Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Free agents the Bucs need to let walk

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are trying to play around their cap space in 2020 delicately, but letting some key free agents walk may help the process even more.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are facing a far more dire cap situation in 2020 than most people seem to realize. Tampa Bay has some massive contracts to fill and some big name players that could steal a piece of the pie away from others.

While the Buccaneers surely want to return as many players as possible, some difficult decisions must be made to give the team the best chance to compete in 2020.

The reason that this decisions becomes so difficult is due to the fact that players have to be evaluated on two levels: their level of production and their cost. Generally speaking, tests of the eyes fall short when money is involved and no argument justifies paying a WR3 big money.

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The Bucs will also have to look at positions that they can find the best replacements for that would not cause them to break the bank.

1. Breshad Perriman

Perriman had one of the best ends to 2019 of any receiver in the league other than Michael Thomas. Perriman had over 500 yards and five touchdowns in his final five games of the season and made the case for a bigger contract in 2020.

Perriman earned a bigger contract, just not from the Buccaneers. His price tag likely doubled (from four million per year to around eight million per year) and the Bucs can’t afford to give that to a WR3 with their young depth at the position.

A team that will be strapped for cash has to make this type of hard decision to free up the money to pay rookies and bring in free agents at positions of greater need. It also doesn’t hurt that the Buccaneers have a bevy of young receivers on the roster that need the open spot to grow.

Perriman is not an easy player to move on from, but there are no teams in the NFL that can afford to pay a WR3 what Perriman’s market will dictate.

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