Broncos, Seahawks, Bucs To Skip Onsite Offseason Workouts
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
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
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
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.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/8/21
Today’s minor transactions:
Cincinnati Bengals
- Waived: OL Javarius Leamon
New York Jets
- Re-Signed: CB Bennett Jackson
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed ERFA tender: LS Zach Triner
Bucs, Antonio Brown At Standstill
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.
O.J. Howard On Track To Participate In Buccaneers’ Offseason Program
O.J. Howard appears to be navigating Achilles rehab well. The fifth-year tight end is on track to participate in the Buccaneers’ offseason program, should the NFL proceed with onsite workouts this year.
Howard suffered an Achilles tear in early October of last year, but Bruce Arians confirmed the former first-round pick is close to taking a key step. While Howard should not be expected to be full-go until training camp, the fact that he has resumed running at all represents a positive development for a player who has battled some injury trouble as a pro.
“He’s not running on the grass yet, but he’s really close. The last time I checked (he) was 85% body weight running in ‘AlterG’ and looks fantastic,” Arians said of Howard’s pace on a customized treadmill, via Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com. “I don’t see any setbacks. If and when we can get together in this offseason program, he’ll be ready to go.
“What a huge addition to have him back because he was having a great year. I think, again, the sky’s the limit for what he can do in this offense.”
Howard seemed a better fit for Dirk Koetter‘s offense, posting 565 receiving yards in just 10 games in 2018. After recovering from knee, ankle and foot injuries, Howard did not fare as well in Arians’ first season. The Alabama alum played 14 games but was not the same kind of factor in 2019. He popped up in trade rumors, with the Bucs discussing him in a deal that would have sent then-Washington left tackle Trent Williams to Tampa. But Howard stayed. The Bucs picked up his fifth-year option, and the October injury essentially ensured it would vest. Howard, 26, is due $6MM this season.
Tampa Bay re-signed Rob Gronkowski and still has Cameron Brate on its roster. The Bucs also are working on re-signing Antonio Brown. This would make for another crowded pass-catching situation, but Howard remains in the Super Bowl champions’ plans at this point.
Latest On Tom Brady Knee Injury
When it was revealed in February that Tom Brady was undergoing knee surgery for an injury that would keep him sidelined from team activities until at least June, it understandably raised some eyebrows.
A 43-year-old quarterback getting knee surgery that will knock him out for a handful of months is significant no matter what. But fortunately, it sounds like everything is going well with Brady’s recovery. “I talked to him last week,” Bucs GM Jason Licht said, via Jenna Laine of ESPN.com. “I know things are going well. I don’t want to put an exact timeline on it right now because I don’t want to set expectations one way or the other, but I know that things are going very well.”
The injury also apparently wasn’t out of left field for the team, and the procedure had been planned for a while. Brady had been planning on having the surgery for months, and the news was “not a surprise” to the Bucs, a source told Laine.
Licht also called it a “minor surgical procedure” although it can’t really be that minor if Bruce Arians was saying back in February that he was hopeful Brady could do some 7-on-7 work in June. Obviously if there’s anyone who doesn’t need much offseason time it’s Brady, but this will still be something to monitor as the ageless wonder gets set to turn 44 in August.
Buccaneers GM: I Won’t Draft A Kicker
Buccaneers GM Jason Licht has learned his lesson. He’s reached for kickers twice during his tenure as Tampa’s GM, but he’s ruled out the position in this year’s draft. 
“I won’t take a kicker,” said Licht, who intends to head into the fall with Ryan Succop as his kicker.
In 2016, Licht went for Roberto Aguayo in the second round, citing him as a generational talent. The Florida State product was the first kicker since 2005 (Mike Nugent, Jets) to be selected in the second round, but he made just 71-percent of his field goal attempts as a rookie. During the 2017 offseason, he was replaced by Nick Folk.
“This is the best kicker I’ve ever seen in college, my favorite kicker,” Licht said of Aguayo following the draft. “I’m not going to risk [not] getting him and then have to go through a kicking carousel again during my tenure. I want to get the best kicker. Every position, I want to get the best.”
Then, in 2019, Licht took Matt Gay with the No. 145 overall choice. This time around, he’s standing pat with Succop, who recently inked a three-year, $12MM contract extension.
Buccaneers To Pick Up Vita Vea’s Fifth-Year Option
It’s about that time of year where we’ll start to hear a lot of decisions on the fifth-year options of first-round picks from the 2018 draft class, and we got a significant one on Thursday.
The Buccaneers will pick up the fifth-year option on Vita Vea‘s contract, GM Jason Licht said Thursday, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. Unlike in previous years, many of these option decisions won’t be no-brainers or formalities. That’s because starting with this cycle, the fifth-year options are now fully guaranteed. They had previously been guaranteed for injury only.
That means teams will be a lot less loose with picking up these fifth-year options, and it also means Vea’s salary for 2022 will become fully guaranteed when they pick it up. That salary will be about $7.64MM for the Bucs. It’s a significant commitment for two years from now, but it’s also still a very good deal compared to what Vea would fetch on the open market.
The defensive tackle was a huge part of Tampa’s defense last year, and was a massive disruptor before going down with a serious ankle injury after five games. Originally believed to be lost for the season, Vea battled his way back and improbably returned for the NFC Championship Game and Super Bowl.
Vea, the 12th overall pick of the 2018 draft, started all 16 games in 2019, finishing with 35 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and three passes defended. He had two sacks in only four-plus games in 2020, and was looking dominant before the injury.
Teams have until May 3rd to make their fifth-year option decisions on 2018 first-rounders.