Carl Nicks ‘Retirement’ Leaves Tampa Bay Buccaneers With Limited Options
Jun 10, 2014; Tampa Bay, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers guard
Carl Nicks(77) during minicamp at One Buccaneer Place. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
With Carl Nicks’ announcement that he is stepping away from football, it now leaves the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a tough spot at the guard position.
Before Nicks’ decision, the Bucs were already thin at guard. Now with Nicks gone, they are really struggling.
Jamon Meredith will man one spot, but Oniel Cousins, Kadeem Edwards, Jason Foster, Andrew Miller and Patrick Omameh are the other options, none of which bring a ton of confidence to the line-up.
For what it’s worth, Bucs head coach Lovie Smith has said that Meredith and Cousins are pencilled in as the starters now.
Nicks hasn’t officially called it a retirement but for all intents and purposes, that is exactly what it is.
"“I’d like to think the Buccaneers organization for working with me as I have attempted to get myself back on the football field,” Nicks said in an official team statement. “However, after careful consideration, I have made the decision to step away from the game. This was by no means an easy decision, but I believe that it was what is best for me and my family, as well as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.”"
Not what you'd expect, but over last two years, Bucs went 3-6 (.333) in games Carl Nicks played, 8-15 (.348) in games he missed with injury.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) July 25, 2014
He has been nothing but a major bust for the Bucs after signing a five-year, $47.5 million deal with Tampa in 2012, as he played in just nine games as he dealt with injuries.
Meredith on Bucs' o-line moving forward: "Our group, we're not even sweating it. ... I think y'all are a little more panicky than we are."
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) July 26, 2014
Meredith is now the most experienced guard on the roster (in terms of starts) and has proven to be a good player in his tenure with the Bucs. He has appeared in 30 games with the Bucs, 20 of which are starts.
He has played primarily at right guard but now appears to be moving to left guard to replace Nicks. Cousins, who is slated to play at right guard, has played in 59 games, but only nine have been starts.
As the preseason comes to an end and teams make cuts to get down to the 53-man roster limit, don’t be surprised if the Bucs pick up some guard depth there.
The Buccaneers’ first day of training camp was hindered by weather but there were more than a few noteworthy pieces to pass along, courtesy of the local media.
- Smith praised Gerald McCoy for his leadership abilities.
- He was also pleased with Leonard Johnson
- Smith admits Austin Seferian-Jenkins is behind after missing OTA’s but is catching up.
- He also adds that he asked Mason Foster and Dane Fletcher to drop some weight, which they did.
- Chris Owusu and rookie Brendan Bigelow are in contention to be the Bucs kick returner.