DL Steve McLendon Not A Lock To Make Buccaneers Roster?
The Buccaneers may have re-signed Steve McLendon earlier this offseason, but that doesn’t mean the defensive tackle is a lock to make the roster. As Greg Auman of The Athletic writes, Tampa Bay’s defensive line depth could lead to an “interesting battle for roster spots.”
Ndamukong Suh, Vita Vea, and William Gholston are locked in as starters on the defensive line, leaving space for only three (maybe four) of Rakeem Noches-Nunez, special team ace Patrick O’Connor, 2020 sixth-round pick Khalil Davis, veteran Jeremiah Ledbetter, and a handful of others. McLendon could find himself in that “others” category, especially considering his age (35) and his minimal signing bonus ($137.5K). While the veteran is “well-liked and respected” by teammates, McLendon could still find himself on the way out of Tampa Bay thanks to his minimal cap charge and/or the organization’s decision to pivot towards youth.
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.
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.
Poll: Who Is Bucs’ Top NFC Challenger?
While the Chiefs reside as the clear favorites in the AFC, multiple successful rebuilds have strengthened the conference and created considerable depth going into the 2021 season. In the NFC, depth is harder to find.
The Buccaneers operated aggressively this offseason, bringing back every starter and most of their top off-the-bench contributors to chase another championship, and late-June betting odds reflect this. Tampa Bay resides as the clear NFC favorite, per Las Vegas. The team did not enter 2020 on this pedestal, but the NFC landscape looks less imposing a year later.
The Saints exited the 2020 season in a new tier of salary cap hell, and although GM Mickey Loomis navigated it, their 2021 team may take a step back. Oddsmakers certainly believe this will be the case in the franchise’s first post-Drew Brees season. New Orleans has been the NFC’s most consistent team over the past four years, going 49-15 in that span, but its future Hall of Fame quarterback retired. Tampa Bay’s path back to the Super Bowl also may not involve another Canton-bound passer — Aaron Rodgers — which further muddles the equation.
January’s Matthew Stafford trade seems a good place to start. The Rams dealing two first-round picks and change for the longtime Lions passer provides Sean McVay with a quarterback upgrade, and the team perpetually unconcerned with first-round selections is operating like an all-in contender. Los Angeles, which Bovada gives the NFC’s second-best odds to advance to Super Bowl LVI, also re-signed top edge rusher Leonard Floyd. While the Rams’ penchant for big swings and big extensions led more key role players out of town in free agency, with safety John Johnson and defensive lineman Michael Brockers exiting, they return four starters from Pro Football Focus’ No. 3-ranked offensive line.
But the NFC West may be the NFL’s toughest division. No rebuilds are taking place here, separating it from most of the league’s divisions, and the 49ers rank alongside the Rams — per Bovada — in Super Bowl odds. San Francisco endured vicious injury fortune last season but has Super Bowl LIV starters — Nick Bosa, George Kittle, Deebo Samuel — due back from injury. And the team kept Trent Williams — on an O-line-record contract. Kyle Shanahan‘s squad also moved the needle at quarterback, bringing in Trey Lance at a historic cost. Lance’s readiness may determine the 49ers’ outlook. Although Jimmy Garoppolo was effective (12th in QBR) when fully healthy in 2019, he missed 23 games over the past three seasons.
The Seahawks diffused Russell Wilson trade rumblings and added veteran guard Gabe Jackson. Their defense will be without Jarran Reed and probably K.J. Wright next season, however. Seattle has not advanced to an NFC championship game since Wilson’s rookie-contract years but still has the division’s most accomplished quarterback. The Cardinals brought in multiple impact starters, in future Hall of Famer J.J. Watt and Pro Bowl center Rodney Hudson, in an effort to capitalize on Kyler Murray‘s rookie-deal window. But Murray struggled down the stretch last season, and Arizona will have two new cornerback regulars.
Rodgers’ commitment to being done in Green Bay represents the NFC’s biggest domino. The reigning MVP has not budged, and this standoff is expected to drag on to training camp. The Packers trading Rodgers, or the superstar passer being out of the picture while the team retains his rights, will probably take them off the board as a Super Bowl threat. Given the Packers’ 26-6 performance over the past two seasons, Rodgers’ status looms large in this year’s Super Bowl equation.
What sleeper teams realistically factor in here? The Cowboys extended Dak Prescott and hired a new defensive coordinator (Dan Quinn), but they have won one playoff game during their now-wealthy starter’s tenure and allowed a franchise-record 473 points in 2020. Washington boasts one of the league’s best defenses but opted against trading up for a quarterback in Round 1. Ryan Fitzpatrick will turn 39 this year and has never made a playoff start. The Bears did trade up for a passer, and the Vikings retooled their defense. The Giants made multiple splashy receiver additions but have big questions up front. Do any of these teams qualify as legit Bucs obstacles?
Vote in PFR’s latest poll and weigh in with your NFC assessments in the comments section.
Antonio Brown’s Probation Terminated Early
Usually when there’s Antonio Brown legal news it’s bad news, but not today. The frequently embattled Buccaneers receiver got a positive update Tuesday, as Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets that his probation has been terminated a year early.
This all stems from when Brown pled no contest to criminal assault charges from an incident with a delivery driver. The plea allowed Brown to avoid jail time after he was initially facing more serious charges. Instead he was hit with two years of probation, 100 hours of community service, and a mandatory psychiatric evaluation.
Brown’s attorney Sean Burstyn released a statement, which you can read in Rapoport’s tweet, saying the battery case has been finalized, and that the early termination is “further demonstration of Antonio Brown’s hard work and great progress since his NFL suspension.”
“We see nothing but blue sky for AB.” Despite all the optimism, Brown’s legal headaches from the incident aren’t quite over yet. Just last month, the driver hit him with a lawsuit alleging Brown broke the driver’s car key and “proceeded to verbally and physically attack (Tumanov), causing severe personal injuries.”
As for his actual football career, Brown re-signed with the defending champion Bucs on a one-year deal worth up to $6.25MM with $3.1MM guaranteed. He had 45 catches for 483 yards and four touchdowns in his first half-season in Tampa after serving his eight-game suspension to start the year.
Buccaneers Sign Joe Tryon
The Buccaneers have signed first-round linebacker Joe Tryon, per a club announcement. Tryon, the final Round 1 pick of this year’s draft, could prove to be a tremendous value for Tampa Bay.
Tryon underwent a knee scope in early May, resolving an issue that may have impacted his stock. Luckily, that hasn’t kept the Washington product off of the practice field.
“Yeah, he’s full-speed now and he looked really, really good,” head coach Bruce Arians said during mandatory minicamp. “He’s obviously everything we thought he was. Obviously we’ll learn more in pads. But he’s slippery in shorts and a lot of guys aren’t. He showed some really good skillset.”
Tryon opted out of the 2020 collegiate season, but he was a menace in 2019. In his final year on the field, the outside linebacker tallied eight sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss. Now, he’s ready to add even more firepower to the Bucs’ front seven.
With Tryon in the fold, the Bucs now have six of their seven draft picks signed. Meanwhile, most of the first round is now in the books — less than ten Round 1 selections remain unsigned.
Extra Points: Nassib, Twyman, Buccaneers
In a post on Instagram, Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib announced that he was gay, making the 28-year-old the first active NFL player to come out as gay. Nassib also made an $100K donation to the Trevor Project, a foundation which provides “crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) young people under 25.”
Support for Nassib was wide spread:
“The NFL family is proud of Carl for courageously sharing his truth today,” commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “Representation matters. We share his hope that someday soon statements like his will no longer be newsworthy as we march toward full equality for the LGBTQ+ community. We wish Carl the best of luck this coming season.”
“Our union supports Carl and his work with the Trevor Project is proof that he – like our membership – is about making his community and this world a better place not for themselves, but for others,” said NFL Players Association Executive Director DeMaurice Smith (via Twitter).
Raiders owner Mark Davis also showed his support for Nassib, noting that the announcement “doesn’t change my opinion of Carl as a man or as a Raider” (via Sam Farmer of the LA Times on Twitter).
Nassib joined the Raiders last offseason on a three-year, $25MM deal with $17MM guaranteed. He finished his first season in Las Vegas with 28 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and nine QB hits in 14 games (five starts).
More news from around the NFL:
- Vikings rookie defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman was shot four times today in Washington D.C., reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). Fortunately, the Pitt product is expected to make a full recovery, with agent Drew Rosenhaus noting that there were “superficial, exit wounds” and that his client was simply in the “wrong place, wrong time.” Twyman does not need surgery and x-rays were negative. Minnesota drafted the defensive lineman in the sixth round (No. 199) in this past year’s draft.
- The Vikings also released a statement regarding the shooting: “We have been in direct contact with Jaylen and his family, and we are extremely thankful Jaylen is expected to make a full recovery. At this time we will defer any further comment to the proper authorities.”
- Earlier this month, we learned that Buccaneers rookie Cameron Kinley had been denied a waiver to delay his commission from the U.S. Navy. “Cameron Kinley is an exceptional young man and a shining example of the type of high-character individuals that make our nation’s military the most elite in the world,” the Buccaneers said in a statement (via Rick Stroud on Twitter). “We appreciate and support the United States Naval Academy’s position with regards to Cameron’s fulfillment of his post-graduate service commitment and remain hopeful that he will one day have an opportunity to also fulfill his dreams of playing professional football.”
- Earlier this month, former Chiefs coach Britt Reid pleaded not guilty to a DWI charge that stemmed from a crash that critically injured a young girl (per the AP). Reid was placed on administrative leave following the crash, and the team ultimately let his contract expire.
Ten First-Round Picks Remain Unsigned
This year, NFL teams have been quick to tackle their rookie paperwork. Still, there are a decent number of unsigned draft picks remaining, including ten of this year’s first-rounders: 
- QB Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars (No. 1 overall)
- QB Zach Wilson, New York Jets (No. 2 overall)
- QB Trey Lance, San Francisco 49ers (No. 3 overall)
- TE Kyle Pitts , Atlanta Falcons (No. 4 overall)
- OT Rashawn Slater, Los Angeles Chargers (No. 13 overall)
- OG Alijah Vera-Tucker, New York Jets (No. 14 overall)
- QB Mac Jones, New England Patriots (No. 15 overall)
- RB Travis Etienne, Jacksonville Jaguars (No. 25 overall)
- CB Greg Newsome II, Cleveland Browns (No. 26 overall)
- DE Joe Tryon, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (No. 32 overall)
In a sense, this is a sign that things are back to normal in football following the pandemic. For example, by June 12th of 2019, 22 first-round picks had put pen to paper, with 222 rookies inked on the whole. However, around this time last year, there were just two first-round picks officially in the fold – Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and Panthers defensive lineman Derrick Brown.
Offset language and similar minutia could be holding these ten deals up, but there’s no reason to panic. In all likelihood, these rookie contracts will be squared away before the start of training camp this summer.
Tom Brady Not Committing To Playing Beyond 2022
During Super Bowl week, Tom Brady said he would consider playing past age 45 — his long-held target year. The Buccaneers then signed the superstar quarterback to an extension that pushes his two-year contract to a three-year pledge.
Brady is now signed through 2022. GM Jason Licht later floated age 50 as a (perhaps half-serious) consideration, but Brady is not making any hard plans beyond next season.
“Fifty? That’s a long time. Even for me, that’s a long time,” Brady said, via USA Today’s Jori Epstein. “I’ve always said 45 was the age that I wanted to reach and that was my goal. This year I’ll be 44, so next year I’ll be 45. I got a two-year contract. I’m going to be able to obviously play this year and God forbid anything happens but play next year and then see what happens after that.
“If I still want to keep playing, I might be able to do that. And if that’s enough, then that would be enough.”
[RELATED: Bucs Extend Bruce Arians, Jason Licht]
Quarterbacks have played through age-44 seasons; Vinny Testaverde, Warren Moon and Steve DeBerg suited up at 44. George Blanda played until he was 48, though the quarterback/kicker was almost exclusively a kicker following his age-44 season. While Testaverde started six games for the 2007 Panthers — a year after serving as Brady’s backup — Brady will be the only full-time QB1 at this age. Blanda is the only player to have thrown a pass at age 45, so Brady making it to 2022 as Tampa Bay’s starter would add to his list of NFL firsts.
Brady has managed to avoid serious injury for more than 10 years, missing only the four games mandated by the Deflategate ban since his September 2008 ACL tear. Although Brady underwent knee surgery this offseason, he was back in time for Tampa Bay’s minicamp. The Super Bowl LV MVP will attempt to lead a Bucs title defense over a 17-game season this year and, barring a significant injury, is almost certain to return in 2022. Brady’s health will likely determine his 2023 plans.
“I’ll just have to evaluate all that when it comes,” Brady said. “It’s a physical sport; anything could happen. So I’m going to go out there this year and give everything I’ve got like I’ve done every other year, and then take it from there.”
Bucs Sign Second-Round QB Kyle Trask
A potential Tom Brady successor is officially under contract. The Buccaneers have inked second-round pick Kyle Trask to his rookie deal, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times tweets.
It’s a four-year pact worth $5.535MM with a signing bonus of $1.385MM for the Florida product. The move comes right as the Bucs are starting their mandatory minicamp. It’s a welcome development for the most recent 64th pick, as he’ll need to focus on all the practice time he can get as a backup quarterback not likely to see the regular season field anytime soon.
Trask had an unusual path to the pros, as he didn’t start a game in high school after his freshman year while backing up eventual Houston and Miami star D’Eriq King. Trask was recruited by Florida nonetheless, and became the starter in his junior year in 2019 after an injury to Feleipe Franks.
Trask thrived under Dan Mullen, and became a Heisman contender in 2020. He set numerous records for the Gators, throwing for 43 touchdowns in 12 games.
In the early draft process there was some buzz he could sneak into the first-round, but he ultimately almost slipped to the third until Tampa nabbed him with the last pick of the second. The Buccaneers also have Blaine Gabbert and Ryan Griffin on the roster behind Brady, who are likely competing for one backup spot next to Trask.
Bucs Extend GM Jason Licht, HC Bruce Arians
The Super Bowl architects are staying put. The Buccaneers have agreed to extend the contract of GM Jason Licht (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). Meanwhile, they’ve also revised Bruce Arians‘ contract to give the head coach a pay bump.
Licht took over as the Buccaneers’ GM in 2014. The club went 27-53 in his first five years at the helm, but that didn’t stop the club from inking him to a five-year re-up just before the 2019 season. Today, they’re happy they stuck with him. Licht spearheaded the recruitment of Tom Brady, replacing the interception-prone Jameis Winston with a future Hall of Famer. And, together with Brady, Licht brought in a slew of stars, including Rob Gronkowski and Antonio Brown. For the reigning champs, the decision to extend Licht was a no-brainer.
Arians still has several years to go on the original deal he inked in 2019. And, all along, he’s said that he’ll honor the contract and coach until he’s truly had his fill.
“Oh yeah, that’s the plan. I don’t have any plans on retiring,” Arians said of finishing out his contract during an appearance on the Pewter Report Podcast. “It’s just, when do I not want to go back to work? When I’m not excited about going back to work then I’m cheating somebody. I’m cheating the Glazer family, I’m cheating my players. Right now I can’t wait to get back to work.”
Arians is the third-oldest head coach in the NFL, after only Pete Carroll and Bill Belichick. A three-time cancer survivor, Arians has already cemented one of the best comeback stories in NFL coaching history.
Details On Antonio Brown’s New Buccaneers Deal
It took a little longer than expected, but Antonio Brown has finally re-signed with the Buccaneers. Now, courtesy of ESPN.com’s Field Yates (Twitter link) we have the details on the deal. 
As previously reported, Brown can make up to $6.25MM in 2021. He received a $2MM signing bonus plus $1.1MM in base salary, which effectively guarantees $3.1MM. Beyond that, he can make a total of $900K in per-game bonuses, plus incentives.
Brown can collect an additional $334K for each of the following plateaus: 50 catches, 70 catches, 600 receiving yards, 800 receiving yards, five touchdowns, and seven touchdowns. Plus, if he reaches 45% playing time and is active for a (second) Super Bowl victory, he’ll see another $250K.
Often times, NFL incentives are hard to reach. Sometimes, they’re formally designated as such (NLTBE — Not Likely To Be Earned). In this case, it’s not hard to imagine AB maxing out his contract. In eight regular season games last year, Brown notched 45 catches for 483 yards and four touchdowns. Extrapolated for a full 16-game slate, that’s 90 catches, 966 yards, and eight touchdowns. If Brown can do that in 2021, he’ll hit every milestone and then some.