Why the Buccaneers should sign free agent Tavon Austin
By Rob Leeds
The Buccaneers are trying to give Tom Brady as many weapons as possible to win in his two years in Tampa. The Bucs traded for Rob Gronkowski, drafted another wide receiver, and have taken steps to fix their offensive line.
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While the starting roles have mostly been locked up, Tampa Bay could still use some of their remaining cap space on another depth receiver, and someone with Austin’s skill set would be the ideal option.
The Bucs missed out on a hybrid receiver and runner in the draft when the Redskins drafted Antonio Gibson, and Austin could be a reliable consolation option.
Austin has been able to post decent averages over his career and could be a solid change of pace running back for the Buccaneers with hands and a great fourth receiving option. Through seven years in the NFL, Austin has averaged 9.3 yards per reception and 6.8 yards per rush.
In addition to those already-solid stats, Austin did show efficiency improvements over his past two seasons with Dallas despite a massively diminished role. Perhaps a new team that will give him more touches is precisely what Tavon Austin needs to revive his career.
Tampa Bay doesn’t have much defined depth behind their top three receivers, and none of the running back pass-catchers have defined their game yet. Regardless of the roles for the players already on the roster, Austin can still fit in as another threat, and that’s not even mentioning his price.
The biggest reason why this move would work is that Tavon Austin would not cut into the remaining cap space that the Buccaneers have. Austin will likely have to play for the veteran minimum until he can reforge his identity, and he will be incentivized to play for cheap on a team that will have a ton of media coverage to rebuild his brand.