Buccaneers: Five Inexpensive Potential Free Agent Options
Ronnie Hillman
We know the state of the Bucs running game. To say it is flux is putting it mildly. We have the much talked about Doug Martin situation. Will he be on the team? What type of player will he be if he returns from suspension and plays? Will he even be able to stay on the field. It has been proven that Charles Sims can’t take the lead as the every down back, and it remains to be seen how much faith the team has in Jacquizz Rodgers.
Licht could address the situation in the draft, but he might not need to wait that long. Ronnie Hillman is an unrestricted free agent. Now I know he didn’t do a lot in 2016, but he is just two a year removed from career highs in rushing yards (863) and rushing touchdowns (7). Here are his career stats:
| Games | Rushing | Receiving | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Age | Tm | Pos | No. | G | GS | Rush | Yds | TD | Lng | Y/A | Y/G | A/G | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD | Lng | R/G | Y/G | Ctch% | YScm | RRTD | Fmb | AV |
| 2012 | 21 | DEN | 34 | 14 | 0 | 84 | 327 | 1 | 31 | 3.9 | 23.4 | 6.0 | 12 | 10 | 62 | 6.2 | 0 | 29 | 0.7 | 4.4 | 83.3% | 389 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 2013 | 22 | DEN | 21 | 10 | 0 | 55 | 218 | 1 | 19 | 4.0 | 21.8 | 5.5 | 14 | 12 | 119 | 9.9 | 0 | 19 | 1.2 | 11.9 | 85.7% | 337 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 2014 | 23 | DEN | rb | 23 | 8 | 4 | 106 | 434 | 3 | 37 | 4.1 | 54.3 | 13.3 | 34 | 21 | 139 | 6.6 | 1 | 16 | 2.6 | 17.4 | 61.8% | 573 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| 2015 | 24 | DEN | RB | 23 | 16 | 11 | 207 | 863 | 7 | 72 | 4.2 | 53.9 | 12.9 | 35 | 24 | 111 | 4.6 | 0 | 14 | 1.5 | 6.9 | 68.6% | 974 | 7 | 3 | 5 |
| 2016 | 25 | 2TM | 8 | 1 | 41 | 131 | 0 | 17 | 3.2 | 16.4 | 5.1 | 15 | 7 | 93 | 13.3 | 0 | 32 | 0.9 | 11.6 | 46.7% | 224 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| MIN | 33 | 5 | 0 | 18 | 50 | 0 | 14 | 2.8 | 10.0 | 3.6 | 7 | 4 | 43 | 10.8 | 0 | 32 | 0.8 | 8.6 | 57.1% | 93 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||
| SDG | rb | 36 | 3 | 1 | 23 | 81 | 0 | 17 | 3.5 | 27.0 | 7.7 | 8 | 3 | 50 | 16.7 | 0 | 21 | 1.0 | 16.7 | 37.5% | 131 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Career | 56 | 16 | 493 | 1973 | 12 | 72 | 4.0 | 35.2 | 8.8 | 110 | 74 | 524 | 7.1 | 1 | 32 | 1.3 | 9.4 | 2497 | 13 | 8 | 18 | |||||
| 4 yrs | DEN | 48 | 15 | 452 | 1842 | 12 | 72 | 4.1 | 38.4 | 9.4 | 95 | 67 | 431 | 6.4 | 1 | 29 | 1.4 | 9.0 | 2273 | 13 | 8 | 16 | ||||
| 1 yr | MIN | 5 | 0 | 18 | 50 | 0 | 14 | 2.8 | 10.0 | 3.6 | 7 | 4 | 43 | 10.8 | 0 | 32 | 0.8 | 8.6 | 93 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||
| 1 yr | SDG | 3 | 1 | 23 | 81 | 0 | 17 | 3.5 | 27.0 | 7.7 | 8 | 3 | 50 | 16.7 | 0 | 21 | 1.0 | 16.7 | 131 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
He is quick to the edge, adding speed to the running back depth chart. He can make plays when given the opportunity to do so. In the Super Bowl winning season with the Denver Broncos, Hillman posted four 100 yard games. That’s one quarter of the season for those of you scoring at home. This young man can play.
On his previous contract, Hillman averaged $760,000 per year. With the downturn in his numbers last season, it shouldn’t take an epic raise to bring him in. It would give the Bucs an underrated jolt to the backfield.