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

QUESTION: So now that Tom Brady is back, I assume Rob Gronkowski will be back as well. Who is the third wide receiver for Brady. Has to be a veteran like JuJu Smith-Schuster, right?

ANSWER: The Bucs do hope that Rob Gronkowski comes back for another season now that Tom Brady has decided to play for a 23rd year. You can bet that Brady has already put a phone call in to his favorite tight end to gauge his interest in playing a 12th season. With only two tight ends under contract – Cameron Brate and Codey McElroy – Tampa Bay could use another one. Especially one as talented as Gronk. Gronkowski, who will turn 33 in May, caught 55 passes for 802 yards (14.6 avg.) and six touchdowns in 2021. Chances are that Gronkowski would have had a 1,000-yard season had he not missed five games due to injury. Gronkowski had four 1,000-yard seasons earlier in his career at New England.

Bucs CB Brent Grimes – Photo by: Mary Holt/PR

He posted 45 receptions for 623 yards (13.8 avg.) and seven touchdowns in his first season in Tampa Bay after coming out of retirement in 2020. Then Gronkowski caught the Bucs’ first two touchdowns in Super Bowl LV. So last year was an improvement statistically, despite missing five games in 2021. Gronkowski didn’t miss any games in 2020 after sitting out the 2019 campaign during a retirement that lasted one year.

As for a potential veteran No. 3 receiver, Pittsburgh’s JuJu Smith-Schuster is an option to replace Antonio Brown. He signed a one-year deal worth $8 million last year with the Steelers, but an early season-ending shoulder injury caused him to miss most of last year. Smith-Schuster could sign another one-year deal worth between $6-8 million.

Another cheaper option could be Kansas City’s Byron Pringle. He’s a Tampa native, who could sign a two-year deal worth between $3-5 million per season with the Bucs or another team. The Bucs will almost certainly select a wide receiver early in the 2022 NFL Draft. Ohio State’s Chris Olave and North Dakota State’s Christian Watson are names to keep in mind.

QUESTION: Do you see Tom Brady signing a extension so the Bucs could push some of the money into the future and sign more guys that are free agents ?

ANSWER: That is something the team is considering, but hasn’t pulled the trigger on yet. Tampa Bay will see how much salary cap room they can clear with other restructures and asking tight end Cam Brate for a pay cut first before kicking the can down the road again with Brady. That’s a short answer, but that’s all we’ve got right now. It is a possibility.

QUESTION: Do the Bucs keep Kyle Trask as QB2?

ANSWER: With Tom Brady’s return to Tampa Bay, the Bucs now have two quarterbacks under contract for 2022. Kyle Trask, who is entering his second season with the team, is the other one. Trask spent his rookie season as the Bucs’ fourth-string quarterback behind Brady, Blaine Gabbert and veteran Ryan Griffin, who was on the practice squad.

There is a chance Griffin doesn’t come back, but the Bucs are hopeful that Gabbert re-signs for veteran depth. With four years in Bruce Arians’ offense, Gabbert knows the system better than any quarterback. Trask will be back, but not necessarily as QB2.

Trask will have to earn the backup quarterback job by beating out Gabbert. That’s not a given despite his second-round draft status and talent. Gabbert is clearly more experienced. But if Trask was worth a second-day draft pick, he should be able to really challenge Gabbert for the role to backup Brady in training camp.

QUESTION: After Chris Godwin, who are the top three free agent re-signings that Bucs management is focusing on?

ANSWER: There is a chance that the Bucs can come to terms with a player or two early on that is not necessarily a top priority. But it would be another player that comes to the table quickly with perhaps an easy, one-year deal like Aaron Stinnie did. Maybe it’s linebacker Kevin Minter, defensive end Will Gholston or backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert.

Bucs WR Chris Godwin – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

As far as Tampa Bay’s top priorities after Chris Godwin, the team already re-signed center Ryan Jensen after Tom Brady’s return. That was a big one given the fact that Pro Bowl left guard Ali Marpet suddenly retired this offseason. After Jensen, it’s likely cornerback Carlton Davis III, followed by safety Jordan Whitehead. That’s my best guess.

Keeping those two may be a real challenge for the Bucs. Davis likely gets $15 million per year or more. I’m not sure what the Bucs’ value is for him, but it may not be much more. It certainly wasn’t $17 million per year, because that was roughly the amount of the franchise tag for the cornerback position. And the Bucs never considered using it on Davis – even if they didn’t have to use it on Godwin.

Keep in mind that the Bucs have a value set for each player and if a player’s market value exceeds that – even if it’s Davis or Whitehead – the team will move on rather than overpay. It’s never a good idea to overpay for a player – even if it creates another hole in the starting lineup. Expect the Bucs to lose Alex Cappa as a result. He’ll fetch $10 million or more in free agency – likely from a team like Cincinnati.

QUESTION: Any word on re-signing Will Gholston?

ANSWER: The Bucs are definitely interested in re-signing Will Gholston. He’s a perfect five-technique defensive end for Todd Bowles defense. Gholston has been a great Buccaneer since joining the team in 2013. He’s a homegrown player that has done a lot of the dirty work on defense in helping Tampa Bay win Super Bowl LV.

At age 30, Gholston had his best season as a pass rusher with 4.5 sacks. He’s definitely worth bringing back, and I know he wants to stay in Tampa Bay. He’s finally found his fit in Todd Bowles’ defense after playing in different schemes under Greg Schiano, Lovie Smith and Dirk Koetter.

Gholston is one of my favorite players. He’s a great interview and I love his workman-like attitude on the field. Gholston will never be a Pro Bowler, but he’s a semi-star in Tampa Bay. The guess here is that he returns on a one or two-year deal worth around $5 million per season.