Grading the Buccaneers first 8 moves of free agency

Re-signed Chase Edmonds to two-year deal

Before the day was done the Bucs managed to sneak one more deal in. Tampa Bay reached an agreement to re-sign Chase Edmonds, who figures to once again be the team's RB2 behind Rachaad White.

Edmonds missed a large chunk of last season with an injury, but he's someone the team clearly believes in. He finished the season with under 200 yards in 13 games, but Jason Licht mentioned him among the players he'd throw another boat parade for if he ended up re-signing.

Todd Bowles said at the NFL Combine that he'd like to see the Bucs add another running back, which could mean this isn't the last addition to the backfield. There are still interesting names available, most notably AJ Dillon who seems to be a fit, but whoever comes to Tampa Bay will have Edmonds in the room with them to help gameplan each week.

Grade: B-

Released Russell Gage

This one stings, and there's no real way to grade it without being gauche, but it releasing Russell Gage was a pretty notable move the Bucs made on the first day of free agency.

Gage missed all of last season after suffering a brutal leg injury in training camp, and as the season went on he was seemingly pushed out of the plans. The emergence of Trey Palmer rendered Gage expendable and the money the Bucs saved releasing him sealed his fate.

By declining the option on his deal, the Bucs shed what would have been $10 million in salary, and created around $6 million in cap space. That, combined with the Carlton Davis trade, means the Bucs have roughly $12 million in additional space to go out and make a move with.

This could be used as part of getting a deal done with Antoine Winfield Jr., or it could be a precursor to the Bucs making a move in free agency. As the first day of the tampering window came to an end, Tampa Bay was the only team that didn't make an external agreement, but after cutting Gage that could be about to change.

Grade: N/A