Free Agent DT Roy Miller To Retire
Free agent defensive tackle Roy Miller — who had been scheduled to serve a six-game suspension — announced on Instagram that he intends to retire from the NFL.
“I am officially retiring from the NFL,” Miller said. “Unfortunately my ex is trying everything she can to ruin any opportunity for me to work for my kids. This has caused me much pain. [H]ad some interest [from] teams but until the divorce goes through I can’t even contemplate putting a team through the drama.”
Miller, who will turn 31 years old next week, was arrested on a domestic battery charge last November, and was also reportedly involved in some sort of violent altercation last week, per TMZ Sports. Miller’s wife is filing for divorce and has asked for a restraining order, but the NFL veteran is claiming there’s more to the story.
On the field, Miller appeared in 119 games and 84 starts over a nine-year career after being selected in the third round of the 2009 draft. A University of Texas product, Miller split his first eight pro seasons between the Buccaneers and Jaguars, and played seven games with the Chiefs in 2017 before being cut.
Winston Release Could "Come Quickly"
- As the debate over what the Buccaneers should do with Jameis Winston rages on, FloridaFootballInsiders took a look at all of the Bucs’ potential options, including releasing Winston immediately. They think if the team does decide to cut Winston “it will come quickly” and that the “financial hit is not that significant” if they chose to do so.
Buccaneers Could Use Sweezy Money To Extend Alexander, Marpet, Or Smith
- The cap space freed up from Sweezy’s release could be used to extend other Buccaneers veterans, according to Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Auman thinks the added cap room could “certainly facilitate a longterm extension” for one of Kwon Alexander, Ali Marpet, or Donovan Smith. He adds that it “would be good for Bucs to lock one of them up before the season.”
Guard J.R. Sweezy was only released earlier this afternoon, but speculation is already starting about where he could be heading next. Sweezy made it just two years into the five-year, $32.5MM deal he signed back in 2016 before he was cut by the Buccaneers. Both his years with Tampa Bay were injury plagued, but the interior lineman is still a good player when healthy.
Buccaneers To Release J.R. Sweezy
Two years after signing J.R. Sweezy to a five-year, $32.5MM contract, the Buccaneers are planning to cut ties with the veteran guard.
The Bucs are moving on from Sweezy after two injury-plagued years, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. This will only cost the team $1.25MM in dead money, thanks in part to a 2017 restructure. Sweezy was due to make $6.5MM this season.
Sweezy missed all of the first season of his Bucs deal due to injury, and the former Seahawks starter is in the process of working his way back from a broken bone in his leg. However, Jenna Laine of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter) Sweezy’s been cleared to resume football activities. He did not participate in the Buccaneers’ offseason program.
Sweezy also missed all of the 2016 season because of a back ailment, prompting the Bucs to finalize a redone contract for the one-time big free agent prize last year.
The 29-year-old guard started all 14 games he played for Tampa Bay last season. He was a steady Seattle starter from 2013-15, being a first-unit presence in both of the Seahawks’ Super Bowl appearances this decade. He’ll now venture back into free agency.
After Sweezy’s release, the Bucs are likely to hold a right guard competition between third-year blocker Caleb Benenoch and rookie third-rounder Alex Cappa, Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times notes (Twitter links). Cappa taking Sweezy’s place would give the Bucs an interesting look up front. This scenario would have three small-school cogs starting for the Bucs, with Cappa being a Division II product (Humboldt State) who would join Ali Marpet (D-III Hobart) and now Ryan Jensen (D-II Colorado State-Pueblo) on Tampa Bay’s front. Benenoch started five games last season.
Marpet being moved back to guard, with Jensen coming in as the new center, makes Sweezy’s loss easier for the Buccaneers to handle. Pro Football Focus rated Sweezy as its No. 53 guard last season.
NFL Could Ban Winston For Future Violation
The NFL has suspended Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston for the first three games of the 2018 regular season, but another violation of the league’s personal conduct policy could have much larger implications. In its announcement of the suspension, the NFL indicated that a future violation would result in “more substantial discipline, including a potential ban from the NFL.” 
Winston’s three-game ban was the outcome of negotiations between the NFL, NFLPA, and Winston’s camp. The league reserves the right to suspend players for six games for violations involving domestic violence, so it appears the league insisted on a compromise in which Winston would face more serious consequences if he commits another serious off-the-field transgression.
Lifetime bans are uncommon in the NFL, but they have been handed down in the past. Similarly, we’ve seen players hit with indefinite suspensions, as was the case with former Cardinals linebacker Daryl Washington. It’s impossible to know right now whether the league’s stance on Winston is simply tough talk or if the NFL would actually levy a lifetime ban against Winston in the event of another personal conduct policy violation.
In a statement issued on Thursday afternoon, the Buccaneers said they were “disappointed that [Winston] put himself in a position that has been found to violate the policy.” If Winston does not perform up to par in 2018, it’s conceivable that his off-the-field incident will factor into his future with the team. The Buccaneers exercised Winston’s fifth-year option for 2019 – worth nearly $21MM – but it is guaranteed for injury only.
NFL Suspends Bucs QB Jameis Winston
The NFL has suspended Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston for the first three games of the 2018 season, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. This was the expected outcome after the league wrapped its investigation earlier this month. 
Winston was alleged to have groped an Uber driver back in March 2016. The QB long denied any wrongdoing, but he took at least some responsibility for his actions in a statement issued on Thursday.
“The NFL informed me today that I will be suspended for the first three games of the season. First and foremost, I would like to say I’m sorry to the Uber driver for the position I put you in,” Winston said. “It is uncharacteristic of me and I genuinely apologize. In the past two-and-a-half years, my life has been filled with experiences, opportunities and events that have helped me grow, mature and learn, including the fact that I have eliminated alcohol from my life. I know I have to hold myself to a higher standard on and off the field and that I have a responsibility to my family, community, and teammates to live above the platform with which God has blessed me.
“I apologize to my teammates, the Buccaneers organization and fans for letting them down and for not being able to be out there for the first three games of the season. Although I am disappointed in the NFL’s decision, I understand the NFL’s process, and I embrace this as an opportunity to take advantage of the resources available to help me achieve the goals that I have for myself. I now look forward to putting this behind me and I will continue to work hard every day to be a positive influence in my community and be the best person, teammate and leader I can be.”
The suspension was the result of the settlement talks between the NFL, NFLPA, and his Winston’s representatives, Albert Breer of The MMQB (on Twitter) hears. That means there will be no appeal on Winston’s behalf. Per league rules, Winston will be able to participate in team activities, including the preseason, until the suspension begins in September.
The three-game ban will keep Winston off of the field as the Buccaneers start the season against the Saints, Eagles, and Steelers. Backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick will try to navigate the team through those difficult games before Winston is eligible to return in Week 4 against the Bears.
Nick Foles Discusses Decision To Not Sign With Bucs
Last offseason, Nick Foles considered several opportunities before ultimately joining the Eagles. This included a chance to sign with the Buccaneers, where head coach Dirk Koetter was heavily pursuing him. During an appearance on SiriusXM Radio, the quarterback discussed his decision to join Philly.
Jameis Winston Suspension Could Play Into Licht's, Koetter's Futures With Team?
With the news of Jameis Winston‘s impending suspension from the NFL, lots has been written about Winston’s future with the Buccaneers. One potentially unexplored angle is how Winston’s fate may tie into the fate of Bucs GM Jason Licht and the team’s head coach Dirk Koetter, according to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. Florio speculates that the team may be more likely to move on from Winston if they decide to fire Licht and/or Koetter at the end of the 2018 season.
Koetter reportedly came very close to being fired at the end of the 2017 season, but was ultimately given another year by ownership. Florio thinks it would be easier for the franchise to move on from Winston if they cleaned house completely, and had a front office with no ties to Winston make the decision to release him. Winston is set to make $20.9MM under his fifth-year option in 2019. It’s guaranteed only for injury, meaning the Bucs could release him after this season and not have to pay him anything, assuming he stays healthy. Whatever ends up happening, it looks like it could be a tumultuous year in Tampa Bay.
- In case you missed it, despite Winston’s expected absence, the Bucs don’t have any plans to bring in a veteran quarterback.
Buccaneers Unlikely To Sign Veteran QB
The Jameis Winston saga will continue to dominate NFL headlines for the foreseeable future, but life goes on for the Buccaneers, who need to determine who will give them the best chance to win in Winston’s expected absence. The team is currently rostering veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick, career reserve Ryan Griffin, and 2018 UDFA Austin Allen.
That is not a particularly inspiring group, and though Fitzpatrick is expected to run the offense while Winston serves his suspension, it would make sense for the team to consider a veteran backup for the 35-year-old (36 in November) Harvard product. However, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times does not believe the Bucs will go that route (Twitter link).
Of course, the free agent crop of signal-callers does not engender much confidence either, as it features the likes of Derek Anderson, Matt Moore, and Mark Sanchez. Plus, as Florida Football Insiders observes, the team seems to have plenty of faith in Griffin, who is entering his sixth year in the league but who has yet to attempt a regular season pass.
Griffin, a former UDFA out of Tulane, has spent the last three years with Tampa Bay and therefore is plenty familiar with head coach Dirk Koetter‘s system. The team intended to give him a thorough evaluation last summer, but he got hurt early in the preseason schedule and was not fully healthy until after the first month of the regular season.
Nonetheless, the Bucs carried Griffin through to their initial 53-man roster before placing him on IR, and the fact that they have kept him around for three seasons has to mean something. Indeed, the above Florida Football Insiders piece suggests that he could challenge Fitzpatrick as Winston’s placeholder in training camp.
Witness: Jameis Winston Was In Uber Vehicle Alone With Accuser
Another revelation came out of the Jameis Winston saga on Friday, and it could be viewed as damaging for the Buccaneers quarterback.
Mark Scruggs, attorney for a friend of Winston’s, Brandon Banks, said Winston did get into the car alone with the unnamed Uber driver that night in March 2016, when the accuser said Winston groped her. This came after the then-22-year-old quarterback was directed by friends to the Uber after being “unruly” at a Scottsdale, Ariz., nightclub. Scruggs said Banks saw an “intoxicated” Winston get into the car alone, which contradicts Ronald Darby‘s account that Winston was never alone with the driver, ESPN.com’s Paula Lavigne reports.
Banks, Winston and Darby were at the Scottsdale nightclub that night. This is the first time Banks, a former Vanderbilt football player, has been identified as being at the scene, Lavigne reports. Banks is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence after being found guilty of aggravated rape and aggravated sexual assault in June 2017 for an incident that occurred at Vanderbilt in 2013. Banks was awaiting trial in March of 2016.
Scruggs told ESPN that Winston, Darby and Banks were in a separate Uber that night, but that the driver who made the accusation against Winston was the one who picked him up from the nightclub. Banks did not confirm the driver’s account, though, since he was not in that particular Uber car. The driver said she and Winston were the only passengers.
“It appeared that Winston was trying to lay this on Brandon,” Scruggs said, via Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times, regarding his client’s reason for coming forward. “They were together that night. They took an Uber to a club, the three of them did, and Brandon said nothing whatsoever happened while the three of them were in the Uber. … For whatever reason, they felt they needed to put (Winston), escort him into an Uber so he could go home on his own. There’s two different Uber rides is what we’re talking about.”
Winston’s camp said the Uber driver was confused as to the number of people in the vehicle, and Darby said last year that he and Winston were in the backseat. The NFL is expected to suspend Winston for at least three games and did not view Darby’s account as entirely credible.
Some with the Buccaneers, and some close to Winston outside of the team, are “struggling to fathom” that he groped an Uber driver, Mike Jones of USA Today notes. But considering Winston’s past, most notably the 2012 rape accusation, the new information coming out about the March 2016 night makes it more likely Winston will serve at least a three-game suspension. And it could cloud his future with the Bucs.
Tampa Bay picked up the 24-year-old passer’s fifth-year option in May, but that $20.9MM 2019 salary is guaranteed for injury only. Now that he’s expected to miss the Bucs’ first three games, there will be immense pressure on the former No. 1 overall pick to shake the on-field inconsistency and while obviously avoid any additional off-field trouble.