Buccaneers: 3 big-name free agent departures to plan for
By Rob Leeds
A newcomer to the Buccaneers
Antonio Brown’s chances of remaining with the Buccaneers go up if Chris Godwin walks, but they still aren’t as high as some would like to think. Throughout the NFL, there are plenty of teams that need consistency at wide receiver, and Brown’s market could command as much as 10 million dollars per season.
The Buccaneers assuredly can’t afford 10 million per season on a wide receiver. While it has been great to have two top-tier wide receivers in Tampa for Brady to target (Brown made three), the position doesn’t command enough importance to invest 30-40 million on.
Brown and Brady have a great connection, but if Brown asks for much over what he received this past season, the Bucs won’t be able to keep him.
Tampa Bay currently has several young receivers on rookie contracts that should be able to step up in the event of a departure, but this would also set the Buccaneers up to take a wide receiver early in the draft as well.
A rookie in one of the early rounds would still be capable of a high level of production, but they would be far cheaper than Godwin or Brown would be, saving the Buccaneers some money at a limited drop-off in production.