The Buccaneers are expected to release linebacker Bruce Carter on Monday, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Carter will get a slight jump on free agency, hitting the market two days before the majority of UFAs.
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Tampa Bay rarely employs signing bonuses, and because it didn’t use one when signing Carter prior to last season, the club won’t incur any dead money. Instead, the Buccaneers will not only avoid paying a $750K roster bonus, but they’ll clear Carter’s scheduled base salaries of $4.25MM over the next three seasons. Following Carter’s release, Tampa will have more than $50MM in cap space when the free agent period begins.
Carter, 28, will last only a single season with the Buccaneers after spending the first four years of his career with the Cowboys. An outside linebacker in Dallas, Carter was expected to serve as Tampa’s middle linebacker, but quickly lost the job to rookie Kwon Alexander, and ended up playing less than 30% of the Bucs’ defensive snaps.
We learned last week that the Buccaneers won’t tender an offer to restricted free agent Danny Lansanah, so with Carter also gone, the club will need at least one new linebacker to play alongside Alexander and LaVonte David.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.