NFL Playoffs: Two Broncos the Buccaneers Could Target in Free Agency
On Sunday night the Broncos will host the Steelers and our 2015 Conference Championships will be set. The Buccaneers, on the other hand, will reach 13 years since their only Super Bowl win, and will continue the search for the players and personnel who will lead the team back to the top of the hill. As free agency looms for many, here are two players who may trade in the Rockies for the beaches this March.
The Broncos wisely locked-up defensive end Derek Wolfe with a new four-year contract prior to their divisional round match-up. With many million dollar free-agents-to-be still in limbo on the Broncos roster there is bound to be some defectors, and any number of them could find themselves in the crosshairs of Buccaneers’ General Manager Jason Licht. Here are just two of them:
SLB, Von Miller:
Miller is an All-Pro, a Pro-Bowler, and one of the best linebackers in the NFL over the past five years. There appears to be no residual affects left over from a torn ACL in 2013, and now he enters an offseason looking for a long-term contract and big money.
He’s made the Pro-Bowl and had double-digit sacks in four of his five pro seasons. Anyone would be hard pressed to find any linebacker more dominant in their first five years than Miller.
It just so happens that Miller plays a position where the Buccaneers have a hole, and the Bucs have the cap space to make a deal happen. The 2015 strong-side linebacker was Danny Lansanah who finished the season with one sack and 55 tackles in 11 games this season.
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Lansanah multiplied his effectiveness by mentoring rookie middle linebacker Kwon Alexander, as the two teamed with weak-side linebacker Lavonte David to create one of the best linebacker groups in the NFC South.
Lansanah is entering his fourth season in the NFL, but is also turning 31-years old prior to the start of the season. He’s had just 2.5 career sacks while David has collected 13 sacks playing in the same system. It’s fully possible David is allowed to blitz more often than Lansanah, but the low number of sacks is still discouraging as the team transitions to a 4-3 defense under new defensive coordinator Mike Smith.
Miller, on the other hand, would elevate the linebacker group to the best in the NFL. With David garnering Pro Bowl consideration, and Alexander playing his way into the Defensive Rookie of the Year conversation, the trio would wreak havoc on the NFC South and go a long way to helping improve the play of their defensive linemen.
At the end of the day, the Broncos have a franchise tag sitting in reserve for the probable hall of famer, and the Buccaneers most likely will never have a chance to lure him away. If the Broncos roll the dice though, the veteran may take his talents to Tampa and the Buccaneers should be happy to accommodate him.
K, Brandon McManus:
The Buccaneers have not had a consistently good kicker since they let Matt Bryant fall into the hands of the Atlanta Falcons.
The Kyle Brindza experiment lasted all of four games after Brindza went 6-for-12 in early season games which kept a rookie quarterback and inexperienced receiving corps playing catch-up despite entering scoring position regularly.
Following Brindza’s release, the Buccaneers brought back veteran Connor Barth who proceeded to make 82% of his field goal attempts and was 54% from 40+ yards. The end result was Barth finishing 25th among the NFL’s kickers. Combined, the Buccaneers two kickers gave the Buccaneers the league’s 30th ranked field goal percentage.
As the Broncos field goal kicker, McManus finished fifth in the league with 30 made field goals, and was 67% from 40+ yards.
Ten Buccaneers’ games ended with the winner winning by ten points or less, three more were won by 14 points or less. Having a kicking game that can consistently produce points will benefit a young offense looking to improve, and take pressure off of the Buccaneers defense.
At the end of the day, points win games. The team which scores more will win 100% of the time. The life of a kicker is not glamorous, but ask the Minnesota Vikings, it’s so important.
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While the Buccaneers brain trust works to bring in key players who will elevate the franchise, these two men will be playing to take the Broncos back to the Super Bowl where they were embarrassed by the Seattle Seahawks.
Miller didn’t play that game due to the ACL injury mentioned above, and McManus was kicking for Temple University at the time. While both are hoping for a trip to San Francisco, Buccaneers fans will be hoping these two make a trip to Tampa, Florida in March.