The Pewter Plank
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Breaking down depth on special teams

By Cory Kinnan

TUCSON, AZ - SEPTEMBER 22: Place kicker Matt Gay #97 of the Utah Utes kickes a 26 yard field goal against the Arizona Wildcats during the first half of the college football game at Arizona Stadium on September 22, 2017 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
TUCSON, AZ - SEPTEMBER 22: Place kicker Matt Gay #97 of the Utah Utes kickes a 26 yard field goal against the Arizona Wildcats during the first half of the college football game at Arizona Stadium on September 22, 2017 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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SEATTLE, WA – DECEMBER 02: Bradley Pinion #5 of the San Francisco 49ers punts the ball in the second quarter against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field on December 2, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WA – DECEMBER 02: Bradley Pinion #5 of the San Francisco 49ers punts the ball in the second quarter against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field on December 2, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images) /

Punter Swap!

This offseason, the Buccaneers also maneuvered a shifty punter swap, cutting veteran Bryan Anger and signing former San Francisco 49er Bradley Pinion to a four-year deal. This move cleared about $400k in cap space, locked down a younger punter for the future, and his guaranteed money runs out after 2020 if the Bucs want to make another move.

Pinion has been the starting punter for the 49ers ever since he was their fifth round pick back in 2015, and now comes to Tampa Bay at the ripe old age of 25 and with a lot of football left to play with a base salary under $3 million annually. With Pinion, you know what you are getting as he has been consistent in all four years up to this point.

In his rookie season, Pinion averaged 43.6 yards per punt on 91 opportunities, the following year he led the league in punts with 100, averaging 44 yards per punt. While the amount of punts from Pinion decreased over the last two seasons, he still averaged 43.4 yards per punt in 2017, and 43.7 yards per punt last season.

Next. Chiseling the Mt. Rushmore of Buccaneers greats. dark

Taking a wild stab in the dark, it is a safe bet to assume Pinion will average right around 43-44 yards per punt again in 2019 as well. Finishing out the special teams group is Zach Triner, the only long-snapper currently on the roster. It looks like the Buccaneers are content to ride out Triner at that spot in 2019, barring the addition of another snapper, which seems unlikely.

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