Free Agents The Buccaneers Should Avoid

Dre Kirkpatrick – Cornerback

Kirkpatrick was a highly touted prospect coming out of Alabama in 2012. He ended up going 17th overall to the Bengals and many Buccaneers fans were clamoring for him when the Bucs drafted Mark Barron. Tampa Bay has their chance to get him now, but should pass on him – like everyone else already does.

Kirkpatrick has been a huge disappointment in Cincinnati. Kirkpatrick has nine career interceptions in five seasons, getting three in three of the last four years. For those of you into that sort of thing, Kirkpatrick has been consistently ranked towards the bottom of Pro Football Foucs’ cornerback rankings, finishing with a grade of 38.4 and ranking 116th overall – out of 118.

To say he hasn’t lived up to the hype is an understatement. However, given his first round draft position and having played on a defense that has been ranked very high over the past few seasons, Kirkpatrick will likely get a solid deal from a franchise. At the end of the day he won’t help the Buccaneers’ secondary in 2017 or after Brent Grimes leaves. He just isn’t the kind of player to bring in to try and continue to bolster the secondary.