Buccaneers Trade Into Vikings’ No. 94 Slot
The Buccaneers will trade a fourth-round pick and a sixth-round selection to move into the Vikings’ No. 94 spot at the end of this third round.
Tampa Bay gave up the No. 180 selection to swing this deal with Minnesota. The Bucs used this deal to select Alex Cappa, an offensive lineman out of Humboldt State.
This continues a busy night for the Bucs, who have now made four selections on Day 2 in this draft. They took running back Ronald Jones, cornerback M.J. Stewart, cornerback Carlton Davis and now Cappa, who was a stellar performer throughout his career at the Division II program.
The Bucs have a recent history of looking far and wide for offensive line help, with Division III product Ali Marpet being a multiyear starter in Tampa. Cappa was a four-time first-team All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference choice and finished his career as a first-team Division II All-American in 2017.
Patriots Move Up, Get Bucs’ No. 56 Pick
Before the draft’s Day 2 hit the two-hour mark, the Patriots have a three-trade night. Per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (Twitter link), New England is moving back up — to the No. 56 spot — and Tampa Bay will receive compensation.
The Bucs will receive an additional fourth-round pick (No. 117) for moving down and sliding into the Pats’ No. 63 spot, Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. The Patriots, who moved back twice via two other trades with NFC teams tonight, are taking Florida cornerback Duke Dawson.
Playing in a Gators secondary that in 2016 housed Teez Tabor, Quincy Wilson and Marcus Maye, Dawson played a bigger role as a senior in 2017 and intercepted a career-high four passes. This marks the seventh cornerback taken thus far.
Dawson marks the second corner the Pats have added this offseason, following Jason McCourty to New England. He’ll join a corner corps that lost Malcolm Butler via free agency.
Bills Acquire No. 7 Pick From Buccaneers
We have our first trade of the night. The Bills have acquired the No. 7 pick from the Buccaneers, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). In return, Tampa Bay will receive the Bills No. 12 pick, a pair of second-rounders (No. 53 and No. 56), and No. 255 (seventh-round).
The Bills will use their newly-acquired pick on quarterback Josh Allen. The Wyoming product was among the top signal-callers available in the draft, and he had been connected to several teams in the top-10 (including the Broncos, who instead opted for Bradley Chubb). Allen had another solid campaign in 2017, completing 56.3-percent of his passes for 1,812 yards, 16 touchdowns, and six interceptions. Allen will have to compete with A.J. McCarron, who signed a two-year deal with the Bills earlier this offseason, for the starting gig. The Bills are also rostering Nathan Peterman.
We heard moments ago that Buffalo was unwilling to sacrifice a pair of first-round picks in order to move up. Ultimately, it sounds like general manager Brandon Beane got his wish. The Bills had been connected to a number of early selections, including the first-round picks owned by the Browns (No. 4), Broncos (No. 5), and Colts (No. 6). With those teams ultimately holding on to their picks, Buffalo shifted their focus to Tampa Bay.
The Buccaneers headed into the night with only a pair of picks in the first three rounds. Thanks to the trade, they’ll now have four picks in that span, including three second-rounders (No. 38, No. 53, and No. 56).
Buccaneers Re-Sign RB Charles Sims
The Buccaneers have agreed to re-sign running back Charles Sims, as Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. It’s a one-year deal for the veteran. 
Last summer, there were whispers that Sims would miss the Bucs’ final cut coming out of camp, even though starter Doug Martin was suspended for the start of the 2017 season. Sims stayed on the roster, but he did not see a ton of carries. Appearing in all 16 games, Sims totaled just 21 rushing attempts for 95 yards. He did add 35 catches for 249 yards and one score, however.
Given that Sims had less rushing yards than Jameis Winston – who isn’t exactly fleet-footed – he might not have a huge rule in store in 2018. Last year’s leading rusher, Peyton Barber, is back in the fold and so is Jacquizz Rodgers. The Bucs may also bolster the RB depth chart in this week’s draft.
Browns, Colts Lead League In Cap Space
The Browns and Colts have the most cap room of any team in the NFL heading into draft, as Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter) notes. Here’s the official rundown of every team’s cap space for 2018 on the eve of draft weekend:
- Browns – $69.5MM
- Colts – $59.8MM
- 49ers – $43.8MM
- Titans – $35.8MM
- Texans -$35.6MM
- Bears – $24.1MM
- Jets – $21.9MM
- Bills – $19.4MM
- Jaguars – $18.6MM
- Cardinals – $18.1MM
- Redskins -$17.1MM
- Bengals – $16.8MM
- Packers – $16.2MM
- Vikings – $15.5MM
- Broncos – $14.6MM
- Patriots – $13.8MM
- Buccaneers – $12.3MM
- Cowboys -$11.9MM
- Chargers – $11.4MM
- Lions – $9.4MM
- Giants -$9.4MM
- Ravens – $8.8MM
- Seahawks – $7.6MM
- Chiefs – $6.7MM
- Saints – $5.7MM
- Panthers – $5.2MM
- Dolphins – $2.9MM
- Eagles – $2.2MM
- Steelers – $2MM
- Raiders – $1.8MM
- Falcons – $1.3MM
- Rams – $264K
Could Bucs Consider Trade Down?
- The Buccaneers could trade back with a team looking to land a quarterback and pick up a running back or pass rusher with the move, Florida Football Insiders speculates. Though the Broncos and Colts have been heavily linked to trade back, the Bucs also make sense. Should they land in the middle to late in the first round, they could target LSU running back Derrius Guice or UT San Antonio defensive end Marcus Davenport.
Saquon Barkley Visited Buccanneers
The Buccaneers, who hold the No. 7 overall selection in this week’s draft, are one of the most RB-needy teams in the NFL, and they would love nothing more than to see Penn State’s Saquon Barkley — widely-regarded as the most complete and dynamic running back to enter the league in a long time — fall to them. And Tampa Bay did its due diligence on the Nittany Lion standout, as GM Jason Licht revealed several days ago that the team brought Barkley in for an official visit (Twitter link via Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times). 
However, it seems unlikely that Barkley will still be on the board when Tampa Bay is on the clock, unless Licht & Co. decide to trade up. Indeed, there has been plenty of buzz connecting Barkley to the Giants — who have the No. 2 overall selection — in recent weeks, and he may not make it past Cleveland’s No. 4 overall pick. Even the Broncos and Colts, who have the Nos. 5 and 6 overall picks, respectively, could feel that Barkley’s upside is too great to pass up (Indianapolis is also known to have hosted Barkley during the pre-draft season).
And, despite Barkley’s tremendous track record of collegiate success and his potential at the next level, it’s doubtful Tampa Bay would surrender a significant amount of draft capital to move up for a RB. In fact, as Florida Football Insiders posits, it is much more likely that the Bucs trade down.
The Bucs would like to continue improving their pass rush, and this year’s draft boasts a prospect that, like Barkley, has plenty of GMs salivating: NC State’s Bradley Chubb. But Chubb, like Bradley, is expected to be off the board before the Bucs pick, and there are a number of second-tier pass rushers (and running backs) who offer plenty of ability and who could be had later in the first round. Of course, Tampa Bay also needs secondary help, and if it doesn’t get a trade-down offer it likes, the team may simply choose one of the top DB prospects in the 2018 class, like Alabama’s Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Barrow Involved In Beckwith Accident
- Former Broncos and Bears linebacker Lamin Barrow was driving the car at the time of the accident that ended with Buccaneers ‘backer Kendell Beckwith fracturing an ankle, Jenna Laine of ESPN.com reports. Barrow and Beckwith were LSU teammates. The crash occurred at around 1 a.m., April 12. The vehicle veered off a road and crashed into a gate, per Laine. Although authorities said Barrow did not show signs of impairment, he was given a citation for driving with a suspended license.
QB Luke McCown Retires From NFL
Longtime NFL quarterback Luke McCown is calling it quits. On Friday, the 36-year-old announced his retirement from football. 
“Today I am officially retiring from the NFL,” McCown wrote. “It’s bittersweet to leave the game I love and the craft I’ve worked at since the second grade.”
McCown first entered the league as a fourth-round pick of the Browns in 2004. He started in four games as a rookie for Cleveland before a draft weekend deal shipped him to Tampa Bay. He did not see the field for the Bucs until 2007, when he made three starts for the team. Between ’07 and ’15, McCown started only three more contests.
Even though he didn’t see much playing time over the years, McCown earned enough on contracts with the Browns, Bucs, Jaguars, Saints, Falcons, and Cowboys to retire comfortably. We wish the QB and former Verizon spokesperson the best in the next chapter of his life.
Bucs’ Kendell Beckwith Injured In Car Crash
Buccaneers strongside linebacker Kendell Beckwith was involved in a car accident last week in Louisiana, Bucs GM Jason Licht told reporters (Twitter link via Jenna Laine of ESPN.com). Beckwith suffered a fractured ankle in the crash and had to undergo surgery. He will miss a significant portion of the offseason as a result and it’s not clear whether he’ll be ready to go in Week 1. 
“We’re very fortunate that it wasn’t life-threatening,” Licht said (via Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times). “He’ll be out of OTAs and in training camp, we’ll have a better idea of how far along he is.”
Beckwith, a third round pick in the 2017 draft, fell to the Bucs after suffering a torn ACL. It’s presently unknown whether his broken ankle is on the same leg.
Last year, the Bucs used Beckwith at all three linebacker spots as he appeared in all 16 games with eleven starts. The 23-year-old had 73 total tackles on the year, including a huge 14-tackle game against the Patriots in the first month of the season. Beckwith wasn’t originally ticketed for a starting role, but he wound up playing on 847 snaps as a rookie.
Beckwith’s injury could prompt the Bucs to take a closer look at linebackers in the later rounds of next week’s draft. The team may also lean more heavily on linebacker Adarius Glanton, though he is recovering from an injury of his own after breaking a leg in December (a side note – Glanton recently took on his father’s surname, so he will take the field as Adarius Taylor in the fall).