Bucs Hope To Re-Sign Ndamukong Suh
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
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
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
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
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:
- OLB Quinton Bell
- WR Cyril Grayson
- S Javon Hagan
- WR Travis Jonsen
- G Nick Leverett
- TE Codey McElroy
- CB Herb Miller
- G John Molchon
- WR Josh Pearson
- DL Benning Potoa’e
- DL Kobe Smith
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
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.
Bruce Arians Returning To Buccaneers In 2021, Confident Team Can Keep FAs
It really sounds like the Buccaneers will be getting the full band back together in 2021. Rob Gronkowski has already said he isn’t retiring, and he’s previously indicated he only wants to play in Tampa. Tom Brady is expected back for at least one more ride, and quite possibly more.
And now we’ve got confirmation that the coach isn’t planning on riding off into the sunset either. “I ain’t going anywhere. I’m trying to get two, and then we’ll see,” Bruce Arians said after the Bucs’ Super Bowl win, via Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). There had been some speculation that the 68-year-old Arians could be headed for retirement, but one championship clearly wasn’t enough to satisfy him.
Arians’ priority will now turn toward keeping all his guys, and he seems to think he’s got a good shot. “I’m very, very confident,” the team will keep its core, Arians said in a Monday press conference, via Kevin Patra of NFL.com. “I have all the trust in the world in (GM) Jason (Licht) and what he would do.”
“These guys, they have a bond. There will be dollars involved. But I think that this group is so, so close that sometimes dollars don’t matter. But we’re going to do everything we can to get the dollars right too because they earned it.” Arians’ sentiment about the money not being a deal-breaker was echoed by Mike Evans, who has apparently said he’d be willing to knock off some of his $12.5MM salary for next year to help keep other players.
Stud pass-rusher Shaq Barrett and long-time linebacker Lavonte David are both set to be free agents, as is star receiver Chris Godwin. There will be a lot of guys looking to cash in, and despite Arians’ optimism it’s a simple fact of the NFL that it’ll be hard to retain *everybody*.
Arians retired as Cardinals coach after the 2017 campaign, but his time away from the game ended up only lasting one season. Having Tom Brady and making a deep playoff run appears to have rejuvenated him, and he could very well coach into his 70s at this point.
Bucs’ Mike Evans Willing To Take Pay Cut
Mike Evans is scheduled to make $12.5MM next year. However, the Buccaneers’ star wide receiver is willing to take a little bit less if it keeps the Super Bowl-winning band together. 
[RELATED: Gronk Wants To Return]
“Mike Evans is the most unselfish superstar I’ve ever met,” head coach Bruce Arians told Peter King of NBC Sports. “He’s told us to use some of his money if we need to contracts to keep the team together.”
The Buccaneers are hoping to keep tight end Rob Gronkowski and the rest of their key pending free agents. Among those eligible for the open market: wide receivers Chris Godwin and Antonio Brown, inside linebacker Lavonte David, defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, and edge rusher Shaquil Barrett.
Evans has helped the Bucs move money around in the past, including a 2019 adjustment that converted $2MM of his base salary into a signing bonus. The layout of his deal — a five-year, $82.5MM extension inked less than two years ago — allows for flexibility with no guaranteed dollars from this point forward.
Evans may seek some locked-in dollars in exchange for his cooperation. But, either way, the Bucs will probably take up Evans on his offer, especially with the possibility of a $180MM cap this offseason.
Bucs’ Rob Gronkowski: “I Don’t See Why I Won’t Be Back”
Rob Gronkowski wants to keep the party going. After capturing his first Super Bowl ring sans Bill Belichick, the tight end told reporters that he plans to continue playing in 2021. 
“Yeah, I’ll remain unretired,” Gronk said (via PFT). “I’m a free agent. It’s the first time in my career that I’m a free agent…But I definitely see myself coming back, just the guys around here, the players around here, the coaches, the people in the front office, they’re all just great people. I loved working with them all year long.”
“So, obviously going to soak this in and see where I’m at in a couple weeks, but I don’t see why not. I don’t see why I won’t be back.”
Gronk previously hinted at another season and reports indicated that he’d only suit up for Tom Brady & Co. Gronk, 32 in May, managed to shake off the rust in pewter, notching 45 catches for 623 yards and seven touchdowns. That stat line wasn’t as gaudy as his best seasons with the Patriots, but he showed up big in the Super Bowl, leading all receivers with six grabs for 67 yards and two TDs.
While Gronkowski needs a new contract, Cameron Brate‘s deal extends through 2023. That shouldn’t be much of a barrier, however. The Bucs can cut Brate to save $6.5MM against the cap with no dead money charge. The bigger numbers crunch will come from fellow free agents such as wide receiver Chris Godwin, outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett, and inside linebacker Lavonte David.
Buccaneers’ Bruce Arians Has Succession Plan For Todd Bowles
Will Bruce Arians retire after the Super Bowl? “Hell no,” the coach says. But, someday, the Buccaneers head coach plans to hand things off to defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. 
“I think [our defense has improved by] lightyears,” Arians said of Bowles recently. “Just the mixture of all those guys in the secondary [and] solidifying the front. Again, going into last season, we had to get Shaq Barrett back [and] we had to get Ndamukong Suh back. Keeping everybody there [and] now getting Vita Vea back. And, that secondary was key. Getting guys that could play man-to-man, that were aggressive bump-and-run type people that could also play zone, rather than soft zone players. It took a while, but I think Todd has just done a tremendous job and we’ve been winning with defense.”
Bowles’ defensive prowess is undeniable — his units were stellar in Arizona and even his Jets defenses were decent. However, his win/loss record in New York was rough. In four years, he had only 24 wins in total, despite a 10-win campaign in 2015.
Meanwhile, speculation persists about Arians’ plans, despite his denials. The 68-year-old has retired twice before. His most recent “retirement” came in 2017, after leaving the Cardinals. Previous to that, Arians also claimed to be walking away in 2011, when he peace’d out on the Steelers. Today, win or lose, Arians says he’s coming back for at least one more season.