Auman: Positions Where Bucs Could Target FA Upgrades
- Buccaneers head coach Dirk Koetter recently indicated that his club may target a few veteran free agents to round out the roster when cuts start being made this summer, and Greg Auman of The Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter) indicated that obvious positions in need of an upgrade are fourth defensive tackle, third running back, and fifth linebacker.
Licht: Aguayo 'Best College Kicker I've Ever Seen'
The rookie who never missed a kick under 40 yards with Florida State and drilled all 198 of his college-range extra points induced the Bucs to trade up to draft him, making Aguayo the highest kicker selected since Mike Nugent went to the Jets in the 2005 second round at No. 47.
Buccaneers GM Jason Licht justified his decision to take a kicker in the second round by labeling Roberto Aguayo as the top kicking prospect he’d seen.
Bucs Looking To Target Veteran FAs?
- The Falcons tried to lure guard J.R. Sweezy to Atlanta during the free agent period, but the price tag on the former Seahawk eventually got too expensive, according to D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Sweezy eventually signed with another NFC South club, inking a five-year, $32.5MM deal with the Buccaneers. The Falcons, meanwhile, will fill right guard with either veteran Chris Chester, who was re-signed over the offseason, or Mike Person.
- The Buccaneers might not be done adding free agents, and Joe Kania of Buccaneers.com identifies three veterans — edge rusher Dwight Freeney, wide receiver James Jones, and guard Jahri Evans — who could be of interest to the club in the coming weeks. For what it’s worth, all three players were listed on PFR’s ranking of the best remaining free agents on offense and defense.
Cummings: Five Veterans Who Could Be On Roster Bubble
- Roy Cummings of The Tampa Tribune looks at five veteran Buccaneers who could be on the roster bubble, a list headlined by tight end Brandon Myers and right tackle Gosder Cherilus.
Opinion: Was Lovie Smith Given Fair Shake?
- Was firing Lovie Smith and hiring Dirk Koetter the right move for the Buccaneers? Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com doesn’t think that Smith was given enough time to fix what was broken in Tampa for a long time. Although Smith was criticized for pushing the Tampa 2 scheme to hard in his two years with the Bucs, McClure hears that Gerald McCoy‘s work ethic was suspect, and that may have been the culprit of some D-Line issues. Meanwhile, Koetter got a lot of credit for turning around the Bucs’ offense, but McClure notes that the team also emphasized offense with 12 of 13 draft picks coming on offense during the 2014 and 2015 drafts, which surely helped. Smith may have been behind the 8-ball from the start as one source told McClure that he inherited a team “in disarray” in Tampa with “a lot of guys who didn’t love football.”
Panthers quarterback Cam Newton is a household name and widely considered to be one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL today. But how do his divisional foes regard him? Jenna Laine of ESPN.com spoke with a few Buccaneers players who say that they respect him overall with one player admitting that tackling him is a “chore.” As for his touchdown celebrations, Tampa players don’t seem to be nearly as irked by his dancing as some of the country’s talking heads are.
Bucs Notes: Seferian-Jenkins, Gilkey
In a bit of voluntary OTA drama on Thursday, first-year Buccaneers head coach Dirk Koetter sent Austin Seferian-Jenkins off the field because the tight end “didn’t know what he was doing” (via Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times). “I did send him off,” Koetter said afterward. “That’s between me and him. … You guys are making more of it than you need to.” Seferian-Jenkins ended up taking to Twitter right after leaving the field and posting some fired-up messages (click for links) while his teammates were still practicing, though it doesn’t appear that anything else will come of the situation.
- The status of guard Garrett Gilkey, who hasn’t been with Buccaneers as he recovers from knee surgery, remains murky. “I don’t know,” Koetter said when asked about Gilkey (Twitter link via Auman).
Buccaneers Jettison UDFA Wideout
- The Buccaneers waived rookie UDFA wideout Dez Stewart off their injury reserve with a likely injury settlement, Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times reports (on Twitter).
Bucs Sign Kicker Roberto Aguayo
The Buccaneers announced that they have signed second-round pick Roberto Aguayo. With the kicker under contract, the Bucs have now signed every member of their 2016 draft class. 
Some were surprised when the Bucs traded into the second-round of this year’s draft to grab the FSU kicker, but it turns out that the team thinks even more highly of his leg than that. Recently, GM Jason Licht claimed that he had first-round grades on three of his rookies this year, including Aguayo. Along with Aguayo, the GM feels that he snared first-round talents in cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III and defensive end Noah Spence.
Hargreaves, meanwhile, inked his rookie contract roughly one month ago. The No. 11 overall pick was the second cornerback to come off the board in the 2016 draft, having been selected one spot behind Eli Apple, after the Buccaneers traded down from No. 9 to No. 11. The University of Florida product will compete for a starting job in Tampa Bay’s secondary this summer, joining free agent signee Brent Grimes at or near the top of the club’s new-look cornerback depth chart.
To recap, here is the full list of the Bucs’ 2016 draft class:
- 1-11: Vernon Hargreaves III, CB (Florida): Signed
- 2-39: Noah Spence, DE (Eastern Kentucky): Signed
- 2-59: Roberto Aguayo, K (Florida State)
- 4-108: Ryan Smith, DB (North Carolina Central): Signed
- 5-148: Caleb Benenoch, T (UCLA): Signed
- 6-183: Devante Bond, LB (Oklahoma): Signed
- 6-197: Dan Vitale, FB (Northwestern): Signed
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Buccaneers Reached Out To Rodney McLeod
- Before settling in on a five-year, $37MM contract with the Eagles, safety Rodney McLeod received similar offers from other teams. Jimmy Kempski of The Philly Voice tweets that McLeod heard from the Jaguars, Browns, and Buccaneers.
[SOURCE LINK]
Buccaneers Sign Two Defensive Backs
- The Buccaneers have signed former FSU cornerback Javien Elliott and safety Kimario McFadden, as freelance reporter Jenna Laine tweets.
[SOURCE LINK]
- The Buccaneers have signed former FSU cornerback Javien Elliott and safety Kimario McFadden, as freelance reporter Jenna Laine tweets.
- The Raiders announced that they have waived wideout Robert Herron. The 23-year-old has also spent time with the Buccaneers and Dolphins, compiling 58 yards and one touchdown with Tampa Bay in 2014.