Buccaneers Pick Up Demar Dotson’s Option
The Buccaneers picked up the 2019 option on Demar Dotson‘s contract, according to a team announcement. With that, the right tackle will remain in the fold this season with a $4.8MM cap number. 
Per the terms of Dotson’s deal, the Bucs had until March 12 to trigger the additional year. However, the Bucs did not feel the need to wait until the eve of free agency to make the decision. Given the inflation of this year’s tackle market, it was an easy choice for Tampa to keep the 6’9″ starter on a relatively cheap deal.
Last year, Dotson missed 18 regular season games between 2015-2017, but missed only one contest in 2018. Playing opposite of Donovan Smith – who inked a lucrative new deal with the club on Tuesday – Dotson graded out as the 44th best tackle in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus.
Dotson, 34 in October, has been with the Bucs since joining the club as an undrafted free agent in 2009.
Buccaners In On Tyrann Mathieu
While the Texans are attempting to retain Tyrann Mathieu, both the Ravens and Buccaneers have “serious interest” in the veteran defensive back, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. Baltimore just released fellow safety Eric Weddle on Tuesday, while Tampa Bay has been in need of secondary help for years. Mathieu inked a one-year, $7MM deal with Houston last year, but he’s expected to receive a significant raise on his next contract. Per La Canfora, Mathieu should be able to collect $24MM over the first two years of a new deal.
- While there aren’t any clear-cut, No. 1 wideouts available this offseason, slot receivers are aplenty, and they should get paid, says JLC. Golden Tate is looking for $13MM per season, while Adam Humphries may be targeting $10MM annually and has already been deemed too expensive to return to the Buccaneers. Cole Beasley could also get $10MM per year, while John Brown wants $8-9MM per season.
Details On Donovan Smith's Contract
- Donovan Smith‘s 2019 cap figure will still be hefty, according to Jenna Laine of ESPN.com, who notes the Buccaneers‘ left tackle will carry a $12.5MM figure next season. Although it is not the $14.1MM figure Smith was briefly attached to via the franchise tag, that is still a large number for a team that does not have much cap space. Smith’s 2020 and ’21 base salaries will be $14.5MM and $14.25MM, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times tweets.
Bucs Re-Sign LB Devante Bond
The Buccaneers re-signed linebacker Devante Bond to a one-year deal, as Jenna Laine of ESPN.com tweets. It’s a one-year deal for the league minimum, so it won’t put a dent in the Bucs’ limited cap space. 
Bond, 26 in July, has appeared in 25 games (six starts) for the Bucs over the last two seasons. In 2018, he registered 22 total tackles, which more than quintupled his showing from 2017.
The Bond deal marks the Bucs’ second move of the day, though it pales in comparison to the first. On Tuesday morning, the Bucs re-upped offensive tackle Donovan Smith on a three-year, $41.25MM deal with $27MM guaranteed.
In other Bucs news, the team recently decided against tendering safety Andrew Adams. Also, contrary to some speculation, the Bucs are not shopping linebacker Lavonte David.
Bucs, Donovan Smith Agree To Extension
Buccaneers tackle Donovan Smith received a small fortune in a new deal with the club. Smith has agreed to a new three-year, $41.25MM deal including $27MM guaranteed at signing, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. 
The new deal positions Smith as the fourth-highest paid offensive tackle in the league behind Taylor Lewan, Nate Solder, and Jake Matthews. Meanwhile, he graded out as just the No. 46 ranked tackle in the NFL in 2018, according to the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus. His so-so 66.4 score was roughly in line with his scores from the previous three seasons.
The Bucs were planning to apply the franchise tag to Smith, which would have earmarked him for $14.077MM this year. Instead, the long term deal smooths out the cap hit slightly and keeps him under club control through 2021.
Smith’s payout is indicative of the lack of offensive tackle talent throughout the NFL. Elite tackles in their prime rarely reach the open market, which has driven up the price for lower-tier options such as Smith. That means a similarly large deal could be on the way for Dolphins free agent Ja’Wuan James, even though James is not among the best at the right tackle position.
Smith’s durability likely gave the Bucs additional comfort in the deal. According to the team, he’s just the second player in franchise history to start every game in his first four seasons. The pact will also keep things consistent on the O-Line after they locked up fellow 2015 draftee Ali Marpet on a pricey extension last year.
Bucs To Franchise Tag Donovan Smith
The Buccaneers will place the franchise tag on left tackle Donovan Smith between now and the March 5 deadline, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. At the same time, Stroud hears extension talks are going well, so a long-term deal could be hammered out between now and the extension deadline for franchised players on July 15. 
Smith, 26 in June, has started in every single game for the Bucs since entering the league as a second-round pick in 2015. He not exactly a star on the offensive line, but the Bucs do not want to lose him at a time when it is hard to find reliable tackles.
Smith graded out as just the No. 46 ranked tackle in the NFL last year, according to the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus. His so-so 66.4 score was roughly in line with his scores from the previous three seasons.
Tagging Smith would cost the Bucs $14.077MM for the 2019 season. A long-term deal, presumably, would call for upwards of $10MM per year. That’s a big chunk of change for an average starter, but Dolphins free agent Ja’Wuan James is also expected to clear that hurdle if he reaches the open market in March.
Buccaneers Won’t Tender S Andrew Adams
The Buccaneers have decided to move on from one of their top safeties. Greg Auman of The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that the team won’t be tendering restricted free agent safety Andrew Adams.
It’s a bit of a surprising development for the 26-year-old, who led the Buccaneers with four interceptions last season. The former undrafted free agent also compiled nine passes defended and 38 tackles, his third-straight season with at least 30 tackles. On the flip side, he ultimately ranked 78th in Pro Football Focus‘ safety rankings, and he earned his worst score in three years
Ultimately, the team decided that the $2.05MM tender value was too much. However, Auman cautions that the organization could look to bring Adams back at a lesser value. That could be a good decision for defensive coordinator Todd Bowles and the Buccaneers coaching staff, as former starter Chris Conte is set to his free agency.
The Buccaneers currently have three safeties under contract for the 2019 season: Jordan Whitehead, Justin Evans, and M.J. Stewart.
Bucs Not Shopping David
- There were some rumors online that the Buccaneers could be shopping linebacker Lavonte David at the combine, but those apparently are false. Multiple sources told Jenna Laine of ESPN.com that David “is going nowhere.” David is still only 29 and received very good marks from Pro Football Focus last year, so it makes sense that the Bucs would want to keep him in the fold as they rebuild their porous defense.
Bucs Rumors: Brown, Steelers, Smith
We could see a lot of change in Tampa this year, but do not expect the Buccaneers to pursue Antonio Brown, GM Jason Licht says (via ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert).
From a talent perspective, the Bucs would surely like to have Brown on the roster. However, a Brown trade would require the forfeiture of significant draft capital and would hurt the team’s cap room, effectively forcing them to mortgage the future for a soon-to-be 31-year-old.
For now, the Bucs seem intent on keeping deep threat DeSean Jackson, though it remains to be seen whether they can hang on to pending free agent Adam Humphries.
Here’s more on the Bucs:
- “I don’t envision Donovan Smith being anywhere else but the Bucs, at least for next year,” Licht said on SiriusXM (Twitter link via Greg Auman of The Athletic). He added that the franchise tag is “more than likely” for the left tackle. This jibes with what we’ve heard previously. if the Bucs follow through on that plan, they’ll be even less likely to keep their hands on Humphries.
- Bruce Arians’ recent chat with Jackson went well, according to the Bucs’ new head coach. “It went great. We had a long sit-down. From my perspective, it couldn’t have been any better,” Arians said (via Jenna Laine of ESPN.com). “You’d have to talk to DeSean to find out what his perspective is. But I thought it was great. I look forward to working with him. Ton of respect for him as a player … and a person.” Licht, meanwhile, was non-committal when asked about D-Jax.
- Licht was similarly non-committal when asked about six-time Pro Bowler Gerald McCoy, who carries a $13MM cap hit in 2019 and is under contract through 2021. “Gerald’s been a real productive, successful player for the Bucs — one of the Bucs’ all-time best defensive players, you could argue,” Licht said. “He’s under contract. Ideally, [we’d] love it if he continued to be a Buc.” For what it’s worth, rumor has it that the Bucs see McCoy as a good fit, even as they transition to a 3-4 scheme.
- Rising sophomore M.J. Stewart will get looks at several positions but “we’d love to see him at safety,” Licht said (Twitter link via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times). Last year, the 2018 second-round pick spent the bulk of his eleven games (five starts) at cornerback. He finished out with 33 tackles and three passes defensed.
- Licht noted that the Bucs can keep running back Peyton Barber with a high tender in order to keep him from free agency, which may give some insight into the team’s plans (via Auman). A second-round tender at just over $3MM should ward away other interested clubs.
- Caleb Benenoch struggled in 2018 as the team’s right guard and Licht believes that a switch to tackle is in his future, Auman writes. The change would mean a backup role, so Auman wonders if his job will be safe given his scheduled $2MM salary for ’19.
Buccaneers’ DeSean Jackson Hires Agent
Buccaneers wide receiver DeSean Jackson has an agent once again. After parting ways with Joel Segal sometime during the offseason, Jackson has hired Brad Cicala of Terra Firma Sports to represent him, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). 
[RELATED: Buccaneers Prepared To Tag Donovan Smith]
At this juncture, it would have been foolish of Jackson to proceed without an agent. He’s under contract with the Bucs for one more season at a $10MM cap number, but that could be too costly for team brass. Meanwhile, Jackson has been non-committal on his future in Tampa while suggesting that he would be a strong fit with the Rams.
“If anything, I would like to kind of end up in L.A., being a Ram,” Jackson said in late January. “Sean McVay, you know, we got some connection from when I was in D.C., but we’ll see how it plays out, man. Right now, I got another year in Tampa. So we’ll see how it plays out, man.”
Last year, Jackson averaged 18.9 yards per reception and led the league in the category for the fourth time in his career. His overall stat line – 41 catches for 774 yards and four touchdowns – was far below his career average, but Jackson still profiles as one of the NFL’s best deep threats. There are clearly issues to be worked out between Jackson and the Bucs, but it’s possible that he’ll want to play under new head coach Bruce Arians. Arians, for his part, wants DJax back.