When the Buccaneers cut Jeff Faine and moved the recently resigned Jeremy Zuttah to center, it opened up a hole at left guard for them and with so much cap space, they became an obvious destination for Carl Nicks, the top free agent guard and arguably the top guard in the league. Nicks got 5 years, 47.5 million with 31 million guaranteed.
If you compare that to other megadeals that guards have gotten, Logan Mankins, 6 years, 51 million, with 30 million guaranteed, Jahri Evans, 7 years, 56.7 million, and Tampa Bay’s Davin Joseph, 7 years, 53 million, with 19 million guaranteed, Nicks didn’t get as long of deals as them, but he has the highest per season salary and biggest amount of guaranteed money.
However, Nicks deserves to be the league’s highest paid guard. He’s the only guard who has ranked in the top 4 among guards by ProFootballFocus in each of the last 3 seasons, including 1st and 2nd in the last 2 seasons. Did they overpay a little, maybe, after all, he is just a guard, but at the same time, it doesn’t seem like Evans was going to Tampa Bay just to chase the money. I don’t even think New Orleans made him an offer, which is why he didn’t resign in New Orleans. New Orleans’ cap situation is such that they couldn’t have given Nicks a reasonable offer without extending Drew Brees and removing the franchise tag from him. Those negotiations aren’t close so Nicks was free to sign anywhere. He didn’t leave New Orleans just for money.
Grade: A
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