Buccaneers Re-Sign Adarius Glanton

The Buccaneers have agreed to re-sign Adarius Glanton, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The linebacker will receive a $250K signing bonus as a part of his new deal. Full terms of the pact have yet to be disclosed. 

Glanton was scheduled for restricted free agency this year, but the Bucs opted against using a tender on him. Glanton is coming off of a broken leg which cost him the final weeks of the 2017 season.

Glanton has appeared in 35 games for the Bucs over the past three years, and started four contests in 2017. During that time, Glanton managed 19 tackles and one sack while playing nearly as many snaps on special teams (213) as he did on defense (284). Pro Football Focus was down on Glanton’s play in 2017, assigning him poor grades of 47.4 in run defense and 48.6 in pass coverage.

Bucs To Re-Sign Brent Grimes

Despite going into his age-35 season, Brent Grimes continues to command high-value contracts. The Buccaneers are re-signing him, Michael Silver of NFL.com reports ( Twitter link).

This will be a one-year deal worth up to $10MM, per Silver. While it might not be worth that much without incentives, Grimes appears to have done well for himself for 2018.

Grimes entered Monday as a UFA. He’s been a full-time starter throughout the 2010s, earning four Pro Bowl bids for his work. At age 34, he graded well in the view of Pro Football Focus, which tabbed him as far and away the Bucs’ No. 1 cornerback by bestowing a top-40 grade upon him.

The former Falcons and Dolphins starter will enter the 2018 season with 33 career interceptions. He also registered a career-high 24 pass deflections in 2016. The Bucs now have their No. 1 corner locked up for another season, and while they may need to find Vernon Hargreaves a long-term counterpart soon, the team looks in decent shape as of now.

Buccaneers Extend Cameron Brate

Cameron Brate is set to be a member of the Buccaneers for a long time. The tight end has agreed to a six-year extension, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).

Brate, 27 in July, was slated to be a restricted free agent this offseason. It’s a six-year, $41MM agreement for Brate, Jenna Laine of ESPN.com reports, adding that $18MM will be guaranteed.

The Bucs have decided to devote plenty of resources to stocking their tight end position, considering they used their first-round pick on O.J. Howard last year. But Brate continued to be a key weapon on Tampa Bay’s offense last season despite Howard’s arrival. The former undrafted free agent out of Harvard finished the 2017 campaign with 48 receptions for 591 yards and six scores.

Brate has now caught 14 touchdown passes over the past two years and has amassed more than 1,300 receiving yards in that span. He and Howard combined for 12 touchdown grabs, and the Bucs are keen on making tight end targeting a key component of future offenses. Pair this duo with quarterback Jameis Winston and wideouts Mike Evans, DeSean Jackson, and Chris Godwin, and the Buccaneers should have another top-10 passing attack in 2018.

With a $6.8MM-per-year salary, Brate will fall into the middle tier of tight end contracts (right behind Coby Fleener, C.J. Fiedorowicz, and Jermaine Gresham). This will provide a major raise, however, after the former UDFA out of Harvard made just $690K last year.

Bucs Interested In Re-Signing Robert McClain

The Buccaneers are interested in extending Robert McClain‘s time in Tampa to beyond one season.

Jenna Laine of ESPN.com reports the Bucs are considering re-signing the cornerback. McClain started nine games for the team last season, working both on the outside and in the slot.

A key rotational cog for the Panthers in Super Bowl 50, McClain has played for three of the four NFC South teams — with his three-year Falcons run from 2012-14 being his longest NFL stay — and is entering his age-30 season.

Tampa Bay has Brent Grimes as a UFA as well, so the franchise has a need at cornerback despite using a first-round pick on Vernon Hargreaves two years ago.

Buccaneers Monitoring CB Market

  • The Bears placing their transition tag on Kyle Fuller may not dissuade teams from inquiring about the corner. JLC hears from multiple execs the fifth-year cornerback could be in line to see an offer sheet. However, Chicago holds $50MM in cap space and would seemingly be an obvious threat to match an offer that comes Fuller’s way. La Canfora reports the Packers, Titans, Buccaneers and Texans are doing extensive work researching the cornerback market. With Fuller tagged, Trumaine Johnson and Malcolm Butler are the prizes currently unattached.

Buccaneers Want Brent Grimes To Re-Sign

  • The Buccaneers want Brent Grimes back next season, reports Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). Of course, as the reporter notes, the veteran’s return will depend on the offer. The 34-year-old spent the past two seasons in Tampa Bay, compiling seven interceptions in 29 games.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Details On Mike Evans New Deal

  • Before both of those deals went down, Mike Evans grabbed headlines by signing a five-year deal with the Buccaneers worth $82.5 MM. Breaking down the details, CBS Sports’ Joel Corry tweets the Bucs will $5 MM of salary cap space in 2018 and he now takes up $18.25 MM of cap room.

Buccaneers Re-Sign DB Javien Elliott

The Buccaneers have re-signed defensive back Javien Elliott, reports ESPN’s Field Yates (via Twitter). Elliott was set to become an ERFA, and Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that the team only had to offer a one-year, minimum-salary deal.

The 2016 undrafted free agent out of Florida State has been with Tampa Bay for the past two years. After appearing in six games as a rookie, Elliott appeared in 15 games games (one start) in 2017, collecting five tackles. Since he only played 130 snaps, Elliott wasn’t included in Pro Football Focus‘ ranking of NFL cornerbacks, although his rating indicates that he would be listed in the 80-90 range (among 120 candidates).

The 24-year-old has an opportunity to be one of Tampa Bay’s top reserve backs in 2018. Besides projected starters Vernon Hargreaves and Ryan Smith, the Buccaneers are also rostering David Rivers and Reese Fleming.

49ers To Meet With Richard Sherman

Could Richard Sherman be joining another NFC West team? It sounds like he’s at least considering the idea, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that the veteran cornerback is set to meet with 49ers officials today.

San Francisco wants to confirm that Sherman is recovering from his Achilles injuries, and if everything goes well, the two sides will “try to get a contract done.” In another tweet, Schefter says there’s a good chance that this is Sherman’s only visit. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport says (via Twitter) Sherman’s apparent interest in the 49ers makes sense. The cornerback has “a strong affinity for the West Coast,” and he’s already familiar with defensive coordinator Robert Saleh‘s scheme.

Meanwhile, ESPN’s Josina Anderson reports (via Twitter) that Sherman has received “preliminary interest” from a list of additional teams: the Lions, Titans, Raiders, Texans, Buccaneers, and Packers.

Sherman’s seven-year tenure with the Seahawks came to an end yesterday, as the team released the defensive back with a failed physical designation. The veteran is still rehabbing from surgery to fix a torn Achilles and remove a bone spur, but he expects to be ready by June. The three-time First-Team All-Pro was relatively productive in nine games last season, compiling 35 tackles, two interceptions, and seven passes defended.

Buccaneers To Sign Mike Evans To Extension

Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans has agreed to a five-year, $82.5MM extension that includes $55MM in overall guarantees, sources tell ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Evans is now under contract with the Bucs through the 2023 season. The deal also includes incentives that can push the deal’s overall value to nearly $96MM, according to CBSSports.com’s Jason La Canfora. Evans gets $38.3MM in full guarantees at signing, per The MMQB’s Albert Breer (Twitter link). 

Before the deal, Evans was slated to reach the open market after the 2018 season. The new deal ensures that Evans will be part of the team for years to come while also making him one of the league’s highest-paid players at his position.

We’ll have to wait for the complete breakdown of the contract before stacking it up against the league’s other top-paid WRs, but here’s what we do know: Evans is now second amongst all receivers in terms of average annual value, trailing only Antonio Brown ($17MM/year). In terms of total value, Evans is the new king with a deal that just edges DeAndre Hopkins‘ five-year, $81MM deal with the Texans from last summer.

Evans also takes the top spot amongst all WRs in full guarantees. His $38.3MM guaranteed at signing bests Hopkins ($36.5MM), Julio Jones ($35.5MM), and Demaryius Thomas ($35MM).

According to La Canfora, Evans will get $55MM in injury guarantees, which bests Calvin Johnson‘s deal to become a new all-time high for WRs. He also has $38.3MM in guarantees over the first two years, per JLC. The deal includes a $1.5MM bonus in the final year that will force the Bucs to decide on his future prior to the start of the 2023 season.

Of course, the deal bodes well for other wide receivers waiting for their paydays, including Giants superstar Odell Beckham Jr. ODB is reportedly seeking a deal in excess of $100MM and he is expected to top Evans despite missing the bulk of the 2017 season.

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