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.
Latest On Buccaneers, Antonio Brown
Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians recently said that the team is waiting to hear back on its latest offer to Antonio Brown. However, the two sides aren’t close to an agreement, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com. 
There’s still mutual interest, but the Bucs aren’t on board with Brown’s asking price. It’s not clear what Brown is seeking; nor is it clear whether Brown has offers from anyone but the Bucs. Between Brown’s lingering legal issues and his overall baggage, it’s hard to imagine him having a strong market in free agency. Jason Licht & Co. have offered the wide receiver something in the range of last year’s deal, which paid him $2MM for a half-season.
Earlier this offseason, we saw DeSean Jackson score a one-year, $4.5MM deal with the Rams. One could argue that Brown offers more upside than DJax, but every player’s market is dictated by demand. Right now, it doesn’t seem like there is a ton of demand for Brown outside of Tampa.
Brown, 33 this summer had 45 catches for 483 yards and four touchdowns in eight games. Extrapolated for a full 16-game slate, that would have given him a 90/966/8 line.
Buccaneers Waiting On Antonio Brown
The Buccaneers managed to keep just about everyone from their Super Bowl squad. However, wide receiver Antonio Brown stands out as a notable straggler. On Tuesday, head coach Bruce Arians said that it hasn’t been for a lack of trying. 
“We’re just gonna take our time,” Arians said (Twitter link via WTSP’s Grace Remington). “There’s offers out there. We’ll see how it goes.”
For his part, Brown has said that he wants to stay put. Shortly after the Bucs beat the Chiefs, AB expressed his desire to go for a “two-peat”.
“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. “I would love to be back here next year. It would mean everything to be back. I’m just excited and super grateful.”
Brown, 33 this summer, posted solid — but not spectacular — numbers in 2020. In eight post-suspension games, the veteran had 45 catches for 483 yards and four touchdowns. Extrapolated for a full 16-game slate, that would have given him a 90/966/8 line.
Brown wants to come back and the Bucs have reciprocated with an offer on the table. The real question is – Does anyone else have real interest in adding Brown and the baggage that comes along with him? Ultimately, Brown may have to settle for less than what he wants if he hopes to play in 2021.
Kyle Love Retires From NFL
Defensive tackle Kyle Love announced his retirement on Sunday (via Instagram). Love, 34, did not play in 2020 and he will not seek NFL employment for 2021. 
Love entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Mississippi State in 2010. He spent three seasons with the Patriots, appearing in 41 total games before being diagnosed with diabetes and waived with a non-football illness designation. He appeared in only three contests from 2013-14 while playing for the Chiefs, Jaguars, and Panthers, but he eventually reestablished his career with Carolina. From 2017-2019, Love appeared in at least 37% of the Panthers’ defensive snaps. Last year, after six years with the Panthers, he agreed to join the rival Buccaneers.
Love was set to serve as a rotational piece behind of Vita Vea and Ndamukong Suh, but he was released before the final cut in September. We here at PFR wish Love the best in retirement.
Buccaneers Re-Sign Leonard Fournette
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: The Buccaneers are keeping the band together. On Friday, GM Jason Licht struck a new one-year deal with running back Leonard Fournette (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). Fournette is set to earn $3.25MM with the chance to reach $4MM via incentives. Apparently, that was enough for Fournette to say no to the Seahawks and other suitors.
The former No. 4 overall pick found his way to the Bucs after the Jaguars dropped him last summer. Serving as Ronald Jones‘ backup for much of the year, Fournette shined as the starter from Week 15 onward. In the regular season, Fournette averaged 3.8 yards per carry in 13 games. He also reeled in 36 passes for 233 yards, giving him 600 all-purpose yards for the year. He saved his best for the playoffs, collecting four touchdowns and 448 yards from scrimmage in four games.
The Buccaneers’ high-powered passing offense certainly had something to do with his resurgence. With the Jaguars’, Fournette faced stacked boxes on 39% of his carries from 2017-19. In Tampa, he’s got tons of offensive weapons around him to keep defenses honest.
Some wondered if the Buccaneers would be able to keep their core in tact after their Super Bowl victory. But, in the last month, they’ve held on to Fournette, Chris Godwin, Shaquil Barrett, Lavonte David, Rob Gronkowski, Ndamukong Suh, and other key pieces. Next, the Bucs will look to re-sign wide receiver Antonio Brown.
Buccaneers To Re-Sign OL Josh Wells
Josh Wells is on track to spend another season in Florida. The Buccaneers are re-signing the veteran offensive lineman, Greg Auman of The Athletic tweets.
The former Jaguars tackle agreed to stay with the Bucs on a one-year deal, with Auman adding the agreement will be worth the veteran minimum. Wells will sign for $990K; $500K of this low-end pact is guaranteed (Twitter link via Auman).
Wells has served as a swing tackle during his two seasons in Tampa. He played that role for the Bucs’ Super Bowl champion team, starting one game and playing in 15. Wells, 30, has operated in this capacity for most of his career. The former UDFA topped out at five starts, doing so with the 2018 Jaguars, but has opened with the Bucs’ first-stringers three times in two seasons.
Wells will join a host of free agents that have agreed to stay in Tampa this month, following the likes of Shaquil Barrett, Lavonte David, Rob Gronkowski and Ndamukong Suh. This is not a similar needle-moving agreement, but Wells has provided depth behind the likes of Donovan Smith and Tristan Wirfs.
Buccaneers To Re-Sign Ndamukong Suh
The Buccaneers are on the verge of re-signing Ndamukong Suh. Once finalized, it’ll be a one-year, $9MM contract for the defensive tackle, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). Through incentives, Suh’s deal could be worth up to $10MM (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). 
Suh joined Tampa on a similar contract in 2019. They re-upped him in 2020 for a touch less — a one–year, $8MM deal. Suh may be past his prime, but he still managed six sacks in the regular season — his highest total since 2015 — plus 27 total stops. All along, Bucs GM Jason Licht has said that he’s wanted to bring Suh back for a third year in Tampa.
“I think he’s said it, that’d he’d love to come back here,” Licht said in February. “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…We’ll have to see how it all shakes out, but he’s definitely one that we want back.”
Suh, 34, is still among the league’s better interior tackles and the Bucs have managed to keep most of their stars together post-Super Bowl. Their recent re-up of Rakeem Nunez-Roches cast some doubt on the odds of a Suh return, but the Bucs pulled it off to keep their strong run defense in tact.
Bucs To Extend Donovan Smith
The Buccaneers and offensive tackle Donovan Smith reached agreement on a two-year, $31.8MM deal, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. As a part of the extension, Smith will earn $30MM guaranteed over the next two years. 
Between Smith’s new contract and defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh‘s re-up, this has been a pretty great morning for GM Jason Licht & Co. Many wondered if the Bucs would be able to keep the band together after their Super Bowl win, but they’ve pulled it off with some clever accounting. Quarterback Tom Brady, wide receiver Chris Godwin, edge rusher Shaq Barrett, inside linebacker Lavonte David, tight end Rob Gronkowski, and kicker Ryan Succop and other core players have been re-upped, positioning the Bucs for another championship run.
Smith has never been a world-beater, but even an average blindside protector is a valuable in the NFL. In 2019, the Bucs re-signed him to a three-year, $41.25MM contract. He’s served as the Bucs’ starting left tackle since entering the league in 2015 and he’s missed only two games throughout his career (The latest one was due to COVID-19 exposure).
Bucs To Re-Sign Rakeem Nunez-Roches
While it will not register on the level that Shaquil Barrett or Lavonte David‘s re-signings did, the Buccaneers brought another member of their Super Bowl champion roster Thursday.
They are re-signing defensive lineman Rakeem Nunez-Roches, with Sirius XM Radio’s Adam Caplan reporting the veteran interior defender will sign for two years and $5MM. Nunez-Roches, who can earn up to $6.5MM on this deal, has been with the Bucs since 2018. The former Chiefs draftee will collect $2.25MM in guarantees on his latest Bucs contract.
Nunez-Roches played a career-high snap rate last season, starting 11 games for the Bucs and playing 45% of Tampa Bay’s defensive snaps. The Bucs relied on Nunez-Roches more after Vita Vea‘s injury. Nunez-Roches does not have notable pass-rushing abilities, having recorded 1.5 sacks in six seasons, and Pro Football Focus graded him as one of the worst D-tackles last season. But the Bucs have now made him a priority under two coaching staffs, and he has been a part of two strong run defenses over the past two seasons.
The team has not yet re-signed Ndamukong Suh, though given its spree of re-ups, that certainly cannot be ruled out. Nevertheless, they have one of their D-line starters back on a low-cost deal. Suh, however, remains a priority to re-sign, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter).