Buccaneers Could Find Answer In Tony Jefferson
By James Yarcho
With many’s hopes and dreams pinned to the Buccaneers being able to sign Eric Berry, bringing in Tony Jefferson could be just as effective – for a fraction of the price.
He’s not a household name by any means, but Tony Jefferson played himself into a solid free agent contract this past season and the Buccaneers may just be the team to give it to him. Jefferson, 25, is an undrafted player out of Oklahoma who joined the league in 2013. He started in 14 of the Cardinals’ 16 games and had a solid season.
Jefferson didn’t show up with the splash play stats, but was certainly a formidable force in the secondary. He finished with 74 tackles, five passes defensed, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and two sacks. In 2015, he had both of his career interceptions – one of which was returned for a touchdown.
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According to spotrac.com, Jefferson’s estimated contract value in free agency is $5.7-million per year over four years. That’s certainly affordable for a team like the Bucs who currently have an estimated $72.8-million in cap space per Spotrac. And with only two safeties on the roster – Keith Tandy being the only one with any actual game experience – the Bucs are in the market for multiple safeties this off-season.
It seems unlikely the Bucs will bring back Chris Conte – but we all thought that last year, too. It seems far more likely they bring back Bradley McDouglad in addition to a free agent and drafting one to develop since they won’t be fortunate enough to be in position for someone like Malik Hooker or Jamal Adams.
If Berry doesn’t hit the market, Tony Jefferson is a name that has been picking up steam recently and is certainly someone to be on the lookout for. Those Arizona ties for Jason Licht will certainly come into play as he was the Vice President of Player Personnel when Jefferson joined the Cardinals.
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Instead of fans looking to two Chiefs in Berry and Dontari Poe as free agent targets, it may be time to look to two Cardinals in Jefferson and Calais Campbell to come in and help the defense. For those unfamiliar with Jefferson, I encourage you to watch the video below. The guy will bring some fire.