Buccaneers Free Agency Spotlight: Safety, Tre Boston

The defensive front is probably the Buccaneers’ top priority this offseason, but need to address the secondary as well. With that in mind, the next player in our free agency spotlight series is safety Tre Boston.

The Buccaneers finished last season dead last in pass defense. We’ve already talked at length in the last couple of months about where the blame lies for that. The defensive line’s inability to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks left the secondary out to dry more often than not. Even still, Tampa Bay has some work to do in the secondary. Whether or not Brent Grimes is coming back still seems to be up in the air. The team could still want Vernon Hargreaves to move inside to the nickel position. Justin Evans seems to be the only safety that will be in Tampa Bay’s long-term future. There’s plenty to work out for the Bucs in the next couple of months.

There’s no doubt that the front office, especially general manager Jason Licht, is doing extensive homework on all available options. One of the options that could be out there in free agency is safety Tre Boston. In a matter of days, the 2014 fourth round pick might be on his third team in five years. But could that team be the Bucs?

Tre Boston’s Career

After playing his college ball at the University of North Carolina, Boston was the Panthers’ fourth round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. He wasn’t all that impressive in his first two years, finishing with under 30 tackles both years. He had just one regular season interceptions between those two years, but did have a couple of playoff interceptions. In 2016, he finished with 53 tackles, two sacks, two interceptions and two passes defended. Unfortunately, his season came to a tough end late in December when a knee injury landed him on injured reserve. Five months later, Carolina waived him.

After being waived by the Panthers, Boston signed a one-year deal with the Chargers and put together a career year. He totaled 79 tackles, five interceptions and eight passes defended. Those were all career-highs and likely earned him a pretty nice payday this offseason. He’ll be just 26 years old when the 2018 season starts, which could also help his case.

Why the Buccaneers Need Him

As mentioned above, the 2017 Bucs were dead last in defending the pass. The secondary could be undergoing a makeover of sorts this offseason, especially at the corner position. But in terms of the safeties, Tampa Bay at least has one young, promising guy to be the anchor of the group for the future. That, of course, is Justin Evans, who was pretty impressive as a rookie last year. He is locked in as a starter heading into 2018.

The other safety position seems to be up for grabs, though. Chris Conte is still under contract, but the Keith Tandy and T.J. Ward are both free agents. It seemed like Tandy was going to get a good shot at starting last year after a strong finish to the 2016 season. That shot never really came, partly due to the team adding Ward right before the season. Ward never appeared to get comfortable, which pretty much made him a bust as far as his short Buccaneer career is concerned. With a spot seemingly open at safety, Tampa Bay could be active in filling it through free agency or the draft.

Boston is just one of many potential options for the Bucs. He has a similar build to Evans and has played more as a free safety throughout his career. The fact that he just had the best year of his career could interest Jason Licht. On the flip side, the fact that he has just one big year to his name and his injury history could turn Tampa Bay off of him. Either way, expect the Bucs to evaluate Boston as an option to play alongside Evans.

What Will Boston Cost?

Spotrac projects Boston’s market value at $8.2 million per year. The site estimates a five-year deal of around $41 million. That would be a pretty high price for the Bucs to pay for someone who has yet to show a lot of consistency. He appears to be trending up, but it still feels like somewhat of a gamble to give him that kind of contract. Tampa Bay definitely has the cap room if it really thinks Boston is worth that kind of money.

Will It Happen?

I would think no. Boston’s projected contract seems a tad high and there are plenty of other options out there for Tampa Bay. Kenny Vaccaro and Eric Reid are out there as free agents. There is also the potential of guys becoming available in the coming weeks. Some safeties could still be released as cap casualties. That would include Tyrann Mathieu, who some Bucs players have already tried to recruit on Twitter.

That doesn’t even take the draft into account. The safety class is deep this year, which gives Tampa Bay plenty of options. Derwin James is a first round option, but later round options are plentiful. DeShon Elliott from Texas, Justin Reid from Stanford and Jordan Whitehead from Pittsburgh are just a few options. The point is, there are other options out there that could be better fits for the Bucs than Boston.

Next: Buccaneers Free Agency Spotlight: Justin Pugh

What do you think of Tre Boston, Bucs fans? Let us know if you think he’s a good fit in the comments, on Twitter or on Facebook. And be sure to keep following along as we dive into more free agents all the way up until legal tampering begins on March 12.