The Buccaneers won’t have much cap space to work with next season. Jason Licht will likely be able to afford one superstar free agent. That player could be Houston Texans safety Tyrann Mathieu.
Mathieu can be the star the Tampa Bay secondary desperately needs. The Bucs have young talent that earned starting roles next season (Carlton Davis/Justin Evans), but the unit needs a leader and a versatile one at that.
Mathieu can play in the box and blitz; he has three sacks on the season. He is also athletic enough to cover tight ends in space. Pairing him with Evans should work well in what should be a new-look Bucs defense next season.
Mathieu stepped into an already talented defense in Houston. He helped take the unit to the next level. The Texans had a brutal history of safety play prior to Mathieu and he solved most of their issues at the position. He can work the same wonders in Tampa Bay.
In the past, Mathieu’s durability was a question mark. However, he played in all 16 games over the past two seasons.