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Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds answers your questions from the @PewterReport Twitter account each week in the Bucs Mailbag. Submit your question to the Bucs Mailbag each week via Twitter using the hashtag #PRMailbag.  Here are the questions we chose to answer for this week’s edition.

QUESTION: How’s Shaq Barrett’s recovery going? Is there a reasonable expectation that he’s ready for the opener?

ANSWER: We didn’t get much of an answer from head coach Todd Bowles at the NFL Scouting Combine regarding 30-year old pass rusher Shaq Barrett’s recovery from a torn Achilles, other than him saying: “Well, 30 doesn’t seem bad. Tom [Brady] played until he was 45. It’s not a bad thing being 30 [laughs], but we will see how he comes back. He is where he needs to be right now. We will see going forward. It doesn’t have a bearing on what we will do or won’t do. You can’t have enough pass rushers regardless of who it is, but hopefully Shaq makes it back and we will see what happens.”

Bucs OLB Shaquil Barrett – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The team has been tight-lipped about where Barrett is in his recovery or if he will even be ready for training camp after tearing his Achilles in a Week 8 loss to Baltimore. Yet, if his recovery was going well or ahead of schedule, the Bucs would probably be raving about it confidently and publicly. Tampa Bay would have to be concerned about his ability to come back and play at a high level in 2023. The fact that Barrett turns 31 in November probably doesn’t give the team a lot of confidence, either.

That’s not to say that Barrett couldn’t come back and regain his form as a double-digit sacker. But Jason Licht and Todd Bowles must act like that won’t happen and select a pass-rushing outside linebacker in this year’s draft. Not only to safeguard the outside linebacker position in case Barrett fails to return to form, but also in case Joe Tryon-Shoyinka doesn’t live up to his draft billing as a former first-round pick capable of reaching double-digit sacks.

Iowa State’s Will McDonald, Auburn’s Derick Hall, Kansas State’s Felix Anudike-Uzomah and Missouri’s Isaiah McGuire all formally interviewed with the Bucs at the NFL Scouting Combine. McDonald is getting some late first-round buzz, while Hall is an early to mid-second-rounder, and Anudike-Uzomah is a late-second round candidate. McGuire is likely a third- or fourth-rounder.

QUESTION: Is this Bucs draft more focused on immediacy or depth for impending future departures?

ANSWER: The 2023 NFL Draft will be one that is focused on immediacy and finding starters and players who can contribute right away. The Bucs currently need a starting-caliber safety to play opposite free safety Antoine Winfield Jr. and a starting nickel cornerback. If Shaq Barrett isn’t on track to return by the start of the season, Tampa Bay could use another pass rusher to play opposite Joe Tryon-Shoyinka. Anthony Nelson is better as a backup than he is as a starter.

Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker – Photo by: USA Today

On offense, the Bucs could use a starting offensive tackle – either on the left side to replace Donovan Smith or on the right side if Tristan Wirfs moves to left tackle. So, there are several starting spots Tampa Bay can and need to fill later this month in the draft.

The only wild card would be if Kentucky quarterback Will Levis fell to the team at No. 19, or the Bucs wanted to draft Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker at No. 19 to give the team another young quarterback to throw into the mix with Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask. But in doing so, the Bucs would likely be giving up on Trask, a former second-rounder, before he even has the chance to compete with Mayfield for the starting job.

And a three-way competition for the starting job in training camp and the preseason would be a real problem in finding enough reps for each QB in camp practices. Drafting a QB would be overkill, unless it was Hooker. He likely won’t be medically cleared to participate in practice until the start of the regular season due to a torn ACL he suffered late in the year against South Carolina.

Drafting Hooker would definitely a pick geared toward the future because he would have to essentially redshirt this season, missing all of the OTAs, mini-camps and training camp as he recovers from his knee injury. As it pertains to this season and the team’s immediate needs, Hooker would be a wasted pick. But if he develops into the team’s franchise quarterback in 2024, it becomes a different story.

QUESTION: If the Bucs take Brian Branch at No. 19, will they mainly use him in the slot or at safety? I know he played most of his college reps at nickel, but it seems like they would get more value out of him in an every down role at strong safety next to Antoine Winfield Jr.

ANSWER: If the Bucs drafted Alabama safety Brian Branch with the 19th overall pick, the team would likely use him the way the Crimson Tide used him, and the way Todd Bowles deployed Antoine Winfield Jr. last year. Branch would be a slot safety. Meaning that when Tampa Bay is in nickel defense, Branch would play in the slot. But in base defense, Branch would be used as a safety lining up in the box or deep and playing opposite Winfield.

Alabama S Brian Branch – Photo by: USA Today

While some may question the value of drafting a safety in the first round, especially when offensive tackle might be a more pressing need and a better value selection, a player like Branch is essentially a starter at two spots. So there is some value in finding a starter in the slot and someone with the positional versatility to also play both safety spots.

It’s a unique skill set, and one that only a few players in this draft possess. Aside from Branch, Florida State’s Jammie Robinson and Illinois’ Jartavius “Quan” Martin are the other highly regarded hybrid safeties who can effectively play in the slot. The Bucs had formal meetings with all three players at the NFL Scouting Combine, in addition to a more traditional safety in Illinois’ Sydney Brown.

QUESTION: Let’s say the Bucs miss the playoffs this year and end up in the draft range from No. 7 to No. 15 for the 2024 draft. Could you see them being aggressive next year like Carolina to trade up? Seems like the quarterbacks next draft are even better with Caleb Williams and Drake Maye.

ANSWER: On the surface, the 2024 NFL Draft class appears to be loaded at the quarterback position with a better and deeper class of passers. USC’s Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams is the headliner, followed by North Carolina’s Drake Maye and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. Add in the likes of Tulane’s Michael Pratt, Florida State’s Jordan Travis, LSU’s Jayden Daniels, Notre Dame’s Sam Hartman, Arkansas’ K.J. Jefferson, Oregon’s Bo Nix and Coastal Carolina’s Grayson McCall and there are at least 10 very intriguing QB prospects next year.

Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy, Kansas State’s Will Howard, Oklahoma’s Dillon Gabriel and South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler could all put themselves in the conversation as legit NFL draft prospects next year with strong seasons in 2023. The same goes for Kentucky’s Devin Leary and Mississippi State’s Will Rogers.

If the Bucs were to draft between No. 7 and No. 15 next year as you suggest, it would seem likely they could still get one of the better quarterbacks – perhaps without even having to trade up. And of course, if Tampa Bay was inside the Top 10 and wanted to make a move up, it wouldn’t require as much draft capital as it would this year moving up from No. 19.

QUESTION: Are there any more salary cap moves that might still be coming, like any releases or restructures? And does the team need to make more room as well to sign their draft picks?

ANSWER: Yes, the Bucs do need to make some more moves to free up some salary cap space for a few more free agent signings, in addition to the team’s 2023 draft class, which will require around $7 million depending on how many draft selections the team winds up making later this month. The three moves Tampa Bay could make to free up some cap room includes contract extensions for wide receiver Mike Evans and linebacker Devin White and a restructure for outside linebacker Shaq Barrett.

Bucs WRs Chris Godwin and Mike Evans – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

An extension for Evans seems most likely. Even though he’s 30, Evans is a reliable, durable receiver who is coming off his ninth straight 1,000-yard season. Evans’ current cap value is $23,698,500, which is the highest on the team. The Bucs could free up as much as $10 million by doing a contract extension for Evans and lowering his 2023 cap number.

Evans is in a contract year, but he has three years worth of voidable years to absorb $12.198 million worth of prorated bonus money that he has already received. It makes sense to extend Evans, who is still one of the better starting receivers in the league, but in doing so, Tampa Bay would likely have to give Evans a raise. Right now, he is making an average of $16.5 million per season. The Bucs just re-signed Chris Godwin to a deal worth $20 million per season last year.

With Evans being the healthier and more productive receiver in terms of yards and touchdowns, he’s proven that he’s worth more than Godwin. That would saddle the Bucs with two receivers making $20 million per season, which would be a little rich.

But the Bucs seem hesitant to mess with Shaq Barrett’s contract. Barrett’s cap value in 2023 is $21,252,941, which is a lot for an aging pass rusher who turns 31 in November and is coming off a torn Achilles. He is under contract through 2024 and has two voidable years after that. The Bucs don’t want to push any more money into future years considering his age and the chance he may not be able to return to form.

The Bucs might want to hold off on extending the contract of White as he wants to be the league’s highest-paid linebacker. That means making over $20 million per season. White is set to play in his fifth-year option at $11.706 million. While the Bucs could lower his cap value for 2023 to save some money, are they ready to double his salary? I’m not sure. Tampa Bay might want to wait to see how White plays first before making such a huge commitment.