The Bucs are re-signing safety Chris Conte to new extension, Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times tweets.
“[I’m] Excited to be a part of what we’ve got building,” Conte told Auman.
Last year, Conte re-upped with the Bucs on a one-year, $3MM deal, his second consecutive one-year pact. This time around, he’ll get to take his coat off and stay a while.
In 2016, Conte had 64 total tackles and two interceptions. The advanced metrics weren’t crazy about him, however. He ranked as the No. 88 safety out of 89 qualified players, per Pro Football Focus. His career-low 42.0 overall score was weighed down by dreadful marks for run defense and by only slightly less dreadful marks for coverage and pass rush. In his previous two years with Tampa, he earned scores of 64.6 and 75.3.
Despite Conte’s re-signing, the Buccaneers are likely still in the market for safety help. Keith Tandy is projected to start at one spot after playing well down the stretch in 2016, but Tampa Bay needs to acquire another solid defensive back. They’ve been linked to free agent J.J. Wilcox, who reportedly has mutual interest in coming to town.
Nooooooooo….