Latest On Buccaneers, DeSean Jackson
There’s no hiding the fact that DeSean Jackson struggled in his first season with the Buccaneers, catching 50 passes for 668 yards and three touchdowns. Buccaneers coach Dirk Koetter didn’t believe that all the struggles fell on the shoulders of the three-time Pro Bowler as he never looked to gain a rapport with quarterback Jameis Winston.
“DeSean … we did not get the production out of DeSean. And when I say production out of DeSean, when you go back and look at the tape, we have a tape of just plays where we didn’t hit DeSean,” Koetter said to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “DeSean was where he was supposed to be. He was either behind the defense, in between the corner and safety, or he was in position to make explosive plays and we didn’t get the ball to him. That’s on myself, it’s on Jameis to do better. I think DeSean and Jameis have said they need to spend more time working together and I think they’re addressing that.
Jackson has a potential out on his deal after next season. If the Buccaneers were to cut Jackson prior to this season, the team would absorb $7.5MM in dead cap space. He signed a three-year, $33.5MM deal with the Buccaneers last offseason, with $20MM guaranteed at signing. A one-car crash last Christmas Eve in Tampa, Fla., in which the vehicle was left unattended, was linked to a car owned by Jackson but the authorities are no longer actively investigating the case.
Stroud notes that Jackson trains in California during the offseason, which likely won’t help with developing a rapport with Winston, and that he missed out on most of the team’s voluntary OTAs last offseason. Stroud also opines that Chris Godwin could take on an extended role in the offense in the near future.
Godwin, who the team took in the third round of last year’s draft, had 34 catches for 525 yards and a touchdown last season, including nine catches for 111 yards (and the lone touchdown) in the team’s regular-season finale.
“I think Chris is capable of being a No. 1 if you want him to be,” Koetter said. “He can also be your two, he can be your three. His ego does not show up. He’ll do what you ask him to do and he’ll do it to the best of his ability and he’ll play through discomfort.”
CB Mike Hughes Generating Interest From Several Teams
Cornerback Mike Hughes is generating a lot of interest headed into the draft. Tony Pauline of DraftAnalyst.com writes that the UCF product met with the Panthers and Saints yesterday at the school’s pro day. The prospect is also set to visit the Bears, Eagles, Vikings, Packers, Buccaneers, and Chiefs, and he’ll meet again with Carolina.
During the pro day, Hughes ultimately “stood on his combine numbers,” but the defensive back did do several drills (including fielding punts). The general consensus was that the prospect looked better yesterday than he did at the NFL Combine.
Hughes, who is currently ranked 18th in NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah‘s listing of the top-50 free agents, had a breakout campaign in 2017. After playing in only 10 games with North Carolina between 2015 and 2016, Hughes appeared in 13 games with UCF last season. He ultimately finished the campaign with 37 tackles, 0.5 sacks, and four interceptions.
Considering the Panthers met with Hughes yesterday and plan on hosting him for a visit, we can only assume that the organization has serious interest in the prospect. Even with Ross Cockrell now in the mix, the team is apparently still seeking reinforcement at the cornerback position.
Poll: Which Team Has Been The Biggest Winner In Free Agency?
With March drawing to a close and many of the game’s top free agents already inked to deals with their new teams, it’s time to take a look at the winners of free agency so far.
Entering the period, the focus was solely on Kirk Cousins and where the former Redskins signal-caller would sign and likely become the highest-paid player in the league. He expressed interest in wanting to win and followed through with his word, selecting the Vikings over a host of other suitors that included the Jets, Broncos and Cardinals. Landing a top quarterback on the open market is a rarity, which makes Minnesota easily one of the top beneficiaries of the early free-agent period. 
The team wasn’t done there, however, and added an impact defensive tackle in Sheldon Richardson to a defensive unit that was already arguably the best in the league. Coupling Richardson with Linval Joseph in the middle of the front four will make for one of the most impenetrable run defenses in the league. Minnesota also added Trevor Siemian to back up Cousins, re-signed kicker Kai Forbath and tabbed Kendall Wright to replace Jarius Wright, who the team released shortly after free agency opened.
Adding Cousins to an offense that already includes Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen, Dalvin Cook and Kyle Rudolph, and slotting Richardson into the fray on the other side of the ball left the Vikings as one of the top Super Bowl favorites in 2018.
While the Vikings swung for the fences with a pair of big moves, no team has had a more active few weeks than the Rams. Just this week, the team added five-time Pro Bowl selection and 2010 Defensive Player of the Year Ndamukong Suh to a defensive front that already featured arguably the game’s most dominant defender in Aaron Donald. Needless to say, that pairing is sure to cause plenty of chaos for opposing offensive lines.
Despite losing Sammy Watkins to the Chiefs and trading Alec Ogletree to the Giants, the team did retain safety Lamarcus Joyner by placing the franchise tag on him. It also retained center John Sullivan to maintain some continuity up front on offense.
Where the Rams were the most active was not in signing players, but trading for them. In late February, the team traded for Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters and then later dealt for Broncos star cornerback Aqib Talib. The pairing, coupled with the Suh signing, gives the Rams a defense that is just as good on paper as the team’s high-powered offense.
The Browns entered the free-agent period with tons of cap space and they didn’t wait long to get to work. In one day, the team traded for Tyrod Taylor from the Bills, dealt DeShone Kizer to the Packers for Damarious Randall and used another trade to snatch up Jarvis Landry. All those moves were accomplished with the team still holding onto a majority of their stockpiled draft assets. The move of Taylor provided the team with a more than capable quarterback who can serve as a bridge to the signal-caller the team is expected to draft with either the No. 1 or No. 4 pick in the upcoming draft.
Though the team did lose Joe Thomas to retirement and a big contributor in Isaiah Crowell, Cleveland did also secure the services of Carlos Hyde to serve as the team’s workhorse. After addressing the offense in free agency, the team is set up to pursue top defensive talent in the draft after it nabs its quarterback of the future. 
The Bears made it a point to surround 2017 first-round pick Mitch Trubisky with plenty of weapons in his second season under center. They did just that by tabbing Allen Robinson, Super Bowl-hero Trey Burton and Taylor Gabriel, giving the team a steady group of pass catchers for new head coach Matt Nagy’s dynamic offense. On defense, it retained the services of breakout cornerback Kyle Fuller, who the team had to match an offer for from the Packers.
One under-the-radar signing was the deal to bring in veteran quarterback Chase Daniel. A longtime backup in New Orleans, Kansas City and Philadelphia, the former Missouri gunslinger should help Trubisky in the film room while also serving as a capable fill-in if need be.
The Buccaneers invested heavily in their offense early in free agency, re-signing wide receiver Mike Evans and tight end Cameron Brate to long-term deals. Where they made the biggest splash, however, was the signing of center Ryan Jensen from the Ravens. After just one season at the position, Jensen signed the largest deal for a center in NFL history, a four-year deal for $42MM with $22M in guaranteed money.
Tampa Bay didn’t ignore the defense, however, bringing in the likes of Jason Pierre-Paul in a trade and signing Vinny Curry. If things fall right, the Buccaneers could even add the top defensive end in the draft in Bradley Chubb, should a run on quarterbacks happen early in the first round.
Among the other teams with notable additions include: The Texans (Tyrann Mathieu), 49ers (Richard Sherman), Raiders (Jordy Nelson), Jaguars (Andrew Norwell) and Giants (Nate Solder).
So who has had the best offseason so far? Is it a team that made a flurry of moves or one who made one notable addition? Take PFR’s latest poll and weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section.
Trouble For Bucs' Hargreaves?
A video of Buccaneers cornerback Vernon Hargreaves smoking a cigarette containing an unknown substance surfaced on Instagram this week, as Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times details. Hargreaves, a University of Florida product, has struggled in the first two years of his young career. Last year, the Bucs tried employing Hargreaves as their nickel cornerback before a hamstring injury ended his season after nine games.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/27/18
We don’t dance now, we make minor moves:
Chicago Bears
- Re-signed: LS Patrick Scales
Houston Texans
- Re-signed: LB Ben Heeney
- Waived: WR Deante Gray
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Re-signed: OL Adam Gettis
Packers, Browns, Bucs, Cowboys Looking For Safeties
The Packers, Browns, Buccaneers, and Cowboys are among the clubs searching for free agent safety help, as Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com writes in a wide analysis of what has been a stagnant safety market.
Safeties who still remain unsigned including starting options such as Eric Reid, Tre Boston, Kenny Vaccaro, Tyvon Branch, and Ron Parker. Mitigating factors could be at play — none of the players listed qualifies as a star, while Reid’s national anthem protests may be limiting his appeal — but it’s still extremely surprising that high-quality players are still available at an important position. Free agent defensive backs have in fact been communicating with one another in an attempt to elucidate the overall lack of interest, per La Canfora.
“We’re barely even getting phone calls, and we’re not the only ones,” an agents tells La Canfora. “You can’t even get (BS) offers. We’re literally getting nothing. I’m not even talking one year, $3 million. Nothing. And it’s not just us.”
The highest-paid free agent safety of 2017 will almost certainly end up being Lamarcus Joyner, whom the Rams will pay $11.287MM under the terms of the franchise tag. While other defensive backs such as Tyrann Mathieu, Kurt Coleman, an Marcus Gilchrist have also signed, Mathieu’s $7MM salary (on a one-year deal) is the most expensive figure in the non-franchise-tender department.
Green Bay and Tampa Bay are both losing free agent safeties in Morgan Burnett and T.J. Ward, respectively, so their interest in adding more defensive backs isn’t a total surprise. Dallas, too, could look to add more depth, especially if it moves Byron Jones to cornerback, but Cleveland has already added Damarious Randall (via trade) to play alongside Jabrill Peppers in the back end.
Buccaneers Host RB Benny Cunningham
The Buccaneers are meeting with free agent running back Benny Cunningham on Sunday, reports Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link).
Tampa Bay’s running back depth chart is currently in flux, as the club released Doug Martin earlier this offseason while Charles Sims is an unrestricted free agent. While the Buccaneers still employ Peyton Barber and Jacquizz Rodgers, Cunningham could help replace Sims, who spent the past four years as Tampa’s receiving back. The 27-year-old Cunningham only managed 20 receptions working behind fellow Bears Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen in 2017, but he posted 45 catches as recently as 2014.
Cunningham also has a history as a kick returner, as he averaged 27.8 yards per return with the Rams from 2014-16. The Buccaneers used three kick returners — Rodgers, wide receiver Bernard Reedy, and Sims — in 2017, but the latter two are no longer on the team’s roster.
Contract Details: 3/25/18
Let’s take a look at the details of a few recently-signed contracts:
- Evan Smith, OL (Buccaneers): Two years,$6MM. $1MM guaranteed (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com).
- Sam Acho, OLB (Bears): Two years, $5.5MM. $2.95MM guaranteed (via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune).
- John Timu, ILB (Bears): One year, $75oK. $45K guaranteed (via Biggs).
- Bradley Sowell, OL (Bears): Two years, $3MM. $850K guaranteed (via Biggs).
Bucs Could Gain Most From QB Draft Sweepstakes
With NFL teams jockeying for position to draft a quarterback in this year’s ultra-talented class, the Buccaneers could stand to gain the most from the quarterback sweepstakes, opines Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times.
The Buccaneers hold the No. 7 overall pick in the upcoming draft and are highly unlikely to draft a quarterback in the first round with Jameis Winston at the helm. With four quarterbacks likely to go in the top seven (Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield), that could leave the Buccaneers with a chance at blue-chip prospects like Penn State running back Saquon Barkley, Notre Dame guard Quenton Nelson or North Carolina State defensive end Bradley Chubb.
Buccaneers Re-Sign OL Evan Smith
The Buccaneers have agreed to re-sign offensive lineman Evan Smith, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Tampa Bay has announced the transaction as a two-year deal.
Smith, who formerly went by the name Evan Dietrich-Smith, has started a whopping 111 games during his eight-year NFL career, but he’s coming back to Tampa Bay as a clear reserve. The Bucs made Ryan Jensen the NFL’s highest-paid center last week, and will now presumably move Ali Marpet to guard. With J.R. Sweezy holding down the club’s other guard spot, Smith will now act as an overqualified backup.
Given that he can play all three interior line positions, Smith could certainly see action during the upcoming season (especially given that Sweezy dealt with serious injuries as recently as 2016). Last year, the 31-year-old Smith made six starts and played 60% of Tampa Bay’s offensive snaps, grading as the league’s No. 29 guard among 77 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus.
The interior offensive line market has thinned rapidly this week, as Smith joins Matt Slauson, D.J. Fluker, Jack Mewhort, Jonathan Cooper, Tom Compton, Kevin Pamphile, and Jeremiah Sirles as guard/centers who have landed new deals.