Get to know the new members of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
By Cory Kinnan
Bradley Pinion
In a bizarre sequence, the Bucs performed a punter swap in order to trim the cap a bit, cutting veteran Bryan Anger and signing Bradley Pinion, formerly of the San Francisco 49ers. Out with the old, in with the new.
PUNTER NEWS! Free-agent punter Bradley Pinion plans to leave the 49ers to sign a four-year deal with the Buccaneers, per source. Pinion was the Niners’ 5th-round pick in the 2015 draft and also handled kickoffs in San Francisco.
— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) March 12, 2019
A fifth round selection of the 49ers back in the 2015 draft out of Clemson, the soon to be 25-year-old Pinion has been the starting punter in San Francisco ever since. During his career as a 49er, he averaged nearly 44 yards per punt, with his longest punt coming in at 65 yards; Pinion has only had one punt blocked in his career.
Pinion also managed kickoff duties for the Niners the entirety of his four years in San Francisco, and will be asked to perform the same role in Tampa Bay with the Buccaneers. The Bucs re-signed kicker Cairo Santos, whose strong suite is not in the kickoff department.
From one Bay to the other, Pinion leaves the Bay Area to head to Tampa Bay on a four-year deal; the numbers of his deal have not been released yet. With the Bucs, a team that barely had to utilize their punter a year ago, the fans of Tampa Bay hope for similar results this year, but it is nice to have a dependable punter just in case.