Blow it up: 5 steps to a Tampa Bay Buccaneers rebuild

Step Three: Stockpile draft assets and clear cap space

The third step to any successful rebuild is to stockpile draft picks and to clear cap space; the hard part about this step is the tough decisions that come with it. For starters, most of the veterans over the age of 28 are likely to be shipped off or cut in order to create playing time for younger players to see if any potential building blocks are already on the roster.

Step three tugs at the heart strings as players who have been with the organization for awhile would become expendable. Joe Haden, a Pro Bowl corner for the Browns was cut in order to clear his salary off the books during their rebuild.

The biggest name that comes to mind who would be among the first to get traded for future draft assets would be linebacker Lavonte David. While he has been a staple to the Buccaneers’ franchise ever since his arrival, he would be bordering on 32 years old by the time the rebuild would be complete.

Part of creating cap space as well is to make sure that no contracts have guaranteed money after the first two years of the deal. This is a pretty standard operation in the NFL, but having the flexibility to move on from a player for the sake of cap space is a necessity for a rebuilding team.