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Tampa Bay Buccaneers News & Rumors

Coaching Notes: Kitchens, 49ers, Bucs

February 13th, 2021 at 3:21pm CST by Sam Robinson

Freddie Kitchens will see his role expand in New York. The Giants are promoting the former Browns HC from tight ends coach to senior offensive assistant, according to ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan (on Twitter). Earlier this month, we heard the Giants may be eyeing more responsibility for Kitchens. Derek Dooley, who received interest from other teams, will take over as the Giants’ tight ends coach, Raanan adds. Previously the Mizzou offensive coordinator, Dooley joined Joe Judge‘s staff last year. The Giants used Kitchens as their interim play-caller while Jason Garrett battled COVID-19 last season and will lean on him more in 2021.

Here is the latest from the coaching circuit:

  • To replace Antwaan Randle El on their coaching staff, the Buccaneers will also turn to a recently retired quarterback. Thad Lewis will rise from intern to offensive assistant on Bruce Arians‘ staff, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. Randle El left to become the Lions’ wide receivers coach. Lewis bounced around the NFL for nearly eight years; he was most recently with the Ravens in 2017.
  • A day after hiring Jay Valai as cornerbacks coach, the Eagles will lose him. Alabama will instead hire Valai, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Rittenberg (on Twitter). Announced as one of the Eagles’ hires earlier this week, Valai will join former Texans HC Bill O’Brien at Alabama. Valai will replace Karl Scott as the Crimson Tide’s cornerbacks coach. Scott joined the Vikings’ staff this week.
  • Hired recently after a one-year stint as Lions DC, Cory Undlin will serve as the 49ers‘ secondary coach and defensive passing-game specialist. Fellow former DC James Bettcher will be a senior defensive assistant and the team’s run-game overseer on that side of the ball. The 49ers are promoting Darryl Tapp to assistant defensive line coach and hiring former wide receiver Leonard Hankerson and Klay Kubiak as quality control assistants. Klay is one of Gary Kubiak‘s sons. Even after Gary’s retirement, there are still three Kubiaks in the NFL — Klay and brothers Klint (the new Vikings OC) and Klein (a Cowboys scout). Hankerson also has a history with Kyle Shanahan, having played with Washington from 2011-13.
  • The Bengals hired Justin Hill as running backs coach. Hill will come to Cincinnati from the college ranks, having spent the past six seasons as Tulsa’s running backs coach. This will be his first NFL job. The Bengals are also promoting former NFL wideout Troy Walters to receivers coach. Walters served as Cincy’s assistant wideouts coach last season, working under Bob Bicknell.
  • Robert Saleh made an interesting hire recently. The new Jets HC added Steve Scarnecchia as his chief of staff, per Brian Costello of the New York Daily News. The son of longtime Patriots offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia, Steve spent the past six years as the Falcons’ assistant to the head coach. Steve Scarnecchia was part of both the Patriots’ Spygate scandal, working in the team’s video department from 2001-04, and was the Broncos staffer whose filming of a 49ers walkthrough in 2010 led to Josh McDaniels‘ firing in Denver. The younger Scarnecchia will accompany new Jets DC Jeff Ulbrich in moving from Atlanta to New York.

Latest On Buccaneers, Shaq Barrett

February 12th, 2021 at 3:50pm CST by Sam Robinson

How the Buccaneers proceed with their historic glut of high-profile free agents will be a key offseason storyline. Bruce Arians has said he believes the Super Bowl champions can fit the group onto its 2021 payroll, but Shaquil Barrett is eyeing the type of deal that would make that difficult. It would stand to reason first-time free agent Chris Godwin and some of the others are looking to maximize their earning potential as well.

The Bucs are projected to hold the eighth-most cap space in the NFL, as of Friday. They have Barrett, Godwin, Lavonte David, Rob Gronkowski, Ndamukong Suh, Antonio Brown and Leonard Fournette on track for free agency. Of this group, Barrett and Godwin would be in line to collect the most on the open market.

While the Bucs are prepared to use their franchise tag on Godwin — a prospect that would be cheaper than a second Barrett tag ($18.99MM). GM Jason Licht said the Bucs would certainly be pleased if Barrett returned but stopped there.

“I probably won’t touch on that,” Licht said, via PewterReport.com’s Matt Matera, of Barrett’s hopes for a bank-breaking contract. “I’m proud of Shaq. I understand that this is a business and there’s no hard feelings over this. It’s just part of doing business, we’ll see what happens. We’d love to have Shaq back, that’s for sure.”

Barrett has risen from Division II recruit to Broncos UDFA to a player who has recorded 31.5 (counting playoffs) sacks over the past two seasons. Tampa Bay’s top pass rusher will turn 29 in November. The Bucs have Jason Pierre-Paul signed through 2021 but want Barrett and Suh to join him next season. With Myles Garrett and Joey Bosa moving the edge defender market past $25MM per year, it will be interesting to see if the Bucs can keep Barrett from testing the free agency waters.

Matt Judon, Yannick Ngakoue and Bud Dupree join Barrett as franchise-tagged edge rushers back on track for free agency. Judon, who will turn 29 in August, said recently everything would have to line up “perfectly” for him to return to the Ravens. Leonard Floyd, Haason Reddick, Carl Lawson and Trey Hendrickson are also a month away from hitting the market.

Minor NFL Transactions: 2/12/21

February 12th, 2021 at 3:28pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Carolina Panthers

New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Bucs GM: Blaine Gabbert Could Eventually Take Over For Tom Brady

February 12th, 2021 at 11:47am CST by Zachary Links

At some point, Father Time will catch up with Tom Brady. Whenever that happens, the Buccaneers could turn to backup Blaine Gabbert as his heir, according to GM Jason Licht.

[RELATED: Shaq Barrett Eyeing Bank-Breaking Payday]

“First of all, I love his energy,” Licht told Pewter Report. “I’ve really gotten close to Blaine this year just being on the sidelines. He’s a really smart guy but he is one guy, my scouts and I talk about this a lot, he’s just one guy that I love to watch throw every day in practice because he has got a cannon. He’s very accurate with his throws as well and he can just really whistle them in in tight windows. If he had been forced to play, he played in the Detroit game, but if he had been forced to play more I think that he would have really opened a lot of people’s eyes about how talented he is, especially being in the same system for a couple of years.”

Gabbert, 32 in October, came into the league as a first-round pick of the Jaguars in 2010. Since then, he’s compiled a career 13-35 record as a starter with the Jags, 49ers, Cardinals, and Titans. Needless to say, he hasn’t lived up to his draft status or built a resume to rival Brady’s. The Bucs aren’t about to anoint Gabbert as Brady’s heir, but Licht is “not going to rule anything out right now.”

Fortunately, the Bucs won’t have to consider such a scenario anytime soon. Brady is signed through the 2021 season and, as he’s said repeatedly, he plans to play for as long as possible. Right now, the Bucs will keep the focus on their pending free agents. Among their out-of-contract star contributors: Chris Godwin, Rob Gronkowski, Lavonte David, Ndamukong Suh, Antonio Brown, and Leonard Fournette.

Bucs Hope To Re-Sign Ndamukong Suh

February 11th, 2021 at 10:42pm CST by Zachary Links

Ndamukong Suh will be free to sign with any team in March. Buccaneers GM Jason Licht hopes that the defensive lineman will stay put.  

“I think he’s said it, that’d he’d love to come back here,” Licht said (via Mark Cook of Pewter Report). “I know that there’s mutual respect for each other, and I’ve told him that we’d like to have him back. We’re just kind of letting the dust settle here for a couple days. We’ve got some time here. You never hit utopia, I guess, unless you win the Super Bowl, but a lot of things we want to try to do, I’m hoping we can do. We’ll have to see how it all shakes out, but he’s definitely one that we want back.”

Suh joined Tampa on a one-year, $9.25MM deal in 2019. They re-upped him last year for a touch less — a one–year, $8MM deal. Suh may be past his prime, but he still garnered the interest of teams, including the Cowboys, last time around. Suh responded with six sacks — his highest total since 2015 — and 27 total stops in the regular season.

Of course, the Bucs will have to weigh their affinity for Suh against their all around numbers crunch, Fellow front seven cast members Shaquil Barrett and Lavonte David are also set for free agency, and Barrett wants to break the bank. On the other side of the ball, Rob Gronkowski, Leonard Fournette, Chris Godwin, and Antonio Brown are all slated to hit the open market.

RB Leonard Fournette Discusses Future With Buccaneers

February 11th, 2021 at 7:37pm CST by Ben Levine

Following a playoff run that saw him score four total touchdowns, Leonard Fournette could be eying a pay increase in 2021. However, when all is said and done, the running back would like to stick with the Buccaneers.

[RELATED: Buccaneers Interested In Re-Signing Leonard Fournette]

“We’ll see,” Fournette said during an appearance on ESPN (via Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com). “Right now, I’m just enjoying the process right now with this W with this organization and my team. You never know what the future holds for me right now, you know? I wound up ending on a great note. I’d love to be back. We’ll have to talk to my agent and see what they’re talking about.”

The former fourth-overall pick was unceremoniously let go by the Jaguars at the end of the 2020 preseason. He ultimately had to settle for a one-year, $2MM deal with Tampa Bay, and he served as Ronald Jones‘ backup during the early parts of the season. Fournette filled in as starter in Week 15, and he didn’t let go of that role through the rest of the season and playoffs. He brought his best during the postseason, collecting four scores and 448 yards from scrimmage in four games.

Aaron Jones, Chris Carson, and Kenyan Drake sit atop the free agent market, but Fournette could easily slide into that second tier of free agent running backs. It’s conceivable that the Buccaneers could look to pay up for Fournette’s services; Ronald Jones only has a year remaining on his contract, leaving 2020 third-rounder Ke’Shawn Vaughn as the only long-term answer at the position. On the flip side, the Buccaneers may find it’s more responsible to pursue ring-chasing veterans instead up paying up to retain Fournette.

Shaq Barrett Eyeing Bank-Breaking Payday

February 11th, 2021 at 5:34pm CST by Sam Robinson

On the heels of two dominant games to close out the Buccaneers’ Super Bowl-winning season, Shaquil Barrett is on course for free agency for a third straight year. The Bucs signed him to a low-cost deal in 2019 and franchise-tagged him last year. Barrett is eyeing his long-term payday in 2021.

The Bucs want to keep their standout free agents, but that list is lengthy. Barrett joins Lavonte David, Chris Godwin, Rob Gronkowski, Ndamukong Suh, Antonio Brown and Leonard Fournette as big-name players whose contracts expire in March. Ahead of his age-29 season, Barrett will seek to land his long-sought-after long-term deal.

“I’m most definitely looking forward to getting a long-term deal done,” Barrett said during an interview with Sirius XM Radio’s Adam Schein (via CBSSports.com). “I feel like it’s time for me to break the bank now, and I most definitely want to do that to be able to set my family up better.

“I want to be here. I think we got a great team here, a great organization here. So we will definitely go on just to see how it works out and shake up. But I’m looking forward to trying to get something done here.”

A former Division II recruit who transferred to Colorado State when his previous school (Nebraska-Omaha) dropped football, Barrett spent his first NFL season (2014) on the Broncos’ practice squad as a UDFA but became a key role player in Denver from 2015-18. Only the Bucs and Bengals offered Barrett deals in 2019, when Tampa Bay landed him for $4MM. Following his franchise-record-breaking 19.5 sacks in 2019, the Bucs franchised him. Barrett recorded eight regular-season sacks but added four in the playoffs. He registered a season-high eight pressures in Super Bowl LV and hit Patrick Mahomes four times during Tampa Bay’s dominant defensive outing.

Were the Bucs to tag Barrett again, the price would come in at $18.99MM. Six edge rushers average more than that on average, with Joey Bosa and Myles Garrett each securing extensions worth at least $25MM annually last year. Bruce Arians did not guarantee all the free agents-to-be would return, but the veteran head coach is confident the team can keep them.

“I spoke to each and every one of them personally. Nobody wants to leave, but we all know it’s a business,” Arians said, via The Athletic’s Greg Auman (subscription required). “I think we’ll be very, very competitive.”

The Bucs managed to keep Barrett, Suh and Jason Pierre-Paul last March, while giving Tom Brady a two-year, $50MM fully guaranteed deal. But Tampa Bay entered the 2020 offseason with more cap space. This year, their space hovers around $30MM — depending on where the cap settles. Arians added that he does not believe Mike Evans will need to take a pay cut to help the team fit the veterans onto its 2021 payroll.

Tom Brady To Undergo Knee Surgery

February 11th, 2021 at 3:16pm CST by Sam Robinson

Tom Brady plans to return to the Buccaneers to spearhead their Super Bowl title defense, but his return to work will wait a bit.

The five-time Super Bowl MVP’s offseason will include a knee surgery, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter). Brady suffered a minor knee injury during his initial Bucs season, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The injury occurred early in Tampa Bay’s season, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.

This does not sound like a cause for concern. Bruce Arians described the 43-year-old quarterback’s upcoming procedure as a cleanup-type operation. Brady played in all 20 Buccaneers games, leading them to their second Super Bowl championship. While the superstar passer spent time on numerous Patriots injury reports during his New England run, he has not missed a game due to injury since 2008.

Brady, who will turn 44 before Week 1 of the 2021 season, has one season remaining on his Bucs contract. The future first-ballot Hall of Famer has long hoped to play through his age-45 season but has now opened the door to voyaging further into uncharted waters by playing quarterback into his late 40s. Brady attributed his injury fortune as a reason he will consider playing beyond the 2022 season.

With Arians and OC Byron Leftwich returning for the ’21 campaign, Brady involvement in pre-training camp activities stands to be less important than it was during his acclimation year. OTAs and minicamp are also on track to again be virtual.

Buccaneers Sign 11 Players To Futures Deals

February 10th, 2021 at 9:17am CST by Zachary Links

The Super Bowl champs have signed eleven players to reserve/futures contracts for 2021. Shortly after their boat parade, the Buccaneers announced low-cost deals for:

The list mostly draws from the team’s year-end practice squad, save for Leverett who was dropped in the postseason for the returning Earl Watford. Now, the Bucs will work to keep the band together with wide receivers Antonio Brown and Chris Godwin, tight end Rob Gronkowski, and edge rusher Shaquil Barrett among those scheduled for free agency.

Antonio Brown Wants To Return To Bucs

February 8th, 2021 at 3:26pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

We’ve got one more for you in a slew of Bucs posts following their Super Bowl win. We had already heard a few weeks ago that Tampa was interested in bringing Antonio Brown back next year, and it sounds like that interest is mutual.

Speaking after the Buccaneers’ dominant win over the Chiefs, Brown said he wants to do another round with Tom Brady. “Man I’d love to, I look forward to going through the process, this is a great spot for me and I would love to come back and give it another shot at a two-peat,” Brown said after the game, via Jeff Kerr of CBS Sports. “I would love to be back here next year. It would mean everything to be back. I’m just excited and super grateful.”

Brown is set to be a free agent, and it’ll be very interesting to see what kind of contract he lands this offseason. On the one hand he’s an incredibly accomplished and talented receiver who just helped his team win a Super Bowl. On the other hand, he’s got a long list of off-field issues hanging over his head, he’ll turn 33 this summer, and he put up solid but certainly not spectacular numbers this past season.

In eight games with the Bucs in 2020 after sitting out the first half of the season due to a suspension, he finished with 45 catches for 483 yards and four touchdowns. That would put him on pace for a 90/966/8 line if he had played a full 16 games. Again, respectable, but not the kind of All-Pro numbers he was routinely putting up with the Steelers prior to his trade to the Raiders and subsequent implosion. He had five catches for 22 yards and a touchdown in the Super Bowl.

Obviously a large part of that was due to playing in an offense with a lot of mouths to feed with Chris Godwin and Mike Evans among others also present. Either way, he’s not likely to command the kind of hefty contract he would’ve gotten had he hit the open market after the 2018 season. Bruce Arians seems to think they won’t have too much trouble fitting everyone in financially, and Evans is apparently willing to take a pay cut.

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