Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Realistic player contracts in free agency

Buccaneers that could be on their way out

Antonio Brown, position of lowest need, likely out

The Buccaneers absolutely can not pay another receiver after franchise tagging Chris Godwin. With north of 30 million invested in the top two players at the position alone in 2021, Tampa Bay will struggle to find the necessary funds to bring Brown back.

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Brown’s market is challenging to determine, especially with his past, but there should be plenty of teams across the league who should want to take a chance on him after his showing with the Bucs.

The best bet for the Buccaneers on this front is three or four million in 2021 with incentives, but Brown should be able to get closer to 10 from a desperate team for a receiver.

Leonard Fournette, too expensive after playoff run

Lombardi Lenny has probably played his last snap as a Buccaneer. Good thing it will always be memorable.

Re-signing an expensive running back that played well in the playoffs is not one of the focuses for the Bucs right now, especially when there are teams out there that could be willing to pay around 20 million for Fournette over several years.

Tampa Bay should look for a replacement back in the draft as a cheaper option, but Fournette would be an exciting option to remain if he would stay for just less than five million per year. Probably not going to happen.

Ndamukong Suh, can the Bucs justify the pay?

The Buccaneers will have to rely on Suh’s willingness to remain in Tampa if they want to make a deal happen. Suh made close to 10 million for each of his last seasons with the Bucs, and he may have to accept half of that to stay.

Tampa Bay has some options in free agency that may be cheaper than Suh, but that would mean letting a veteran leader walk over three to four million dollars, which would be a tough sell.

Suh had a good season in 2020 and should be able to make something comparable in 2021 on the open market at around seven million for the season, maybe less with the Bucs.

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