Carl Nicks, Buccaneers part ways

The Bucs announced Friday afternoon that the Bucs and the veteran guard "mutually agreed'' to part ways.

Carl Nicks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers mutually agree to part ways - ESPN

Nick just turned 29 years old in May so if he can get healthy he could potentially return to his All-Pro level play status of years past. Would you be interested in taking a flyer on him if he did want to continue his career?

Interest as an analyst?

"I have made the decision to step away from the game."

Doesn't get a whole lot more clear cut than that.

Yikes, he signed a big contract with them just two years ago. He's a really good guard, would definitely like to see him here, but it doesn't sound like he's interested in playing this season. If he changes his mind down the line, though, would be worth looking into. It sounds like he's retiring for good, though: same injury/pain management issue that ended Jonathan Ogden's career, apparently.

Much better basketball player. Just ask Larry Joe Bird.

Recurring foot injury on big guys, is a tough fix... no flyer, just wasted space.

"However, after careful consideration, I have made the decision to step away from the game".

He may have trouble with that, with a toe/foot injury.

PATSNUTme said:

"However, after careful consideration, I have made the decision to step away from the game".

He may have trouble with that, with a toe/foot injury.

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He'll just tap dance around it.

I don't know how fixable his injury is or if it can be treated and dealt with enough for him to continue his career. Maybe he would have been ready to play later in the season but Tampa wasn't OK with that at what they are paying him. And worked something out for them to mutually part ways.

If his toe gets well enough by mid to late season we should talk to him to see if he can improve his toe by mid/late season to play at his dominant level. If his toe can heal enough to get on the field and return to his form by week 12 we should talk to him and see if he is interested in getting back on the field to win a Superbowl! If he can play by late season into the playoffs that's exactly what we need! It will improve our OLine Dominance when we need it most!

Carl Nicks is the most powerful mauling and feared guard since Larry Allen. He isn't just a lumbering power guard,he has quickness and athleticism to standout at LT. He is so great, he is a mauler without trying to play nasty! That's the kind of power/athleticism/technique he plays with. Sean Peyton raves about his talent. Jake Long mentioned his sheer mass and power at the combine yet it was his quickness/athleticism at that size that caught his attention

If he can be ready by time we play 12 games by healing/treating his toe enough to play through the rest of season and playoffs we should ask him if he is interested in a Superbowl ring and sign him. If other teams show interest we outbid them and get him playing on our team. That is if his toe injury allows him to return back on an NFL field of course. If not either way we must find a guard or center that's standout quality to help replace our current garbage Wendell/Conolly. Which if isn't upgraded significantly it will cost us a championship trophy. A very good standout center who can man up a DT/NT allows us to let cannon/Fleming/Halapio to compete for RG. If we find a standout guard then Connolly/Halapio/Stork/ can compete at center. Conolly sucks at guard because he is barely serviceable to block one on one NFL DTs/NTs. At center that can work although not ideal. Besides a standout guard reduces him having to do that much. Wendell is even worse at it. He is totally useless. In order for our interior OLINE to improve enough to allow Brady time to throw and our WRs time to work any and all routes to make the necessary plays to win a Superbowl, we must Acquire a standout Guard or Center. If we return last year's starters I doubt we can finally win another Superbowl trophy. They can't improve either. They lack the power/talent to handle NFL DTs/NTs. Wendell got by in 2012 using smoke and mirrors in our schemes. His weakness as a Center and Conolly's weakness as a guard were figured out. Our rookies are............ Well rookies and unproven, especially Stork has questions about his ability to handle NFL talent one on one. Everybody assumes that he will be a huge upgrade over Wendell simply because he sucks to terribly. But scouts have concerns over Storks ability to handle NFL DTs NTs man up. That's why he was ranked #3-4 in a very very weak Center class. So unless a rookie seriously impresses we need a proven Guard or Center to fix our OLine and offense and allow it to flourish up to the ability of Brady and his skill players.

PatFanCraig said:

I don't know how fixable his injury is or if it can be treated and dealt with enough for him to continue his career.

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It was reported 3 months ago that he has permanent nerve damage, which is part of why nobody was taking your suggestion seriously.

I don't understand how can you even suggest such a move. Or the people with that Tony Gonzalez for playoffs talking.

BB would never do that, what about the work ethic he praises so much? What kind of message would be sent to the other lineman who gave all their efforts in training camp and regular season, and then have to sit for another guy fill in the most important games of the season?

I would understand something with a look in the next season, working together in a recovery, paying a veteran min, something like that. It's a whole different story.

varjao said:

I don't understand how can you even suggest such a move. Or the people with that Tony Gonzalez for playoffs talking.

BB would never do that, what about the work ethic he praises so much? What kind of message would be sent to the other lineman who gave all their efforts in training camp and regular season, and then have to sit for another guy fill in the most important games of the season?

I would understand something with a look in the next season, working together in a recovery, paying a veteran min, something like that. It's a whole different story.

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Conversely, Belichick has made TC/preseason concessions for proven vets in the past, either as FAs (Brian Waters) or with established players on the team (Roman Phifer). It's ideal to have them in camp, but if a guy is available who you know will work hard and is a significant talent upgrade, Belichick is smart enough to seize that opportunity.

That said, this isn't really relevant to Nicks, since he's made it pretty clear that he has no intention of playing.