5 available bargain free agents that can help the Buccaneers
By Rob Leeds
Stephen Gostkowski, Kicker
The Buccaneers have struggled to kick the football for years now. It seems like the Bucs have bounced between mediocre kickers year after year, which has cost the team numerous wins in heartbreaking fashion.
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While Tampa Bay doesn’t have a ton of money, investing in a consistent kicker would be a phenomenal use of the remaining resources.
Stephen Gostkowski has been one of the best kickers of the past decade and would be an excellent pickup for the Bucs, even coming off of one of his worst career seasons and an injury. Fortunately, this will only make the veteran kicker that much attainable as a free agent.
Gostkowski only has two seasons throughout his 14-year career where he has been less than 80% on field goals and only one year where he was less than 90% on extra points. One can assume that the steep drop in efficiency in 2019 was due to the injury rather than something else.
The reason why this addition works is that the Bucs desperately need a consistent kicking presence. While some are quick to defend Matt Gay for missing kicks, like the one against the New York Giants, wasting chances like that can’t happen this year.
Tampa Bay can take a chance on Gostkowski and bring him into camp just to see his leg. The Bucs should be more than willing to pay for a bit of consistency at kicker, which could play a massive role in 2020.