Buccaneers, Mike Evans Revise Deal
The Bucs converted $3MM of Mike Evans‘ $20MM base salary in to a roster bonus, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The move will not create additional cap space for the Buccaneers in 2019, Greg Auman of The Athletic (on Twitter) notes, which is unfortunate given the team’s present situation. 
The Buccaneers have a league-low $2.74MM in cap space, so they could use some relief. There’s still more work to be done as the Buccaneers will want to explore the second and third waves of free agency while leaving adequate room to sign their incoming rookie class.
Evans, 26 in August, inked a five-year, $82.5MM extension with the Bucs last offseason. With incentives, Evans has the ability to earn nearly $96MM over the course of the pact.
Even with a fat new contract in hand, Evans did not rest on his laurels in 2018. The wide receiver earned his second career Pro Bowl nod as he hauled in 86 catches with a career-high 1,524 yards. He also set a new career best in yards-per-catch with 17.7 per reception and scored eight touchdowns.
Bucs Notes: McCoy, Copeland
- The Buccaneers had interest in edge rusher Brandon Copeland before he re-signed with the Jets, Jenna Laine of ESPN.com tweets. Tampa Bay ranked 28th in the NFL with 31 sacks a season ago, so the club can certainly use some extra help in getting pressure. However, the Bucs have already signed Shaquil Barrett to a one-year deal, so Copeland could have been viewed as redundant. Copeland. who also drew interest from New England, Washington, and Detroit, only landed one year and $1.25MM from New York, so Tampa Bay could have probably outbid Gang Green if it had serious interest.
While previous reports have indicated the Buccaneers plan to retain Gerald McCoy, the veteran defensive tackle may actually not be safe, especially given head coach Bruce Arians‘ most recent comments to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “He’s not as disruptive as he was four years ago,” Arians said. “But he’s still pretty disruptive. He’s still a good player….I got to evaluate him. I mean, guys at a certain age, it’s different. Usually, the age they get paid the most and production (doesn’t) match. We’ve got to find that out.” McCoy, 31, ranked fourth among defensive tackles with 21 quarterback hits in 2018 and finished as the NFL’s No. 28 interior defender, per Pro Football Focus. He’s signed through 2021, but Tampa Bay won’t incur any dead money by releasing McCoy (and would save $13MM against the cap).
Buccaneers To Sign Blaine Gabbert
The Buccaneers are expected to sign quarterback Blaine Gabbert in the next 24 hours, according to Greg Auman of The Athletic (on Twitter). Once signed, Gabbert will be primed to serve as the backup to starter Jameis Winston. 
Gabbert, 30 in October, spent last season as Marcus Mariota‘s primary backup but was released by the club earlier this month. In eight games (three starts), Gabbert completed 60.4% of his passes for 626 yards, four touchdowns, and four interceptions. The 2011 first-round pick has had stints with the Jaguars, 49ers, Cardinals, and Titans during his eight-year career, and he’ll don a new uni in 2019.
Gabbert entered the league as the No. 10 overall pick in the 2011 draft, but he hasn’t lived up to the billing. In 48 starts, he has a career 13-35 record and a 56.2% completion percentage. He also has a nearly 1:1 TD-INT ratio.
However, he could be a worthwhile emergency option behind Winston, who has been largely healthy save for shoulder trouble in 2017.
Buccaneers Hire Two Female Coaches
- The Buccaneers are making a historic move. Tampa Bay is hiring Maral Javadifar and Lori Locust as the first full-time female assistant coaches in franchise history, the team announced in a release. Locust will be an assistant defensive line coach, while Javadifar will be an assistant strength and conditioning coach. The Bucs are now the first team in NFL history to have two women as full-time coaches. New Bucs coach Bruce Arians has emphasized the need for greater diversity on NFL coaching staffs, and is now practicing what he preaches. Arians had said he would do something like this, so it isn’t surprising.
Contract Details: Ingram, Suggs, Kendricks
Here are the latest details from some agreed-upon contracts during the second wave of free agency. All links courtesy of the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson, unless otherwise noted.
- Mark Ingram, RB (Ravens): Three years, $15MM. $6.5MM guaranteed. $4MM signing bonus. $500K of $4MM 2020 base salary is guaranteed, per Wilson (on Twitter).
- Terrell Suggs, LB (Cardinals): One year, $10MM. $7MM guaranteed. $4MM signing bonus. $3MM 2019 base salary (link).
- Donte Moncrief, WR (Steelers): Two years, $9MM. $3.5MM signing bonus. $5MM due in 2019, per Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter).
- J.R. Sweezy, G (Cardinals): Two years, $9MM. $3MM signing bonus. $1.5MM 2019 base salary; $3.5MM 2020 base (link).
- Jake Ryan, LB (Jaguars): Two years, $8MM. $1MM guaranteed. $500K signing bonus. Non-guaranteed $5.5MM option due on the 22nd day of the 2020 league year (link).
- Adarius Taylor, LB (Browns): Two years, $5MM. $1MM signing bonus (link).
- Mychal Kendricks, LB (Seahawks): One year, $4.5MM. $2MM base salary. $250K training camp bonus. $250K bonus for being on Seattle’s 53-man roster in Week 1. $1MM in incentives (playing time, sacks), Wilson tweets.
- Shaquil Barrett, LB (Buccaneers): One year, $4MM. $3MM guaranteed. $1MM in incentives for playing time, sacks (link).
- Tyler Eifert, TE (Bengals): One year, $4MM. $1.2MM signing bonus. $1MM base salary; $2.5MM incentives related to catches, yards and touchdowns (Twitter link).
- Dwayne Harris, WR (Raiders): One year, $1.6MM. $275K signing bonus. $400K incentive based on return average (link).
- Kevin White, WR (Cardinals): One year, $1.5MM. $400K signing bonus. Max value: $2.5MM, per Pelissero (on Twitter).
- Dan Bailey, K (Vikings): One year, $1MM. $250K guaranteed. $1MM incentive based on field goal success rate (link).
- Cedric Ogbuehi, T (Jaguars): One year, $895K. $90K signing bonus (link).
- Antone Exum, S (49ers): One year, $855K. $50K signing bonus (link).
- Eli Rogers, WR (Steelers): Rogers’ 2018 contract tolled; he is due $720K in 2019 (link).
Bucs Meeting With S Clayton Geathers
Clayton Geathers is going through his second free agent meeting of the week, traveling from Dallas to Tampa. The Buccaneers met with the UFA safety on Tuesday, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter).
Limited by injuries during his four-year career with the Colts, Geathers was a starter for most of his time in Indianapolis. While the Colts expressed interest in re-signing the former fourth-round pick, he is being allowed to test the second-wave market.
Geathers played 853 snaps for the Colts last season, his most significant work sample. Injuries limited the Central Florida product to 14 total games between the 2016-17 seasons. Pro Football Focus graded Geathers as the No. 51 safety last season. Geathers, 26, has yet to record an NFL interception.
The Colts have re-signed multiple 2018 starters — cornerback Pierre Desir, defensive lineman Margus Hunt and guard Mark Glowinski — but each of those players was brought in by the Chris Ballard regime. Ryan Grigson drafted Geathers, perhaps impacting the team’s decision to let him test free agency.
Tampa Bay is coming off another poor coverage season, ranking 26th in pass defense — a year after a last-place showing. The Bucs have already signed former Packers safety Kentrell Brice, potentially impacting their decision to add Geathers. Recent draftees Justin Evans and Jordan Whitehead comprise Tampa Bay’s top safeties presently.
Buccaneers Sign Kentrell Brice
The Buccaneers have signed former Packers safety Kentrell Brice to a one-year deal. Brice visited the Texans and Colts last week, but the Bucs ultimately won out.
The safety started a career-high 10 games last season (in 14 appearances) and compiled 50 tackles, one sack, and two passes defended. For what it’s worth, Pro Football Focus wasn’t too fond of his performance, ranking him in the bottom-six among 93 eligible safeties.
Brice, a former undrafted free agent out of Louisiana Tech, spent his entire three-year career with Green Bay up until today. He’s not a splashy add, but the Bucs plan to make more significant additions in the draft. The Bucs own the No. 5 pick in the draft and own all of their original choices through the first five rounds.
Buccaneers To Sign OL Earl Watford
The Buccaneers have agreed to sign offensive lineman Earl Watford, according to Adam Green (Twitter link). It’s a one-year deal, tweets Mike Garafolo of NFL.com.
Watford, who spent the 2013-17 seasons with the Cardinals, will now reunite with a bevy of ex-Arizona coaches — including head coach Bruce Arians and run game coordinator/offensive line coach Harold Goodwin — in Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers’ offensive line is already set in stone, so Watford, who can play both tackle and guard, will settle in as a top reserve.
The 28-year-old Watford has historically served in a backup role, although he did start 11 games in 2016. All told, the James Madison product has appeared in 55 games and made 22 starts since entering the league as a fourth-round pick. Watford spent the 2018 campaign in Cleveland on a minimum salary deal.
Buccaneers To Sign Shaq Barrett
The Buccaneers have agreed to sign Shaquil Barrett, as Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. It’s a one-year deal for the Bucs and the former Broncos linebacker.
Barrett drew some interest on the open market and met with the Bengals on Thursday. Ultimately, he wound up in a warmer climate. The UDFA success story, though, did not land a long-term deal. He agreed to a one-year, $5MM Bucs contract, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
The Broncos discussed a new deal with Barrett, but he aimed for more playing time this offseason. At the end of last season, Barrett publicly declared he wanted to be a full-time starter in 2019.
“I want to start. I want to be a guy somewhere. I don’t want to just be a role player,” Barrett said. “I can’t do it. … Reserve role is done for me, unless that’s the only role I got after this year. But that’s not what I’m looking for going into free agency,” Barrett said at the time.
Barrett put himself on the map with 5.5 sacks in 2015. He hasn’t been able to replicate that production since, mostly due to lack of playing time, but the Broncos thought highly enough of him to put a second round tender on him last offseason.
While Barrett’s sack numbers are not eye-popping, he was one of the better run defenders at his position during his Denver years. He became a more reliable cog than former first-round pick Shane Ray, and this continued in the duo’s contract years — Barrett being the Broncos’ top off-the-bench option and Ray ending his season as a healthy scratch.
This move crystallizes the Broncos’ need for edge help off the bench, with the team’s run of depth at this position ending with this signing, the Bucs have a proven defender that could perhaps push for a starting role in Todd Bowles‘ 3-4 defense. Jason Pierre-Paul remains on the Bucs’ roster but has never functioned as a 3-4 outside linebacker, a role in which Barrett has played exclusively. Tampa Bay also released Vinny Curry earlier this offseason.
Bucs Re-Sign Rakeem Nunez-Roches
Rakeem Nunez-Roches is returning to Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers announced that they’ve re-signed the defensive tackle to a one-year deal.
The 25-year-old was waived by the Colts prior to the 2018 season, and the lineman eventually caught on with the Bucs in October. Nunez-Roches proceeded to play in three games for Tampa Bay, compiling a pair of tackles. He’s only a year removed from a 2017 campaign where he started 11 of his 16 games with the Chiefs.
It will be tough for Nunez-Roches to supplant either Gerald McCoy or Vita Vea in the starting lineup, but he should be able to compete with Beau Allen and Stevie Tu’ikolovatu for snaps.
Nunez-Roches is the eighth player to re-sign with the Bucs over the past few days. We learned earlier today that the team was re-signing cornerback De’Vante Harris.