4 players the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were smart to pass on

Devonta Freeman

At one point this past offseason, it looked like the Buccaneers could sign running back Devonta Freeman to their roster. With some uncertainty surrounding Ronald Jones‘ future in Tampa Bay, Freeman looked like an excellent option to pair with Brady.

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Fortunately, the Buccaneers held off from making this decision.

Instead of paying a free agent running back to replace Ronald Jones on an already-limited budget, the Bucs made the smart decision to keep Jones as their lead option and save the money.

Most of the question marks in Jones’ game have disappeared, and he has emerged as a better runner between the tackles than Freeman. At a third of Freeman’s price, Jones has been a far better prospect for what the Buccaneers need.

In addition to Jones’ performance as a runner, his best attribute over Freeman this year has been availability. Freeman joined the New York Giants in relief of an injured Saquon Barkley but was quickly sent to injured reserve with his own injury struggles.

Much like Alexander, the Buccaneers decided to roll the dice on passing over a talented player, and they were rewarded for believing in the players who remained on the team.