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Tampa Bay Buccaneers News & Rumors

Marshawn Lynch, Bucs Discussed Deal

April 16th, 2021 at 4:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

Tom Brady‘s Tampa Bay arrival led to the Buccaneers adding two All-Decade-teamers last year, with Rob Gronkowski and Antonio Brown joining the future Hall of Fame quarterback with his new team. But Brady had another high-profile veteran in mind as well.

During a December interview with Conan O’Brien, Marshawn Lynch said he spoke with multiple teams about another NFL comeback last year. The Bucs were one of them. Lynch said, during a Sports Nation appearance on ESPN+ (via JoeBucsFan.com), he spoke with the Bucs about continuing his career. Lynch indicated he and Brady discussed a possible Bucs agreement.

Lynch did not play last season, and it does not sound like the All-Decade running back will continue his career. Although the Seahawks signed him late in the 2019 season, Lynch said he is not currently in condition to come back to the NFL.

The five-time Pro Bowler returned to play in three Seahawks games at age 33. While the power back did not gain many yards, he managed to score four touchdowns — one in Week 17 of that season and three in two Seattle playoff games — in his second NFL comeback. The Bucs have a backfield full of veterans at present, having re-signed Leonard Fournette and added Giovani Bernard. One season remains on Ronald Jones‘ rookie contract.

Buccaneers Re-Sign Steve McLendon

April 14th, 2021 at 1:08pm CST by Zachary Links

The Buccaneers have re-signed defensive tackle Steve McLendon, as Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. The veteran returns on a one-year deal, setting himself up for his first full season in Tampa.

The Jets traded McLendon and a 2023 seventh-rounder to the Bucs last October, in exchange for a 2022 sixth-round choice. It amounted to a virtually no-cost pickup for Jason Licht & Co., providing them with an accomplished run-stuffer to fill in for Vita Vea.

After reuniting with Todd Bowles, McLendon notched 17 tackles and two tackles for loss in the regular season. In the playoffs, he tallied five tackles and three quarterback hits en route to a Super Bowl ring. Not bad for a player who started the year with one of the league’s worst teams.

McLendon started at least 14 games in each season between 2017 and 2019. Last year, he was first-string with the Jets for six games, but came off of the bench for the Bucs in the latter half of the year. Now, he’ll reprise his role in the rotation, providing steady support on the interior.

Extra Points: Belichick, Bernard, Vikings

April 13th, 2021 at 10:27pm CST by Ben Levine

After once declaring that he wouldn’t coach beyond 70, Bill Belichick has since walked back his claims. Former head coach Marc Levy is one of the few people who can understand Belichick’s wavering, and he understands why the Patriots head coach continues to move the proverbial goal posts in regards to his retirement.

“Age is only an approximate thing. You’re involved and you’re going at it hard, and you love it, that’s it,” Levy told ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “You just coach as long as you love it. I finally retired because the great core of our team had gotten old, and they were all retiring. And I had it finally. I felt I needed some time away.”

Reiss opines that Belichick may be aiming for the wins record (regular season and postseason) among coaches; the 68-year-old currently ranks third all-time with 311 victories. If the Patriots rediscover their winning ways and earn around nine or 10 victories per season, Reiss guesses that Belichick could pass all-time leader Don Shula in about four seasons.

Some more notes from around the NFL…

  • Patriots linebacker Chase Winovich is focused on adding some weight this offseason. The second-year pro was listed at 250 pounds last year, but he’s looking to make a jump to around 260 pounds. Winovich’s desire for more weight and strength was inspired by former Patriots linebacker Rob Ninkovich, who suggested that the former third-rounder bulks up. “I looked him in the eyes and said, ‘I’m going to get my weight right,'” Winovich said (via Reiss). “That dude’s words get me fired up.”
  • While the Buccaneers are rostering both Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones, they still went out and added veteran Giovani Bernard this week. While it might seem like a luxury to add the former Bengals running back, Greg Auman of The Athletic writes that it was more of a necessity. By the writer’s estimation, Buccaneers running backs led the NFL last season in drops, and the pass-catching Bernard will certainly be a welcome addition to the Tom Brady-led offense.
  • Former NFL player Robert Steeples has joined the Vikings as an assistant special teams coach, tweets Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press (via Twitter). Steeples actually played 12 special teams snaps for Minnesota back in 2013, with his two appearances marking his only NFL experience.

Contract Details: Conner, Cockrell, Stephen

April 13th, 2021 at 9:20pm CST by Ben Levine

We’ve compiled a handful of details on recent contracts, including the newest member of the Cardinals offense:

  • James Conner, RB (Cardinals): One-year deal. Deal is worth $1.75MM, including $500K signing bonus and fully guaranteed $1.25MM salary. Via ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Twitter.
  • Ross Cockrell, CB (Buccaneers): Two-year deal. Contract is worth $2.11MM. League-minimum salaries in both 2021 ($990K) and 2022 ($1.12MM). Up to $450K in playing-time incentives each season. Via Greg Auman of The Athletic on Twitter.
  • Shamar Stephen, DT (Broncos): Signed. One year, $2MM deal, including $750K guaranteed. $415K signing bonus, $1.075MM base salary (of which $335K is guaranteed), $30K per-game roster bonuses (up to $510K max). Via Mike Klis of 9News in Denver on Twitter.

Broncos, Seahawks, Bucs To Skip Onsite Offseason Workouts

April 13th, 2021 at 6:33pm CST by Sam Robinson

6:33pm: Add the Buccaneers to this list. The defending Super Bowl champions will follow the Broncos and Seahawks, with players voting to skip onsite workouts (Twitter link). They will move forward virtually.

6:01pm: Absent an agreement between the NFL and NFLPA on how this offseason will be structured, teams can begin holding voluntary workouts April 19. As of Tuesday, at least two teams are not on track to do so.

Broncos and Seahawks players voted to skip the voluntary portion of this offseason’s workouts — which covers everything except the yet-to-be-scheduled June minicamp — due to COVID-19 concerns.

“With offseason programs starting in less than a week and without adequate protocols in place in order for us players to return safely, we will be exercising our right to not participate in voluntary offseason workouts,” Broncos players said in a statement (Twitter link); Seahawks players’ statement can be read here (Twitter link). “COVID-19 remains a serious threat to our families and to our communities, and it makes no sense for us as players to put ourselves at risk during this dead period.”

[RELATED: NFL Mandates COVID-19 Vaccine For Team Employees]

This comes shortly after NFLPA president J.C. Tretter urged players to boycott OTAs. Broncos union rep Brandon McManus notified Vic Fangio of this decision to begin the offseason virtually Tuesday morning, Troy Renck of Denver7 notes. Thus far, 22 Broncos players have worked out at the team facility this offseason, per several reports, though McManus added most of the players that have done so are rehabbing injuries. Broncos players have not received an outlined plan regarding protocols for an onsite offseason program, according to McManus. Testing is an issue for many players, per ESPN.com’s Jeff Legwold, with workouts going Monday through Thursday and players receiving the other three days off.

The league and the union have spent several weeks negotiating offseason parameters, as the sides did last year, but no deal has been reached. Suspicion exists in NFLPA ranks that the NFL is running out the clock until April 19 to create a scenario where teams can begin holding workouts with no agreement in place, Albert Breer of SI.com notes. Last year, the NFL conducted an entirely virtual offseason. Some onsite work is expected this year, but barring an agreement between the league and the union, the Broncos, Seahawks and perhaps other teams may hold fully virtual offseasons again.

It will be interesting to see how other teams proceed. (Raiders players will discuss how they plan to navigate this issue Wednesday, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore.) Hundreds of players have workout bonuses at stake, and the prospect of certain teams conducting onsite workouts while others meet virtually would create a historically unusual dynamic that could create a potential advantage for certain squads.

Buccaneers Re-Sign Ross Cockrell

April 13th, 2021 at 3:14pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bucs have agreed to re-sign Ross Cockrell, according to Greg Auman of The Athletic (on Twitter). The new two-year deal — now confirmed by the club — will keep the cornerback under club control through 2023.

Cockrell started the year on Tampa Bay’s practice squad before getting called up to the varsity squad. Between the regular season and the playoffs, he saw time in 16 total games, including two starts. He wasn’t slated for much playing time initially, but he came through for the team when Carlton Davis and Jamel Dean went down with injuries.

“[GM] Jason [Licht] did such a great job adding pieces as we went along – Rob [Gronkowski], Leonard [Fournette], Antonio [Brown] and other guys,” said Arians. “And Ross Cockrell has been one of the best pickups we’ve had the entire season.”

All in all, he registered eleven tackles, one tackle for loss, and one pass defensed in Todd Bowles‘ system. His return provides the Bucs a fourth proven corner, plus crucial special teams help.

Buccaneers To Sign Giovani Bernard

April 12th, 2021 at 3:07pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

There’s been a lot of talk this offseason about what the Buccaneers’ backfield will look like between Ronald Jones and Leonard Fournette, but in the meantime they’ve added an outside option.

Tampa has agreed to a one-year deal with Giovani Bernard, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network tweets. Bernard was released by the Bengals just last week, and Pelissero reports that Tom Brady and Bruce Arians both helped recruit him to Tampa Bay. Patriots running back James White apparently had interest in joining the Bucs as their third-down back before ultimately re-signing in New England, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets.

In the same tweet, Rapsheet notes that Bernard also had interest from the Chiefs, so he had his pick of last season’s Super Bowl teams. The Bucs have mostly prioritized locking up all of their own guys, and this is their first significant outside free agent signing of the spring.

He had been set to earn right around $4MM in Cincy in 2021, so it’ll be interesting to see if he beat that when we get the financial terms. A pass-catching specialist who ended up carrying the ball a lot this past year in the wake of Joe Mixon‘s injury, Bernard has 342 receptions for 2,867 yards since entering the league as a second-round pick in 2013.

The North Carolina product spent his first eight seasons with the Bengals. He’ll turn 30 in November, and he should see a lot of targets from Brady, who loves to check down to his ‘backs.

NFL Distributes Performance-Based Payouts

April 10th, 2021 at 4:42pm CST by Zachary Links

Since 2002, the NFL’s performance-based pay system has rewarded low-salary players who exceed their expected playing time. This year, due to the pandemic, the league and the players’ union negotiated a gradual payout schedule, one that will meter out the money between now and 2024.

All in all, the league divested $8.5MM per club. This year’s top earner is Buccaneers guard Alex Cappa, a 2018 third-round pick who played every single snap for the eventual champs. Cappa will now receive an extra $622K on top of his $750K base salary for 2021. Per the union’s records, 25 other players also topped $500K, including Cardinals tackle Kelvin Beachum ($604K), Bills cornerback Taron Johnson ($579K), Rams guard Austin Corbett ($573K), Lions cornerback Amani Oruwariye ($572K), Bears tackle Germain Ifedi ($571K), Steelers offensive lineman Chukwuma Okorafor ($568K), Vikings offensive lineman Dakota Dozier ($561K), Ravens safety DeShon Elliott ($557K) and Bucs safety Jordan Whitehead ($555K).

The full list, going team-by-team, can be found here, courtesy of the NFLPA.

Bucs, Antonio Brown At Standstill

April 7th, 2021 at 9:51am CST by Zachary Links

Antonio Brown wants to return to the Buccaneers. The Buccaneers would love to have him back. Unfortunately, the two sides remain at a standstill, according to Joey Knight of the Tampa Bay Times.

Even after re-signing the majority of their stars, the Buccaneers have a shade over $5MM in cap room. Half of that space will go towards signing the incoming draft class, which probably means that the Bucs are offering Brown a one-year, ~$2MM deal.

“We’re just gonna take our time,” head coach Bruce Arians said recently. “There’s offers out there. We’ll see how it goes.”

After his suspension, Brown recorded 45 catches for 483 yards and four touchdowns across eight games. Extrapolated for a full 16-game season, he would have been on pace for 90 catches, 966 yards, and eight touchdowns. At least, that’s the type of math that Brown’s camp is likely presenting. The Bucs’ negotiators would probably note that all of Brown’s TDs and 20 of his 45 catches came in the final three weeks of the regular season.

With Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Rob Gronkowski ready to go, the Bucs could comfortably move ahead without Brown. Meanwhile, it’s not clear if there are any other suitors for AB, so there’s no real sense of urgency in Tampa.

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