The Buccaneers have some more money after extending Tom Brady. Now, they have extra cash on hand, and they need to make some moves.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have just tied themselves to the Tom Brady ship through the 2022 season. Two more years of Brady seems like a great thing if the first season was any indication, and the outlook improves in Tampa by the day.
While most teams would fall off after winning the Super Bowl, the Bucs have been able to work some magic with the salary cap to get Chris Godwin and Lavonte David back for the 2021 season, but there is still work to do.
By structuring Brady’s contract in a way that will free up plenty of cash for this year, the Bucs should now start looking towards some more additions.
Player #1
Bar none, Shaquil Barrett needs a contract before anyone else. This deal should’ve gone through days ago, but the Bucs can round out free agency by bringing back their franchise pass-rusher.
While Barrett seems ready to return, the Bucs need to make this happen as soon as possible.
Barrett will easily be the highest-paid Buccaneer of this period, but it makes perfect sense. Pass-rusher is one of the most important positions on the field, and Barrett was able to perform at the highest level during the regular season and the playoffs.
None of the rookies in this class will play up to Barrett’s level in year one, so a draft pick or a different free agent would detract from the Buccaneer defensive line.
Assuming the Buccaneers can lock down Barrett, the free-agent period will be a massive success, and the dominant defense that kept Patrick Mahomes out of the end zone in the Super Bowl will return all of its key pieces in 2021.