Buccaneers’ Interest In Re-Signing Suh Waning
Before the NFL Draft, Tampa Bay was already exploring options for depth on the defensive line without re-signing Ndamukong Suh, but, according to Greg Auman of The Athletic, their move to draft Logan Hall may have sealed Suh’s fate. 
The Buccaneers signed Suh in 2019 in an effort to replace the production lost with Gerald McCoy‘s departure. Suh failed to produce numbers typical of his career in that first season in Tampa, posting a career low in sacks, but demonstrated his usual aptitude for playmaking, scoring two touchdowns on fumble recoveries, recording 7.0 tackles for loss, and hitting the quarterback 14 times. Suh returned to form the following two years recording 6.0 sacks in each season. Despite signing with the Buccaneers at 32-years-old, Suh has maintained a high level of play. In his three seasons with the team, he’s recorded 14.5 sacks, 23.0 tackles for loss, 46 quarterback hits, and 5 fumble recoveries.
Last month, after trading back to allow Jacksonville a second first-round pick, the Buccaneers used their first pick of the Draft to add the Houston defensive lineman, Hall, 33rd overall. Hall displays some of the same versatility that makes Suh so valuable, but at 13 years younger and on a rookie deal that should be much cheaper than bringing back the now 35-year-old Suh.
Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht hasn’t shut the door on re-signing Suh, making a comment that seemed to insinuate he may be an option in case an injury hurts the team’s depth at the position. Suh would certainly be an effective injury replacement as he hasn’t missed a start in his entire 12-year career. He’s only missed two games since getting drafted and those missed games were the result of suspension.
Still, barring an injury to the line, signing Suh wouldn’t make much sense for Tampa Bay after using such a high pick on Hall. It would add unnecessary cost to the position group and Suh’s playing time would cut into the early playing opportunities for Hall.
Steelers To Hold Second GM Interviews With Ryan Cowden, John Spytek
With the draft over, longtime Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert’s tenure in that role has officially come to an end. As a result, the team’s search for his replacement is now front and center. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reports (on Twitter) that second interviews will be conducted with Ryan Cowden and John Spytek, among others.
[RELATED: Colbert Officially Steps Down]
Cowden has been with the Titans since 2016. After 16 years in Carolina, Tennessee hired him to work in the player personnel department, and he has played a key role in the team’s recent success. As a result, he has generated interest in recent GM searches, including an interview with the Giants earlier this year for their opening and his first meeting with Pittsburgh one month later.
Spytek has followed an almost identical recent career path to Cowden. He too was hired in 2016 (after spending time as a scout with the Browns and Broncos) and has served as first director, then vice president, of player personnel for the Buccaneers. Likewise, his contributions to the team’s success has caught the attention of other clubs. He interviewed with the Vikings and Raiders before doing so with the Steelers this offseason.
As Garafolo notes, the list of candidates to be interviewed a second time will grow longer than these two. For now, though, here is an updated look at Pittsburgh’s search:
- Morocco Brown, college scouting director (Colts): Interviewed
- Ran Carthon, director of player personnel (49ers): Interviewed
- Ryan Cowden, vice president of player personnel (Titans): To conduct second interview
- Ed Dodds, assistant general manager (Colts): Interviewed 2/4
- Joe Hortiz, director of player personnel (Ravens): Interviewed
- Brandon Hunt, pro scouting director (Steelers): Interviewed
- Omar Khan, vice president of football and business administration (Steelers): Interviewed
- Dan Morgan, assistant general manager (Panthers): Interviewed
- Jerry Reese, former general manager (Giants): Interviewed
- Louis Riddick, former director of pro personnel (Eagles): Interviewed
- Rick Spielman, former general manager (Vikings): Interviewed
- John Spytek, director of player personnel (Buccaneers): To conduct second interview
- Andy Weidl, vice president of player personnel (Eagles): Interviewed
- Doug Whaley, vice president of player personnel (XFL): Interviewed
- John Wojciechowski, co-director of player personnel (Packers): Interviewed
- JoJo Wooden, director of player personnel (Chargers): Interviewed by 2/4
2023 NFL Fifth-Year Option Results
Monday marked the deadline for NFL clubs to officially pick up their options on 2019 first-rounders. Fifth-year option seasons are no longer just guaranteed for injury — they’re now fully guaranteed, which makes these decisions a little tougher for teams.
Nineteen players had their options exercised, a tick up from 14 last year. Here’s the full rundown:
1. QB Kyler Murray, Cardinals – Exercised ($29.7MM)
2. DE Nick Bosa, 49ers: Exercised ($17.9MM)
3. DE Quinnen Williams, Jets: Exercised ($11.5MM)
4. DE Clelin Ferrell, Raiders: Declined ($11.5MM)
5. LB Devin White, Buccaneers: Exercised ($11.7MM)
6. QB Daniel Jones, Giants: Declined ($22.4MM)
7. DE Josh Allen, Jaguars: Exercised ($11.5MM)
8. TE T.J. Hockenson, Lions: Exercised ($9.4MM)
9. DT Ed Oliver, Bills: Exercised ($10.8MM)
10. LB Devin Bush, Steelers: Declined ($10.9MM)
11. OT Jonah Williams, Bengals: Exercised ($12.6MM)
12. LB Rashan Gary, Packers: Exercised ($10.9MM)
13. DT Christian Wilkins, Dolphins: Exercised ($10.8MM)
14. G Chris Lindstrom, Falcons: Exercised ($13.2MM)
15. QB Dwayne Haskins:
16. DE Brian Burns, Panthers: Exercised ($16MM)
17. DT Dexter Lawrence, Giants: Exercised ($10.8MM)
18. C Garrett Bradbury, Vikings: Declined ($13.2MM)
19. DT Jeffery Simmons, Titans: Exercised ($10.8MM)
20. TE Noah Fant, Seahawks: Exercised ($6.9MM; originally drafted by Broncos)
21. S Darnell Savage, Packers: Exercised ($7.9MM)
22. OT Andre Dillard, Eagles: Declined ($12.6MM)
23. OT Tytus Howard, Texans: Exercised ($13.2MM)
24. RB Josh Jacobs, Raiders: Declined ($8MM)
25. WR Marquise Brown, Cardinals: ($13.4MM; originally drafted by Ravens)
26. DE Montez Sweat, Commanders: Exercised ($11.5MM)
27. S Johnathan Abram, Raiders: Declined ($7.9MM)
28. DE Jerry Tillery, Chargers: Declined ($11.5MM)
29. DE L.J. Collier, Seahawks: Declined ($11.5MM)
30. CB Deandre Baker — N/A (released by Giants)
31. OT Kaleb McGary, Falcons: Declined ($13.2MM)
32. WR N’Keal Harry, Patriots: Declined ($12.4MM)
Bucs Acquire No. 57 To Take Luke Goedeke
Central Michigan offensive lineman Luke Goedeke finally hears his name called as the Buccaneers were tired of seeing him slide down the board. Tampa Bay traded up four spots to make sure the 23-year-old found his way to Central Florida.
Goedeke moved from tight end to offensive tackle during his redshirt season with the Chippewas, earning the team’s starting right tackle position as a redshirt sophomore. Goedeke missed the 2020 season due to a knee injury, but came back strong to earn All-Mid-American honors as a redshirt junior.
Despite spending his college career at tackle, Goedeke projects as an interior lineman at the next level. This fills a huge position of need for the Buccaneers who lost Alex Cappa to free agency and Ali Marpet to retirement.
The Bucs’ received the pick used to draft Goedeke from the Bills, giving them their No. 60 pick and No. 180 (6th round) pick in exchange.
Jaguars Acquire No. 27, Select LB Devin Lloyd
The Jaguars are moving up. Jacksonville has acquired No. 27 from the Buccaneers and will select Utah linebacker Devin Lloyd.
[RELATED: NFL Draft Prospect Profile: Utah LB Devin Lloyd]
In exchange for No. 27, Tampa Bay acquired picks No. 33, No. 106, and No. 180 from the Jaguars. Tampa Bay will unofficially be on the clock following tonight’s first-round festivities. If this ends up being the final deal of the night, it will make nine total trades.
The six-foot-three, 235-pound Lloyd had a massively productive four-year career in Utah. He saved his best for last, producing 111 tackles, including 22 for a loss, seven sacks and four interceptions in 14 games in 2021. His play earned him Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year honors and was a main reason why the Utes won their conference and made their first ever appearance in the Rose Bowl.
While he is on the leaner side for a middle linebacker (which probably contributed to his late-first draft stock), his length and speed should easily let him translate that production into NFL success.
Bucs To Pick Up Devin White’s Option
The Buccaneers will pick up Devin White‘s fifth-year option (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero). With that, the linebacker is now set to make a fully-guaranteed $11.7MM in 2023.
[RELATED: Brady’s Contract Restructure Includes No-Tag Clause]
White, the No. 5 overall pick in 2019, was set to enter the final year of his four-year, $29.3MM rookie deal. There was no chance that the Bucs would let him get away after his Pro Bowl season. White notched 128 stops and 3.5 sacks, helping the Bucs finish as a top-five defense in points allowed.
White has been a starter throughout his career, dating back to his 91-tackle rookie campaign. All in all, he’s got 359 tackles, 15 sacks, four forced fumbles, six fumble recoveries, and one interception to his credit. Meanwhile, he just celebrated his 24th birthday in February. The Buccaneers will work to sign White to an even longer deal down the road. But, for now, they’ve got him locked in for another two seasons.
Teams have until May 2nd to exercise their options for 2019 first-round picks. Some decisions will be tough, now that the fifth-year option is fully-guaranteed rather than just guaranteed-for-injury. For Bucs GM Jason Licht, this one was a no-brainer.
Tom Brady’s Contract Restructure Includes No-Tag Clause
Tom Brady‘s recent restructure dropped his 2022 cap number from $24MM to $13.8MM, giving the Buccaneers more wiggle room this year. Brady’s redone contract now calls for a $1.1MM base salary and $13.88MM roster bonus. They now have more than $10MM in cap space.
Tampa Bay’s move will also add to the escalating Brady debt while also restricting the team’s avenues to hang onto the all-time great beyond this season. Although it is not certain the 44-year-old quarterback will want to play in 2023, Ben Volin of the Boston Globe notes the restructure prevents the Bucs from using the franchise or transition tags on Brady (Twitter link). The deal also includes $4.5MM worth of 2022 incentives, Volin adds.
The Bucs have not discussed another Brady extension; he remains on track for free agency in 2023. Matters like Brady’s desire to play an age-46 season, his performance at 45 and potential interest from other teams will factor into that process. Brady’s restructure took one option off the table for the Bucs, though the tag might have been an untenable measure anyway thanks to the deal’s void years.
This restructure adds more money to Brady’s first void year, raising that 2023 cap hit from $24MM to $35MM. Brady’s void years now run through 2026, piling up potential dead-money charges. Unless Brady agrees to another extension with the Bucs, they will be hit with those fees beginning next year.
Brady has been connected to the Dolphins and 49ers, and though it sounds crazy to speculate on an NFLer venturing into Bernard Hopkins territory as a late-40s contact-sport athlete, Brady’s 2023 free agency will certainly be a topic of conversation. Brady’s restructure stands to help the Bucs mount another run this season, potentially with Rob Gronkowski and Ndamukong Suh back on board, but it also moves the 23rd-year veteran closer to a 2023 exit — even if retirement No. 2 does not happen by that point.
NFC Rumors: Toney, Packers, Hainsey, Ragnow
With the news early this morning that Giants wide receiver Kadarius Toney is on the trading block after only one season in New York, questions have arisen about the value Toney commands. According to Jeff Howe of The Athletic, interest in Toney covers the gamut across the NFL.
Howe reports that some teams have absolutely no interest, while other teams believe that giving him a chance to develop in their system will allow his talent and ability to shine. Toney showed explosive ability in college at Florida, scoring on big plays and showing elite ability after the catch. The Giants looked past several off-field concerns during his time in Gainesville when drafting Toney at 20th overall. Unfortunately for New York, Toney’s off-field issues continued into Year One of his NFL career.
Howe thinks that New York has potentially been trying to move Toney for a while now with little success. He posits that the upcoming 2022 NFL Draft will create some urgency either for receiver-needy teams looking for a young boost to their pass-catching group or for New York to accept a lesser price to get any value out of their failed first-round experiment from 2021.
Here are some other rumors from around the NFC, starting with a new name in Green Bay:
- According to the Packers’ website, Green Bay finalized their staff this week with the addition of John Donovan as a senior analyst. After 19 years in college football culminating in offensive coordinator jobs at Vanderbilt and Penn State, Donovan first entered the NFL as an offensive quality control coach for the Jaguars. He left Jacksonville to return to college for the offensive coordinator job at the University of Washington. After two years in that role, Donovan will give the NFL another try, this time in Green Bay.
- Former third-round pick Robert Hainsey played offensive tackle at Notre Dame before working through his rookie year in Tampa Bay at center. Greg Auman of The Athletic believes Hainsey could split the difference and compete for a starting job at guard this year. With Ali Marpet retiring and Alex Cappa signing in the offseason with the Bengals, the Buccaneers will need to replace both spots. They addressed one position, signing former-Patriots guard Shaq Mason to slot in at right guard. They also re-signed Aaron Stinnie who has been a reliable backup in Tampa Bay, but has only started one game in his four-year career. Expect Hainsey to get a chance to compete for the starting spot this offseason.
- After suffering a season-ending toe injury in a Week 4 loss to the Bears last season, the Lions have reported that Frank Ragnow is feeling strong, healthy, and ready to return to his role as a leader in the middle of the Lions’ offensive line. The Lions will look forward to getting Ragnow back to lead an impressive-sounding group that includes Jonah Jackson, Halapoulivaati Vaitai, Taylor Decker, and Penei Sewell.
Draft Rumors: Stingley, Jaguars, Alabama, Cine, Burks
According to Matt Miller of ESPN, Derek Stingley, Jr. is the hottest name in the 2022 NFL Draft right now. The LSU cornerback has long been considered one of the top-two cornerback prospects available, along with Cincinnati cornerback Ahmad Gardner. Miller claims that Stingley is trending as high as the top-three with the Lions or Texans rumored to be interested in him at No. 2 or 3 overall.
After a stellar freshman season, Stingley was easily viewed as the best cornerback that would be available by the 2022 Draft. But, after a subpar 2020 season and only appearing in three games last year, combined with another stellar season from Gardner, NFL teams have allowed a bit of room for Gardner to challenge as the best corner on the board. The NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah has Gardner ranked as the third-best prospect overall with Stingley at 15th, while Dane Brugler of The Athletic has Gardner at fifth overall with Stingley at 14th. Miller, though, seems to think Stingley won’t make it past the Seahawks at 9th overall on Thursday night.
Here are a few more notes for the upcoming Draft, starting with some speculation down in Duval:
- Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke let it be known on Friday that Jacksonville is considering four players for their number one overall draft pick this Thursday, according to Charean Williams of NBC Sports. Many mock drafts have them going with Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson or Georgia defensive lineman Travon Walker, but they’ve also had their name attached to Alabama offensive tackle Evan Neal and NC State offensive lineman Ikem Ekwonu. It’s hard to imagine any other names entering the conversation for Jacksonville’s top pick.
- On their postseason run last year, college football powerhouse Alabama lost two of their top pass catchers in two of the biggest games of their season. John Metchie tore his ACL in the team’s SEC Championship victory over Georgia on December 4th. A little over a month later, Jameson Williams tore his ACL in the team’s National Championship game loss to Georgia on January 10th. According to Jeff Howe of The Athletic, the two are progressing impressively in their recoveries, with that opinion being echoed by the NFL teams who have looked into their medical information. They may both be on track to play in the upcoming season, depending on how conservative of a team they end up with. The important thing, though, is that, while their stock may have been affected a bit by injury, they are both fully expected to hear their names called next week.
- Georgie safety Lewis Cine visited with the Buccaneers this week, according to Jenna Laine of ESPN. Cine led the Bulldogs in tackles and passes broken up for the season last year en route to being named the defensive MVP of the team’s National Championship victory over Alabama. According to Laine, when asked if signing Logan Ryan and Keanu Neal precluded them from drafting a safety, Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht simply replied, “No.”
- According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Arkansas wide receiver Treylon Burks added two more teams to his list of visits earlier this week. Burks met with the Bears and Cardinals as he continues to trend in the first round. Read more about Burks in his NFL Draft Prospect Profile here.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/22/22
Here are Friday’s minor moves:
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: DT Deadrin Senat