Table of Contents

About the Author: Mark Cook

Avatar Of Mark Cook
Mark Cook currently is the director of editorial content and Bucs beat writer and has written for PewterReport.com since 2011. Cook has followed the Buccaneers since 1977 when he first began watching football with his Dad and is fond of the 1979 Bucs team that came within 10 points of going to a Super Bowl. His favorite Bucs game is still the 1979 divisional playoff win 24-17 over the Eagles. In his spare time Cook enjoys playing guitar, fishing, the beach and family time.Cook is a native of Pinecrest in Eastern Hillsborough County and has written for numerous publications including the Tampa Tribune, In the Field and Ya'll Magazine. Cook can be reached at [email protected]

[adrotate group=”1″]

Behind Enemy Lines is a weekly look at Tampa Bay’s NFC South foes every Tuesday morning. Let’s spy on the Bucs’ division rivals, shall we?

Atlanta Falcons

• Like the Buccaneers, the Falcons have a ton of players (22) slated to become unrestricted free agents in March with the most notables being pass rusher Vic Beasley and tight end Austin Hooper. Last week at the Senior Bowl, general manager Thomas Dimitroff said that the organization was unsure of what direction the club was going to go in regards to bringing Beasley back or not.

Beasley, a former first-round pick, has been a disappointment since his Pro Bowl season in 2016 when he recorded 15.5 sacks and six forced fumbles, notching just 18 sacks the last three years for Atlanta. The Falcons are desperate for pass rush help as they finished 29th in the league in sacks. On Monday the Falcons officially declared that they will not pursue a new deal for Beasley, making him an unrestricted free agent on March 18.

With Atlanta moving on from Beasley, look for them to make pass rush help a high priority in free agency and also in the NFL Draft. Several mock drafts that have been released have the Falcons selecting Iowa defensive end A.J. Epenesa.

Falcons Lb Vic Beasley

Falcons LB Vic Beasley – Photo by: Getty Images

Hooper has been much more productive, including nabbing 75 passes for 787 yards and six touchdowns in 2019. But expecting him to command as much as $10 million a season as a free agent, the Falcons may chose to let Hooper walk.

The good news for Atlanta is it has a young tight end in Jaeden Graham, who showed promise this season when filling in for an injured Hooper. Graham averaged 16.6 yards on nine receptions. That isn’t very large sample to go by, but some in the organization think Graham in an expanded role could develop into a productive tight end with quarterback Matt Ryan and in offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter’s tight end-friendly playbook. But expect the Falcons to look to add a tight end in free agency and possibly the upcoming draft.

Atlanta has over $4.3 million in dead cap money, which doesn’t help the team’s cause in free agency, especially since it has just $5,292,104 in available cap space right now. Look for Dimitroff to try and re-work some current contacts to free up some more cap room prior to the start of free agency.

• The Falcons announced something that some Bucs fans have been hoping to hear – that is new uniforms coming this season. Owner Arthur Blank in a recent letter to season ticket holders said, “Time and again, we’ve heard you ask for new uniforms over the years. We’ve listened to your feedback and worked closely with Nike and the NFL over the past two years to create a look that represents you and reflects Atlanta’s culture, pride and unity.”

It would be the first uniform change for Atlanta since the latest look was debuted 17 years ago.

Carolina Panthers

• The Panthers are a team in rebuild mode that won’t resemble anything like the 7-9 team we saw start the 2019 season. Ron Rivera was fired before the end of the season and Carolina brought in former Baylor coach Matt Rhule, who had great success turning around Temple and Baylor. Rhule was able to pry away LSU’s passing game coordinator Joe Brady, who was credited for much of the Tigers’ offensive success and development of Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow last season. He’ll serve as the Panthers’ offensive coordinator.

Phil Snow, Rhule’s defensive coordinator at Baylor, followed Rhule to Carolina where he will maintain that role for the Panthers.

Former Panthers Lb Luke Kuechly

Former Panthers LB Luke Kuechly – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

• The Panthers were dealt a blow earlier this month when Pro Bowl linebacker Luke Kuechly abruptly announced his retirement. And questions abound who will be under center when the Panthers take the field this year. Quarterback Cam Newton’s future with the Panthers is still up in the air, and Kyle Allen, who started hot early last season after taking over for the injured Newton, struggled down the stretch.

Allen struggled so much that the Panthers ended up starting rookie Will Grier the final two games. But Grier only played briefly in the season finale due to a foot injury, and didn’t do much to impress or excite the organization. Newton is 30, coming off a foot injury, and is set to make $21.1 million in 2020, which is the final year of his contract.

• Last week, the Panthers and tight end Greg Olsen decided to part ways after 13 years in the NFL and nine seasons with Carolina. Some expected Olson to possibly hang it up and retire, but reports late Monday have Olsen meeting with the Bills soon. The Panthers still have one of the game’s best talents in running back Christian McCaffrey and an up-and-comer at wide receiver in D.J. Moore, but not a whole lot else other than questions marks.

• The Panthers are set to have just over $32.687 million in salary cap space heading into the 2020 offseason due to the departures of Olsen and Kuechly, yet Carolina has over $14 million in dead cap money – largely due to former center Matt Kalil’s contract ($9.8 million). With 14 unrestricted free agents, the Panthers, like the Falcons, will have to shop wisely. Their most notable free agents include top cornerback James Bradbury, and defensive linemen Mario Addison, whose final contract year was voided, and Gerald McCoy. Bradbury is thought to be a priority for Carolina this offseason, but soon after the season ended, he said he feels like he is one of the top corners in the league and wants to be paid as such.

New Orleans Saints

• The million dollar question in New Orleans, or should we say the $30 million dollar question, is what will Drew Brees do? The future Hall of Famer stated at the Pro Bowl last week he was going to take some time to determine if he wanted to play for one more season.

One thing Brees made clear was that it would be in New Orleans or he would retire. The Saints are hoping Brees comes back for one more season, as the team possibly grooms jack-of-all trades Taysom Hill as his eventual replacement. However, Hill is a restricted free agent, and backup Teddy Bridgewater, who went 5-0 as a starter this year, is an unrestricted free agent. With the writing on the wall that Hill will be Brees’ heir apparent, Bridgewater will look for a starting job elsewhere in the league.

Saints Qb Teddy Bridgewater And Bucs Olb Shaq Barrett

Saints QB Teddy Bridgewater and Bucs OLB Shaq Barrett – Photo by: Getty Images

• The Saints claimed former Giants cornerback Janoris Jenkins off of waivers last December and he was solid over the last month of the season. The 30-year old Jenkins reportedly wants to continue his career in New Orleans, and now the Saints will need to make a decision as they have his option for 2020 that will pay him $11.25 million.

• The Saints enter the 2020 with 18 unrestricted free agents, including starters wide receiver Ted Ginn, Jr., and safety Vonn Bell, as well as Brees, Bridgewater and linebacker A.J. Klein – all three of whom had voided contract years. However, with just over $9.4 million in projected cap space this year, the Saints and general manager Mickey Loomis will need to be very creative and careful in signing players they want back before even considering diving into the free agent market.

• The Saints draft needs include cornerback, wide receiver and offensive line and mock drafts are all over the place with what New Orleans will do with their first round pick (No.24) with NFL.com having them selecting wide receiver Henry Ruggs III, while some have even suggested the Saints select Brees’ eventual replacement at quarterback by taking QB Jordan Love.

– Salary cap information from OverTheCap.com unless otherwise noted.

Bucs Qb Jameis WinstonBucs Monday Mailbag: Brady To Bucs, Winston INTs, Odd Man Out
Washington Qb Jacob EasonBucs 2020 Mock Draft Roundup 2.0
Subscribe
Notify of
30 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments