Rumors: Buccaneers not likely to franchise tag Jameis Winston
According to recent suggestions, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers may choose to use the franchise tag somewhere other than Jameis Winston.
While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fanbase continues to wait on an announcement pertaining to QB Jameis Winston, it seems the organization is looking at other players to place the franchise tag.
According to Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds, the Buccaneers are now most likely to let Winston test the free market in free-agency and pursue other options with the franchise tag.
Why?
"“I don’t think the Bucs think there is going to be much of a free agent market for Winston,” Reynolds said."
Bruce Arians suggested that the Buccaneers are exploring all of their options when it comes to the quarterback position and that Tampa Bay will likely pick up the phone on several free-agent QBs this offseason.
Not using the franchise tag on Winston is a risky move, but one that the organization may be deeming as necessary to potentially drive Winston’s price down and maintain other key free agents, especially in the front-seven of the defense.
If the Buccaneers don’t use the franchise tag on Winston, they’ll have it available for Shaquil Barrett.
ESPN Senior NFL Insider Adam Schefter reported Friday that the Bucs were leaning towards tagging Barrett.
Bucs are strongly considering placing their franchise tag on pass rusher Shaquil Barrett if the two sides are unable to reach a long-term deal, per league source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 28, 2020
Also notable is this: Placing franchise tag on Barrett means there’d be no franchise tag left for Jameis Winston.
That would give Tampa Bay extended time to come to an agreement on a long-term deal for Barrett and would also free up space to bring back some of those other unrestricted free agents on the defensive side of the ball.
As the Buccaneers continue to linger, it’s becoming more evident that Tampa Bay isn’t looking at Winston as the No. 1 priority in free agency. Instead, the organization is seeking other avenues and then planning to come back if those don’t work out. Of course, all of this could just be a smokescreen used as a negotiation tactic from the front-office.
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