Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Still options left at cornerback in free agency
By James Yarcho
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers did a solid job addressing the trenches in free agency thus far, but the back end of the defense still needs help. Believe it or not, there are options still available.
Not every problem the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had was going to be solved in the initial push of free agency. In fact, some may go unaddressed until the draft. Even then, the Bucs will look to the second, third, fourth waves of free agency to continue to fill out their roster. However, the Bucs bolstered two offensive line positions with the signing of Ryan Jensen to be the center, allowing Ali Marpet to slide back over to guard. With the additions of Beau Allen and Mitch Unrein, they are hoping to improve the run defense, which was relatively poor in 2017.
But what about the pass defense?
Well, there were no solid pass rushers available in free agency, so that wasn’t going to be addressed the way Bucs fans wanted. There are still some average pass rushers out on the market, but they – for the most part – are all interchangeable and no need to freak out and go all in for one of them at this point.
The Buccaneers were in talks with Morris Claiborne to come in and play corner opposite Brent Grimes, but he opted to return to the Jets on a one year deal. Tyrann Mathieu opted for the one year deal in Houston before he really cashes in as a free agent next off-season. As for solutions right now? Here’s what we’re looking at;
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The Buccaneers seem poised to bring in another bridge player while drafting corner in the mid-to-late rounds of the draft to develop. Vernon Hargreaves can still move back to the outside, though many fans would prefer him to be the slot guy. Hargreaves, on the other hand, said he’s willing to play wherever they need him to.
It’s always possible that we see Robert McClain return, or they can go with the one or two year deal with players like William Gay, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, or Ladarius Webb. These, again, are not long term solutions. They are a band-aid as they draft and develop a corner or two.
The other options would be to pursue E.J. Gaines, who would fit the scheme well. However, Gaines has an injury history and may command more money than the Bucs are willing – or able – to spend. Another intriguing option is pursuing Panthers cast off Bashaud Breeland. Breeland had agreed to a multi-year deal with the Panthers that was then voided when he failed a physical for a “non football injury”, having cut his foot and it got infected.
Breeland may now be looking for that short term deal once he’s healthy so he can cash in next year like he thought he had with the Panthers.
The Buccaneers are done with their big spending, after locking up Mike Evans, Cameron Brate, and Ryan Jensen. That is until the Ali Marpet, Kwon Alexander, and Donovan Smith extensions get done later this year. It’s time to look for those second and third tier free agents to fill out the roster both before and after the draft.
Next: Buccaneers 2018 Free Agency Tracker
Keep in mind – not every free agent they sign has to be fitted for a gold jacket. That’s not how teams are built. It’s secondary players and role players that help fill out the roster and allow the top guys to be the top guys. Just because you don’t like that they didn’t sign the player you wanted doesn’t mean the signing was a bad one. As I’ve said many, many times – the off-season is a symphony. Free agency and the draft have to work in unison in order for the music to sound right. We only have a small piece of the composition right now. Let it continue to play out. The sounds you hear may just be beautiful.