The Atlanta Falcons announced that they would not be bringing back Vic Beasley next season. Should the Buccaneers pursue the edge-rusher?
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers received interesting news Monday when cross-division opponent Atlanta announced that it would not be re-signing Vic Beasley.
Beasley, a product of Clemson, was drafted highly by the Falcons and had some success early in Atlanta, but faltered the past couple of seasons and never proved to be worth of that high selection.
Though the Buccaneers already have some talented edge-rushers and promising youth, it wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world to consider Beasley, really for two reasons.
Jason Pierre-Paul could outprice the Buccaneers…
Let’s start with the most obvious reason. The Buccaneers obviously want to get a deal done with Jason Pierre-Paul, but he is a secondary option compared to bringing back Shaq Barrett.
Pierre-Paul may very well ask for big-time cash and a long-term deal that the Buccaneers just aren’t prepared to give. Though there’s plenty of salary cap room, Tampa Bay is going to see nearly a third of go away when it signs a quarterback- whether that be Jameis Winston or not- and then will see quite a bit more go away with Barrett signs his expected long-term extension.
If Pierre-Paul asks for money along the same lines of Barrett, it may force Tampa Bay to explore a cheaper option.
You can’t have enough pass-rushers…
Let’s say that the Buccaneers are able to get a deal done with both Barrett and Pierre-Paul. That still doesn’t mean that Beasley would be completely off the table.
Beasley has proven to be an athletic specimen and he was vastly underutilized in the Falcons’ system.
If he’s willing to take lesser money, Beasley could prove to be a solid third option as a pass-rusher and, who knows, he could show that ability which was expected by the Falcons when he was first drafted.
Sometimes a change of scenery is what’s needed for a player to reach the next level and that may very well be the case with Beasley.
It wouldn’t make sense for Tampa Bay to bring Beasley in on a big contract or long-term deal, but if the price is right, he could prove to be a valuable offense for the defense and give the Buccaneers the ability to reach the next level with that talented front-seven.
He’s worth a look from the Bucs, but I’d expect that’s all he gets at this point.