the physician. I don't understand why people are combing over the details listed in the statement. This would've been an easy, much less messy fix if you just go by the verifiable statements.

[Dread]

Yes, we're worse off by not having a healthy AB, but we were never going to have a healthy AB in the playoffs.

Not to be conspiratorial, but I'm not convinced AB's ankle or his ability to play is as dire as he's claiming this week. That's not say there wasn't an existing ankle injury from earlier in the season, just that it's possible AB embellished that injury last week for in attempt for some financial game.

AB was obviously miffed the team didn't acquiesce to his contract demands earlier in the week and guarantee his performance incentives. Everything that played out last week was a result of that.

The Bucs took him back after he was suspended by the NFL and he decides to try and hold them hostage. When that didn't work he quit.

So not only does AB not get his extra million or so dollars in performance incentives, he'll miss out on playoff bonuses as well as further tanking his potential value to a team in 2022.

Assuming there is a team willing to take on AB experience after this latest episode, it won't be for more than league minimum based on gameday roster bonuses with some performance incentive potential. But I honestly don't see it.

[Dread]

Meh.. We'll never know but I have a sneaking suspicion that if AB had 5 catches for 50-60yds and a TD in the first half of that Jets game his ankle would've been ok.

His actions last Sunday were rooted in greed and selfishness. He wanted to be targeted more and was already butthurt about the team not guaranteeing performance incentives.

Let's not forget his contract was negotiated by his agent and he got himself suspended this season. Brady would've ensured AB hit those incetives had he played.

Has Jason Licht told Shefty, the Bucs were willing to have medical review of his ankle this week, but AB declined. As if everyone is just supposed to take AB's word on this. SMDH..

https://www.hss.edu/physicians_omalley- ... ebsiteLink

No need for the Bucs to speculate. Dr was listed. Have team docs consult with the physician. I don't understand why people are combing over the details listed in the statement. This would've been an easy, much less messy fix if you just go by the verifiable statements.

Why do you believe AB gets to call the shots here?

The 3rd party physician has to be agreed upon. Sure the Bucs can consult with the doctor to gather information, but it's not the Bucs who were unwilling to be flexible here.

If an injury settlement is what AB was after, follow league protocol. The Bucs lawyers will have a pretty easy time defending their actions in any sort of grievance here.

But you seem to feel AB is a victim in all this, so I get it.

[King Bootz]

https://www.hss.edu/physicians_omalley- ... ebsiteLink

No need for the Bucs to speculate. Dr was listed. Have team docs consult with the physician. I don't understand why people are combing over the details listed in the statement. This would've been an easy, much less messy fix if you just go by the verifiable statements.

Why do you believe AB gets to call the shots here?

The 3rd party physician has to be agreed upon. Sure the Bucs can consult with the doctor to gather information, but it's not the Bucs who were unwilling to be flexible here.

If an injury settlement is what AB was after, follow league protocol. The Bucs lawyers will have a pretty easy time defending their actions in any sort of grievance here.

But you seem to feel AB is a victim in all this, so I get it.

I don't see him as a victim at all.

But again, there are details here that clearly were ignored that will eventually come into play here. 3rd party physicians do not have to be agreed upon. That's 100% inaccurate and anyone would tell you otherwise. There's a reason doctors actually can communicate with each other and share information.

You've made it up in your mind that ignoring the facts here and going with what you want to believe is the best course of action.

All I'm saying is that there are details here that have more credibility than "well I'm not convinced". If you think ignoring them makes you appear more knowledgeable, by all means.

All in all, none of this happens if we cut him after the Vax card fiasco. Should've done it then.

[Moozician]

Assuming his mindset, AB gonna sue the Bucs.

[King Bootz]

Assuming his mindset, AB gonna sue the Bucs.

Injury settlement. It'll probably be more than it needs to once all of these details are corroborated

[Snake]

Assuming his mindset, AB gonna sue the Bucs.

That’s AB for you. Spending more in lawyer fees than settlements.

[mdb1958]

Facts arent always fact even in a court of law, but of course now we have social media facts that at best drive opinion.

[Roach On My Pizza]

The beat writer that said some Buc players agreed with something AB posted, who were they?

On another note, I know Tampa is a small market but I'm still somewhat surprised one of the area propagandists has yet to create drama between Brady's Alex character and members of the staff.

[ATrain]

At the end of this whole Ab fiasco I appreciate Evans and Godwin even more. We lucked out in drafting two incredible receivers and neither are divas or drama starters. Both have been selfless and team first. Even Evans, who used to be The Guy on our offense hasn't once caused any issues despite him having many games where he was basically just a decoy for everyone else.

Hopefully we get Godwin signed asap so these two can continue being the foundation of our offense.

[Snake]

In the words of PMI, “we move on.”




I guess.

[King Bootz]

At the end of this whole Ab fiasco I appreciate Evans and Godwin even more. We lucked out in drafting two incredible receivers and neither are divas or drama starters. Both have been selfless and team first. Even Evans, who used to be The Guy on our offense hasn't once caused any issues despite him having many games where he was basically just a decoy for everyone else.

Hopefully we get Godwin signed asap so these two can continue being the foundation of our offense.

Godwin's value went up. But I've always had faith that we'd re-sign him.

[ATrain]

At the end of this whole Ab fiasco I appreciate Evans and Godwin even more. We lucked out in drafting two incredible receivers and neither are divas or drama starters. Both have been selfless and team first. Even Evans, who used to be The Guy on our offense hasn't once caused any issues despite him having many games where he was basically just a decoy for everyone else.

Hopefully we get Godwin signed asap so these two can continue being the foundation of our offense.

Godwin's value went up. But I've always had faith that we'd re-sign him.

He's worth it. After messing around on Over the Cap, we have a lot of money we can shift around for 2022 cap relief. There's $25 million in base salary between Smith and Marpet that can easily be converted to prorated bonuses.

That's assuming the Glazers don't get cheap on the team again when it comes to signing bonuses.

[Roach On My Pizza]

At the end of this whole Ab fiasco I appreciate Evans and Godwin even more. We lucked out in drafting two incredible receivers and neither are divas or drama starters. Both have been selfless and team first. Even Evans, who used to be The Guy on our offense hasn't once caused any issues despite him having many games where he was basically just a decoy for everyone else.

Hopefully we get Godwin signed asap so these two can continue being the foundation of our offense.

Both of them have been outstanding, in production, professionalism and character.

[Pirate Life]

So how much will the injury settlement be?

Might not be one. Needs to be negotiated between the player and the organization before the player is released. At most, it's one game check in this case.

Article from an Agent on the subject:

Relevant passage:

When a team calls an agent and says it wants to do an “injury settlement,” that means the agent and either the GM or salary-cap manager have to come up with a time frame they think would be equivalent to the duration of the player’s injury.

This process is greatly flawed because you have two non-medical professionals trying to forecast the healing time of an injury based on the team doctor’s prognosis. It’s the agent’s job to tell the team that the player would like a second opinion. Teams must agree to a second opinion but don’t always like it because 80 percent of the time the second doctor forecasts a much longer recovery.

Once both doctors’ opinions are in, a negotiation for the injury settlement begins. If the team doctor thinks the player will be fully recovered in six weeks and the second-opinion doctor says 10 weeks, both parties may agree on an eight-week settlement.

And from Over The Cap's site: https://overthecap.com/what-exactly-are ... ttlements/

Once the weeks are agreed upon the team simply agrees to pay the player as if he was on the roster for those weeks. Teams and players have a 5 day window to agree to this settlement. Once the settlement occurs the player is again released from the team (in most cases exposed to waivers), except in this situation the player can return to the team, with a bit of a catch. The player is not allowed to return to the team until the length of the settlement passes plus another 6 weeks.

[Dread]

Why do you believe AB gets to call the shots here?

The 3rd party physician has to be agreed upon. Sure the Bucs can consult with the doctor to gather information, but it's not the Bucs who were unwilling to be flexible here.

If an injury settlement is what AB was after, follow league protocol. The Bucs lawyers will have a pretty easy time defending their actions in any sort of grievance here.

But you seem to feel AB is a victim in all this, so I get it.

I don't see him as a victim at all.

But again, there are details here that clearly were ignored that will eventually come into play here. 3rd party physicians do not have to be agreed upon. That's 100% inaccurate and anyone would tell you otherwise. There's a reason doctors actually can communicate with each other and share information.

You've made it up in your mind that ignoring the facts here and going with what you want to believe is the best course of action.

All I'm saying is that there are details here that have more credibility than "well I'm not convinced". If you think ignoring them makes you appear more knowledgeable, by all means.

All in all, none of this happens if we cut him after the Vax card fiasco. Should've done it then.

Why do you feel AB suited up Sunday for the Jets game?

According to his statement that you're regarding as "facts" he already had surgery scheduled effectively ending his season.

Do you buy that AB was "forced to play injured" as he claimed?

I'm not ignoring any details. I just take them in context with the source, the sequence of events, and information available. You put alot more faith in the statement from AB and his reps than they deserve imo given his history of lies.

If we assume AB's ankle is really as bad as he proclaims and he's 'unable to play', opting for a surgery to correct it. So he asked the Bucs to guarantee his performance incentives, which they of course decline given his suspension this season.

So why would AB suit up Sunday? How do you force an injured NFL player to play in 2021 given the autonomy they have these days.

The obviously logic is so he can hit his performance incentives, right? So the report about him having a tantrum over target share would confirm that.

AB was medically cleared to play vs the Jets. If didn't feel comfortable to play with injury he wouldn't have been cleared.

AB's stories don't add up.

[Dread]

So how much will the injury settlement be?

Might not be one. Needs to be negotiated between the player and the organization before the player is released. At most, it's one game check in this case.

Article from an Agent on the subject:

Relevant passage:

When a team calls an agent and says it wants to do an “injury settlement,” that means the agent and either the GM or salary-cap manager have to come up with a time frame they think would be equivalent to the duration of the player’s injury.

This process is greatly flawed because you have two non-medical professionals trying to forecast the healing time of an injury based on the team doctor’s prognosis. It’s the agent’s job to tell the team that the player would like a second opinion. Teams must agree to a second opinion but don’t always like it because 80 percent of the time the second doctor forecasts a much longer recovery.

Once both doctors’ opinions are in, a negotiation for the injury settlement begins. If the team doctor thinks the player will be fully recovered in six weeks and the second-opinion doctor says 10 weeks, both parties may agree on an eight-week settlement.

And from Over The Cap's site: https://overthecap.com/what-exactly-are ... ttlements/

Once the weeks are agreed upon the team simply agrees to pay the player as if he was on the roster for those weeks. Teams and players have a 5 day window to agree to this settlement. Once the settlement occurs the player is again released from the team (in most cases exposed to waivers), except in this situation the player can return to the team, with a bit of a catch. The player is not allowed to return to the team until the length of the settlement passes plus another 6 weeks.

AB has a $916,667 base salary / 17 games (how game checks are calculated) = $54k

Seems like quite the hissy fit over $54k. Hell, that is only half of what he was asking back from Alex Guerreo

[Roach On My Pizza]

AB not practicing last week leading up to the Jets game makes alot more sense now with the details about his request for his incentives being rejected by the team.

From a timeline perspective he has a monster game vs Carolina where he was targeted 15 times on 29 passing attempts.

Has his agent contact the team to request his performance incentives be guaranteed. Proceeds to tell BA via text he 'rolled his ankle on the 2pt attempt' which occurred just before halftime of the Carolina game.

Sits out of practice last week with this ankle injury. Yet is medically cleared to travel with the team to NY and looked as quick/fast as he has at any point this season in the first half of that game.

Walks away from the team during the pregame huddle (no biggie)

Whines at halftime about targets

Quits in the 3rd quarter saying his ankle hurts but never speaks to anyone on the training staff.

Blames the Bucs for mishandling the situation.

As it stands, the Buc's can currently be criticised for a few things in this situation. Signing him, tolerating him and ineptitude in telepathy.

[Pirate Life]

Sorry for the huge blank space in that post. No idea how it happened. But doubtful AB got a settlement as it's usually announced as the team reached an injury settlement with the player rather than him being released.

My guess is they talked to both the team and the league's lawyers about the release before doing so. Possibly even with the NFLPA. With the little bits that are coming from the players on the team, certainly sounds like they think AB is going through some things and needs some help. Suh's tweet the other day was especially telling considering his history imo.

[Buc2]

Assuming his mindset, AB gonna sue the Bucs.

Injury settlement. It'll probably be more than it needs to once all of these details are corroborated

What is the motivation for the Bucs to settle? I see none from everything I've read. They can let this drag out for however long AB's lawyer wants.

[Snake]

Yeah the bucs have plenty of attorneys pretty much sitting around ready to do work. This is gonna cost AB vs not even being a gnat to the Glazers.

Keep doing you AB!

[King Bootz]

Injury settlement. It'll probably be more than it needs to once all of these details are corroborated

What is the motivation for the Bucs to settle? I see none from everything I've read. They can let this drag out for however long AB's lawyer wants.

If it's deemed they violated anything in the CBA.

Again, there are protocols when it comes to injuries and dealing with the release of injured players. Fans might have their minds made up but their motivation is largely irrelevant when it comes to the CBA.

[Snake]

Like, I want to like AB. He reminds me of so many kids I’ve worked with from bad areas. But I can’t even trust his story about the Guerrero thing. You know he just didn’t show up for scheduled treatment and other flaky stuff. He’s a maniac.

[Buc2]

What is the motivation for the Bucs to settle? I see none from everything I've read. They can let this drag out for however long AB's lawyer wants.

If it's deemed they violated anything in the CBA.

Again, there are protocols when it comes to injuries and dealing with the release of injured players. Fans might have their minds made up but their motivation is largely irrelevant when it comes to the CBA.

I'm confident that the team crossed its t's and dotted its i's before pulling the trigger on releasing him.

[nybf]

Flip

[nybf]

Flop

[nybf]

Flip

[nybf]

Flop

[Dread]

Injury settlement. It'll probably be more than it needs to once all of these details are corroborated

What is the motivation for the Bucs to settle? I see none from everything I've read. They can let this drag out for however long AB's lawyer wants.

Lawyers work off billable hours (at least many/most), so dragging this out would hurt AB the most. Especially since the sum for an injury settlement would be so minimal given the factors used to determine it (salary + games missed).

AB is a case study in self sabotage for a pro athlete. He screwed himself out of $30M guaranteed from the Raiders and just can't get right.

I hope he saved some of the money he earned in Pittsburgh

[Dread]

What is the motivation for the Bucs to settle? I see none from everything I've read. They can let this drag out for however long AB's lawyer wants.

If it's deemed they violated anything in the CBA.

Again, there are protocols when it comes to injuries and dealing with the release of injured players. Fans might have their minds made up but their motivation is largely irrelevant when it comes to the CBA.

The Bucs FO has two of the most highly regarding Football Administration professionals league wide in Mike Greenberg and Jackie Davidson. Those two (and those who report to them) are responsible the Bucs are CBA compliant in all roster decisions.

You mention "protocols" as if it could potentially help AB. But there are also protocols for players when it comes to injuries. Like informing the team trainers and being evaluated.

I'll take a leap and assume the Bucs followed protocols much better than AB did. But perhaps you're right and it's the other way around. You seem convinced the Bucs screwed him over.

[Sdbucs]

So no Godwin or AB for playoffs :X

[Dread]

So no Godwin or AB for playoffs :X

Yup, we're down to just two future HoF receiving targets (Gronk and Evans) for our GOAT QB to throw to.

Kidding aside, not having AB or Godwin hurts, but we're still a very capable passing offense.

Brady won a Super Bowl with just Edleman.

The Bucs defense was always going to have to step up like they did in last years playoff run if we were going to repeat. Now it's just more magnified.

[Snake]

Pray for Gronk. I’m not kidding. We need that man so badly.