ESPN lists Buccaneers as 'best fit' for top free agent quarterback

We're now deep into the NFL offseason, so much so that we're about to enter the summer lull.

That doesn't mean teams won't still be active in trying to improve the roster, but with training camp around the corner things will likely die down a bit. We haven't seen the last free agency wave crest, though, as some top names are still available and offseason cuts will saturate the market one final time.

As is the case every year, some notable veterans will find themselves looking for work in August, but there are already a handful of big names available. One of those guys is starting to pretty consistently get connected to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the point where it feels like a deal might actually happen.

ESPN lists Buccaneers as 'Best Fit' for Ryan Tannehill

ESPN's Matt Bowen went through the top remaining free agents and tried to find the best fit for each. Tampa Bay popped up when it came time to find a home for Ryan Tannehill, which is not the first time the idea of him backing up Baker Mayfield has been suggested but it's notable that we keep hearing about it.

"A healthy Tannehill would benefit from the expected heavy doses of play-action in the pass game under new coordinator Liam Coen. In 10 games played with the Titans last season, Tannehill completed 64.8% of his passes for 1,616 yards, 4 touchdown throws and 7 interceptions. Put Tampa Bay down as a team to watch with Tannehill this summer," Bowen wrote.

Tannehill has been linked to the Bucs going back to last season when he was rumored as a trade target for Tampa Bay. He was also pegged as a potential camp casualty for Tennessee, in which case Tampa Bay was listed as a landing spot.

He's best off waiting things out to see if a starting role opens up somewhere in the league due to an injury, but it makes a ton of sense for the Bucs to scoop him up before then. He'd give the team incredible insurance for Baker Mayfield, and the event a team needs a starter Tampa Bay can trade Tannehill and get something back.

Of course, Tannehill waiting out the market until training camp is in his best interest since he'd hold all of the cards. It's something to keep an eye on, though, as Tampa Bay adding a Pro Bowler to backup Mayfield feels like an incredible cherry on top of the offseason Jason Licht has put together.

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