Despite all of the talk about Antonio Brown and the Buccaneers recently, there is a better free agent out there for Tampa Bay to sign.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Antonio Brown are not a match that is going to happen. It has been a fun idea to play around with since the team acquired Tom Brady, but it won’t work out in the end.
Bruce Arians has been clear that the team isn’t pursuing Brown, but this doesn’t mean that the Bucs wouldn’t benefit from an additional star wide receiver.
Josh Gordon is one of the biggest “what if” stories from the NFL during the past decade. His showing in 2013 was one of the best by a receiver ever, and Gordon even missed out on two games.
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Gordon has struggled heavily with the NFL substance abuse policy throughout his career, and his 14 games played back in 2013 were the most that he has played over the past seven seasons due to various suspensions.
With the NFL seemingly backing off of their stance on the topic and with Gordon looking primed for a return, a great landing spot for the incredibly talented wide receiver is Tampa Bay.
Bucs fans are probably immediately hurt at the mere suggestion that the team still needs an upgrade at WR3 despite having Tyler Johnson on the roster, but with an abbreviated offseason, the Bucs would be well off to find a proven entity to give Brady the most reliable options possible in year one.
If the goal really is to compete for a Super Bowl in 2020, Josh Gordon, when healthy, is a clear improvement over the majority of the receivers for the Buccaneers currently.
One year of Gordon on a cheap “prove it” deal would give the team some time to adjust to its new status as one of the more competitive teams in the league and would also give Johnson some time to get used to the playbook in the fourth role.
Given his track record, Josh Gordon would not be an expensive acquisition for the Buccaneers and would greatly improve the team’s chances of making a deep run in the playoffs this year.