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Tampa Bay Buccaneers News & Rumors

Buccaneers Fear Season-Ending Knee Injury For C Ryan Jensen

July 29th, 2022 at 12:41pm CST by Sam Robinson

JULY 29: The Bucs indeed fear Jensen will be out for the season, Rapoport adds. Todd Bowles confirmed Friday the team’s starting center will miss a significant amount of time (video links). The new Tampa Bay HC did not say Jensen would miss the entire season, mentioning a potential multi-month timeline.

The Bucs have already discussed bringing in a veteran, per Bowles, though the fourth-year Tampa Bay staffer said these discussions have not progressed too far just yet. Hainsey, a right tackle at Notre Dame who converted to the interior as a pro, is expected to receive the first crack at replacing Jensen, per Rapoport. Nick Leverett, a former UDFA who played in two games last season, is also in the mix.

JULY 28: A cart transported Buccaneers center Ryan Jensen off the practice field Thursday, and the team is concerned about a long-term absence. The Bucs fear the recently re-signed snapper suffered a serious injury, Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL.com report (on Twitter).

These reports indeed usually precede bad news for teams. The Bucs just gave Jensen a second contract — a three-year, $39MM deal — to return as Tom Brady‘s center. Tests are ongoing here, but a source informed ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter this situation is “not looking good” for the veteran blocker (Twitter link). Jensen is dealing with a major injury, per Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com (on Twitter). His season is certainly in jeopardy.

Offensive line continuity played a big part in the Bucs’ surge to the Super Bowl LV championship, but the 2021 playoffs and this offseason have brought uncertainty to Tampa Bay’s front. This year has injected considerable O-line change, with longtime guard Ali Marpet retiring and the Bucs letting their other guard starter — Alex Cappa — defect to the Bengals in free agency. A Jensen absence would create a new issue for the Bucs, who will have the oldest primary starting quarterback in NFL history.

Jensen’s recommitment to the Bucs came just after Brady’s; the ninth-year center re-signed with the team hours after Brady’s unretirement. Jensen has established himself as one of the NFL’s top centers, having moved from sixth-round pick to using a contract-year springboard with the Ravens to a 2018 Bucs deal. On that pact, Jensen did not miss a game. The Colorado State-Pueblo alum has not missed a game since the 2016 season. Jensen, 31, made his first Pro Bowl last season.

Tampa Bay did trade a Day 3 pick to acquire Shaq Mason, reuniting Brady with one of his longtime Patriots guards. But the team could soon be vulnerable at two guard positions. With interior O-line play vital to Brady-led offenses, the Bucs could be in need of another veteran reinforcement. While it is premature here, center does feature an interestingly experienced free agent crop. J.C. Tretter, Matt Paradis and Trey Hopkins remain available.

For now, Robert Hainsey will take over at the pivot, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. Competing for the other guard spot with second-round pick Luke Goedeke and the recently re-signed Aaron Stinnie, Hainsey is a third-round pick in his second season. Tampa Bay quickly addressed the Rob Gronkowski void by signing Kyle Rudolph. If Jensen is set to miss a substantial amount of time, it would not remotely surprise if Tampa Bay signed one of the top free agent snappers.

Buccaneers Notes: Rudolph, Jones, Linebackers

July 28th, 2022 at 8:38pm CST by Ben Levine

The Buccaneers signed Kyle Rudolph about a month after Rob Gronkowski hung up his cleats, but Rudolph’s path to Tampa Bay started before his peer’s retirement. According to Joey Knight of the Tampa Bay Times, Tom Brady recruited Rudolph to the Buccaneers before Gronk announced his retirement.

Speaking to reporters today, Rudolph acknowledged that Brady’s presence and the Buccaneers’ winning culture influenced his decision to join Tampa Bay. While he’ll likely replace Gronk atop the Buccaneers’ TE depth chart, the veteran made it clear that he’s got a long way to go to replace the future Hall of Famer on the stat sheet.

“Those shoes are way too big to fill, and I’ve got pretty big feet,” Rudolph said. “I feel like there’s so much ground to make up, and I don’t have 10 years of experience with Tom to make it up. We play the Dallas Cowboys in Week 1 in September, and my goal is to go out there that week and be on the same page with Tom like we have been playing together for 10 years.”

Head coach Todd Bowles shared a similar sentiment. While he noted that there’s no replacing Gronkowski’s spot on the field, he anticipates Rudolph playing an important role on this squad.

“He brings intelligence, he brings toughness, he brings savvy, and he’s played the game for a while,” Bowles said. “You’re not going to replace Gronk. We’ve got to do that in a variety of ways, whether it’s running back, the other tight ends, the receivers. … But he brings us a veteran presence, understanding the ball game and he learns fast, so he’ll help us on Sundays.”

More notes out of Tampa Bay…

  • Speaking of Rudolph, the tight end’s one-year contract contains a base pay worth $2MM, according to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. Rudolph can make another $1.5MM in incentives, bumping the maximum value to $3.5MM. The deal includes $1.5MM in guaranteed money, and considering the commitment, Florio thinks it’s pretty clear that Rudolph will ultimately make the 53-man roster. Greg Auman of The Athletic shares details (on Twitter) of Rudolph’s incentives, which includes $375k in 46-man roster bonuses, $375k for 30 receptions, an additional $250k for 40 receptions, an additional $250k for 50 receptions, and $250k for a Pro Bowl selection.
  • Julio Jones‘ contract with the Buccaneers also contains a number of incentives. According to Auman (on Twitter), the wideout has 10 bonuses worth $200K: bonuses for each of 50/60/70/80 receptions, bonuses for each of 600/700/800/900 receiving yards, a bonus for an NFC title, and a bonus for a Super Bowl victory. Meanwhile, ESPN’s Field Yates tweets that the Buccaneers included four void years on the receiver’s contract, a tactic the front office has used frequently in recent years. As a result of this move, Jones has a cap number that’s barely above $2MM.
  • Auman speculates that the Buccaneers could add an inside linebacker and an outside linebacker before the start of the season. At ILB, the team is hoping that Devin White and Lavonte David will stand out at the position, but both players have their fair share of question marks and the Buccaneers lack depth behind the duo. At OLB, the team is still seeking a replacement for Jason Pierre-Paul. 2021 first-round pick Joe Tryon-Shoyinka could ultimately be the answer opposite Shaq Barrett, but similar to the other linebacker position, Tampa Bay lacks depth behind their two starters.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/28/22

July 28th, 2022 at 5:31pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor NFL transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

New England Patriots

New York Giants

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Panthers CB Rashaan Melvin Retires

July 27th, 2022 at 10:30am CST by Sam Robinson

Rashaan Melvin re-signed with the Panthers in March, but the veteran cornerback will not go through with a second season in Carolina. Instead, Melvin intends to retire.

The Panthers announced Melvin is walking away Wednesday. Although Melvin signed a one-year, $1.1MM deal to stay with Carolina, he did not report for the start of the team’s training camp Tuesday. While Melvin drifted on and off the full-time starter radar, he finished his career as a nine-year vet and played first-string roles for a few teams.

Emerging for the Panthers last year, after opting out of the 2020 season, Melvin played in 10 games with the team. The 32-year-old cover man made two Panthers starts, moving his career total to 42. Not bad for a UDFA who bounced on and off active rosters and practice squads for years before stabilizing his career with the Colts.

A Buccaneers UDFA out of Northern Illinois in 2013, Melvin moved from Tampa to Baltimore to Miami to New England before his September 2016 Indianapolis arrival preceded a multiyear stay. The Colts used Melvin as a 19-game starter from 2016-17; that stay attracted interest on the 2018 free agent market. The Raiders gave the mid-major product a one-year, $6.5MM deal in 2018. While that contract did not end up leading to the kind of stability Melvin enjoyed in Indianapolis, it represents his most notable NFL payday.

Melvin signed with the Lions in 2019 and caught on with the Jaguars in 2020, before opting out of the latter situation in the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic. If the Jags stay is included, Melvin spent time with nine teams. He intercepted four passes — three of those picks coming in 2017 with the Colts — and forced three fumbles over the course of his career.

Packers Pursued Julio Jones; Colts Did Not Show Interest

July 27th, 2022 at 10:14am CST by Sam Robinson

Julio Jones‘ Buccaneers agreement — a one-year, $6MM deal — became official Wednesday morning. The future Hall of Fame wide receiver joined a team that already carried one of the NFL’s best receiving groups, but he was linked to teams with question marks at the position.

The Packers were another team to pursue Jones, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). While other teams are believed to be involved here, Tampa Bay and Green Bay represent Jones’ known suitors. The Colts were not involved, with GM Chris Ballard indicating the team was not planning to add the former Falcons and Titans target (Twitter link via the Indianapolis Star’s Joel Erickson).

Green Bay represented one of Odell Beckham Jr.‘s most prominent pursuers last year, and the Jones situation unfolded similarly. After Beckham joined the Rams, Jones is set up to help another Packers NFC rival. The Pack offered Beckham the veteran minimum; the Rams came in with a better proposal to snare the talented wideout last November. It appears likely the Packers’ Jones offer came in south of the Bucs’, sending the All-Decade pass catcher to a team flush with receiver options.

The Packers are attempting to regroup at wideout, having lost their top two options from recent years — Davante Adams and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. They did add Sammy Watkins in free agency and North Dakota State’s Christian Watson in Round 2, before also drafting Nevada’s Romeo Doubs in Round 4. But the team’s receiving corps is light on dependable players and noticeably lacks a No. 1-type option — barring Watson breaking out quickly. Green Bay has been linked to OBJ again this offseason, but Los Angeles has shown far more consistent interest.

Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb represent the Packers’ top holdover options, with the former having an opportunity to make a major climb in Aaron Rodgers‘ aerial hierarchy ahead of a potential 2023 free agency bid. Beyond Beckham, veterans like Emmanuel Sanders, T.Y. Hilton, Cole Beasley and Will Fuller remain unsigned. But Jones moves a key piece off the board.

Linked consistently to the Colts this offseason, Hilton remains on the team’s radar. Ballard confirmed the team has not ruled out a reunion with the third-leading receiver in team history (Twitter link via Erickson). The Colts lost Zach Pascal to the Eagles in free agency and are counting on second-round rookie Alec Pierce to be a key auxiliary piece in their Michael Pittman Jr.-fronted receiving cadre. Beyond Pittman, the Colts are thin on known commodities at the receiver position. Parris Campbell remains in the team’s plans, but injuries have defined his career through three years. Second-year player Mike Strachan underwent knee surgery this summer, per The Athletic’s Zak Keefer, who adds (via Twitter) the 2021 seventh-round pick may be sidelined until the final days of training camp.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/26/22

July 26th, 2022 at 7:56pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor NFL transactions, including a handful of notable names landing on the physically unable to perform list and the non-football injury list as teams open up camp:

Arizona Cardinals

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

  • Released with NFI designation: WR Cody Core

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Commanders

Buccaneers To Sign WR Julio Jones

July 26th, 2022 at 3:31pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although the Buccaneers have two Pro Bowl wide receivers and gave former Falcon Russell Gage a $10MM-per-year deal this offseason, they are not stopping here at wide receiver. A rather notable ex-Gage teammate is coming to Tampa.

The Bucs reached a one-year agreement with Julio Jones on Tuesday, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. He will team with Gage, his Atlanta teammate of three seasons, along with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin in what will be another decorated Tampa Bay receiver stable. Jones committed to the Bucs for $6MM, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The deal can be worth up to $8MM.

This news comes shortly after Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times noted Godwin will not start camp on the Bucs’ active/PUP list (Twitter link). It would certainly have been understandable if Godwin, who suffered a torn ACL in December and underwent surgery Jan. 3, eased into camp work. But the former Pro Bowler will not require a roster move to begin practice. Coupled with the Jones addition, the Bucs will have one of the most accomplished wideout groups in modern NFL history.

While Tampa Bay signing an All-Decade wideout to pair with Tom Brady is not exactly new, given the team’s multiyear partnership with Antonio Brown, Jones brings none of the off-field baggage Brown does. That said, Brown displayed a higher performance level than Jones last season. Jones has seen hamstring trouble sidetrack his career, leading to an absence-laden Titans season and a several-month free agency stay — after Tennessee made the 2021 trade acquisition a cap casualty in March. The Bucs will still take a flier on the player who ripped off the most prolific six-year stretch by a receiver in NFL history.

Jones’ 9,388 receiving yards from 2014-19 are the most in a six-season span ever, but in the 2020s, the former perennial Pro Bowler has missed 14 games. Most of those absences came because of hamstring trouble. Jones’ hamstring issues led him to Tennessee’s IR list in 2021, a season in which he finished with 31 catches for 434 yards and one touchdown. Those were easily career-worst totals for the future Hall of Famer, but the Bucs will attempt to coax a bounce-back effort in Jones’ age-33 season.

The Bucs are making this signing despite rostering Scotty Miller, Breshad Perriman, 2021 fourth-round pick Jaelon Darden and 2020 fifth-round pick Tyler Johnson as well. Miller’s rookie-contract contributions notwithstanding, he is not a lock to make Tampa Bay’s roster. The same can probably be said for Jones, who will need to show — at least during camp and the preseason — he can submit a stretch of healthy work to be part of this talented receiving corps. Jones staying healthy during the preseason should all but assure him a spot on this roster.

NFL Workouts: 7/25/22

July 25th, 2022 at 9:25pm CST by Ely Allen

As players are moved to the PUP and NFI lists and rosters are starting to take shape for the start of training camps, many players are searching for opportunities to make a team.

Here’s the list of players who have received workouts or taken visits today and this past weekend:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

New England

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

 

Buccaneers Sign Fourth-Round TE Cade Otton, Finalize Draft Class

July 24th, 2022 at 4:55pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Buccaneers entered today as one of a few teams still needing to get their entire rookie classes on the books in time for training camp. Per a club announcement, they have taken care of that today, signing tight end Cade Otton to his first NFL contract. 

The six-foot-five, 247-pounder was a significant part of the University of Washington’s offense during his four years with the Huskies. His most productive campaign came in 2019, when made 32 catches for 344 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The following season, he was named First-Team All-Pac 12, helping to put him on the draft radar for this spring. Tampa made him the first pick of the fourth round, a selection they added via their trade down from No. 27 to No. 33.

The TE room looks much different now in Tampa Bay than it did at the end of last season, of course. O.J. Howard departed in free agency, leaving room for an addition in the draft. Then, in June, Rob Gronkowski announced his retirement – a decision which, despite plenty of speculation to the contrary, he insists will remain final this time around.

That leaves Otton (as well as sixth-rounder Ko Kieft) to compete with eight-year veteran Cameron Brate and recent free agent signing Kyle Rudolph for snaps at the position. The absence of Gronkowski will be felt by Tom Brady and Co. moving forward, but Otton will have the opportunity to carve out a long-term role for himself with Rudolph on a one-year deal and Brate only under contract through 2023.

With Otton’s deal now official, here is the final look at the Buccaneers’ 2022 class:

Round 2: No. 33 (from Jaguars) Logan Hall, DL (Houston) (signed)
Round 2: No. 57 (from Bills) Luke Goedeke, OL (Central Michigan) (signed)
Round 3: No. 91 Rachaad White, RB (Arizona State) (signed)
Round 4: No. 106 (from Jaguars) Cade Otton, TE (Washington)
Round 4: No. 133 Jake Camarda, P (Georgia) (signed)
Round 5: No. 157 (from Vikings through Jaguars): Zyon McCollum, CB (Sam Houston State) (signed)
Round 6: No. 218 (from Rams) Ko Kieft, TE (Minnesota) (signed)
Round 7: No. 248 Andre Anthony, DE (LSU) (signed)

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/23/22

July 23rd, 2022 at 7:51pm CST by Adam La Rose

Today’s minor moves around the NFL:

Baltimore Ravens

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Rams

  • Signed: QB Luis Perez

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

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