Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Evan Smith return continues O-Line emphasis
Fans of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had four areas of concern with their team’s roster leaving the 2017 NFL Season: Defensive line, secondary, running back and offensive line. With the re-signing of Evan Smith, Jason Licht took one more step to quelling at least one of those concerns.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager has already done a couple big things to boost the offensive line in 2018. He did it with one shot too.
Signing Ryan Jensen immediately upgraded the center and presumably the right guard position as Ali Marpet should be returning to that side of the line this year.
Now, there’s the issue of the left guard position to see if the Bucs can’t form the best interior offensive line in the NFC South.
There are a few candidates for the job.
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First, but in no particular order, is J.R. Sweezy who missed his first year with in Tampa with a back injury before appearing in fourteen games in 2017 and ending the year on injured reserve with a leg injury.
Then there’s young Caleb Benenoch who has shown promise, but is – well – young. He’s entering his third season and appeared on 364 snaps last season. Quite the boost in work considering he got just 134 offensive snaps the year prior.
Now, Evan Smith is in the mix once again as he returns to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on a two-year deal worth up to $6 Million with $1 Million guaranteed.
Smith was the offensive line’s sixth-man in 2017, as he appeared on 688 of the team’s offensive snaps. Over 300 more than any other back-up lineman.
Of course, he also started six games himself last year and has amassed 53 starts in the last seven seasons.
Who ultimately starts opposite of Marpet in 2018 ultimately will be decided after the NFL Draft. Quenton Nelson of Notre Dame has been tied to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a lot, and it’s quite possible the draft’s top lineman could be the team’s pick if he isn’t taken earlier.
Of course, this would likely trigger the release of J.R. Sweezy and keep Smith in his valuable sixth-man role for at least one more year while Benenoch continues to develop.
No matter what, the team may have lost Kevin Pamphile to the Titans earlier this week, but it’s been clear the team came into the off-season with a focus on improving the offensive line.
Keeping guys who positively contributed the year prior, is just as important as bringing in new ones. With Smith, the Bucs have done just that.
"The Bucs haven’t only been focusing on the offensive line! They’ve done plenty on the defensive line too. Check out Locked on Bucs as they discuss the latest developments in the trenches."
What are your thoughts on Evan Smith’s return to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the state of the offensive line?
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