Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Getting to know Vinny Curry
By Brian DeFeo
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive line needed an overhaul this off-season and the latest move the Bucs have made is a step in the right direction. While they had to release one of the more popular players on the roster, Robert Ayers, the addition of former Philadelphia Eagle Vinny Curry, is a welcome one.
The reigning Super Bowl champions, Philadelphia Eagles, were dominant where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers weren’t, for a reason.
They managed to stop Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and the dynasty that is the New England Patriots. While the Patriots put up a record amount of yards and the Eagles only got to Brady once, it was the defense that made the game-winning play and the defense that got them there in the first place. The Eagles weren’t world-beaters in getting sacks they still managed to get sixteen more sacks than the Buccaneers, and had the top-ranked rush defense in the league. While the Eagles had an elite defense last season they couldn’t afford to bring back everybody. Where the Eagles added Michael Bennett and Haloti Ngata to replace their lost players, Vinny Curry is younger and still has prime years left.
Career Profile:
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Vinny Curry was originally selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2012 draft. He wears number 75 in the NFL to honor the victims of the Southern Airways Flight 932, which crashed in 1970 carrying members the Marshall football team, which is his alma mater. Curry was a star at Marshall where he recorded 239 tackles, 49 for a loss, 26.5 sacks, and ten forced fumbles in his career. In 2011 he won C-USA Defensive Player of the Year. Taken 59th overall by the Eagles, one pick after the Buccaneers selected Lavonte David, Curry had a subpar rookie season. Appearing in only six games he recorded only nine tackles.
In 2014 Curry had his best season racking up nine sacks, four forced fumbles, and seventeen tackles. Considered more of a rotational defensive end to start his career he’s never had more than 10 sacks in a season, something the Buccaneers are desperately looking for. He had a productive season last year while he only had three sacks, he still got to the quarterback getting 47 hurries and seventeen hits while playing limited snaps. Playing as a full-time end next to Gerald McCoy should see a spike in his numbers. He excelled in run defense last season last season too, bringing a boost to the line as a whole.
Compensation
The Buccaneers released Robert Ayers and picked up Vinny Curry within an hour on March 17th. Releasing Ayers saved the Bucs $6 million, signing Curry for three years with a base salary of $23 which could reach up to $27 million in an incentive filled contract. With $11.5 million guaranteed due to injury Curry just has to prove he’s good enough to get on the field and he can earn a nice chunk of change. The full details aren’t released at this time, but you can be sure there definitely should be sack and performance incentives.
Team Fit:
Vinny Curry fills a need where the Buccaneers could replace Robert Ayers and have a more productive season. Gerald McCoy isn’t getting any younger and he needs as much help along the line as possible. Ayers was a very productive player last season but dealt with inconsistency. Curry has proven to be a versatile end while playing less than 50% of his eligible career snaps. The Bucs are giving him his shot and he needs to prove it or there will be big changes coming next season, including the front office.
Grade:
While he’s been paid like a starter was given rotational snaps for the Eagles and they cut him to free up cap space. The Buccaneers needed to upgrade the defensive line and while they focused primarily on the interior, Curry appears to be in line to have a more productive three seasons than Ayers would. Vinny finally has a chance to play as a three-down defensive end and will have to prove it if he wants to remain here for a few more seasons.