Buccaneers: Who will stay and who can go

Now, we get to the nitty and the gritty. After having signed all the “must-haves,” including Rob Gronkowski, the Buccaneers are still sitting on 21 free agents.

There are as yet still some well-known players on the list, and there are also some who are not as well known. Just for fun, let’s run through the list and see how close we can get to meeting what actually happens.  All there is to say is, “Do you like puzzles?” Anyway, for a fun read, follow along with these free agents for the Buccaneers.

Here is a list in alphabetical order:

Andrew Adams 

Adams has proven to be a resourceful backup at safety, but when Antoine Winfield Jr. came aboard, Adams’s value to the team dropped just a bit. Also, Jordan Whitehead and Mike Edwards pushed Adams back a bit in the order. But, Adams might be a cheap get and is certainly capable of playing safety.

Most true Bucs fans still remember that game in December of 2018 when Adams single-handedly defeated the Carolina Panthers, pulling in three INTs. His value may be higher on another team that is not quite as deep in the safety room, but money may make the difference.

Antony Auclair

Auclair served in the ranks mostly as a blocking TE. And really, who could blame the Bucs back then. They only recently picked up a true blocking TE and they just signed him to another one-year $10 million contract. Depending on what Tampa decides to do with Cameron Brate, Auclair may also find himself looking in from the outside soon.

Kenjon Barner

Barner may come back to the team, as he was a special teams standout, but again, the contract has to be Bucs friendly. It would not be the first time the Buccaneer brass let go of a good player who helped mostly in the kicking game.

Antonio Brown

Brown may have priced himself out of Tampa. His solid performances and the way he seemed to straighten out his off-field antics may entice some receiver-starved team to take a chance. Why not? He turned out pretty well in the season with Tampa, right? But don’t ignore the Tom Brady effect, and the influence of living at TB12’s house may have had. Still, if some team waves significant money his way, it’s hard to determine what he might choose to do, after all, it is AB.