Bucs at front of free agency 'arms race' Published 25 minutes ago By David Steele Sporting News RSS 
Lovie Smith (AP Photo)Congratulations to the Sporting News NFL Executive of the Quarter-Year, Tampa Bay’s Lovie Smith. Also, congratulations to Sporting News for blatantly making up a new award just to give it to him. The award normally given out is for a full season, but what Smith has done with one of the league’s more dysfunctional franchises deserves special recognition.Considering the Buccaneers’ assets, or lack of them, nobody has done more in the early part of the 2014 free-agent season than Smith, the new head coach, and Jason Licht, the ex-Cardinals' and Patriots' executive hired to be Smith’s GM. Broncos vice president John Elway called the battle for talent between his team and the Patriots “kind of a fun arms race." They already have weapons, though. Smith entered free agency armed with a slingshot. But his reputation, connection with players and respect from them have put him in the fight in just 2 1/2 months on the job. To an organization still reeling from the disastrous two-year Greg Schiano fiasco, Smith has signed quarterback Josh McCown (the new starter), left tackle Anthony Collins, guard Evan Dietrich-Smith, guard Oneil Cousins and tight end Brandon Myers for the offense; and cornerback Alterraun Verner , defensive end Michael Johnson , defensive tackle Clifton McDonald and linebacker Dane Fletcher for the defense. He also re-signed promising running back Bobby Rainey. Verner, Johnson, Collins and McDonald were on Sporting News’s list of the top 50 free agents. The gutsiet move: releasing cornerback Darrelle Revis after just 11 months. Smith and Licht inherited a roster that started last year 0-8 on the way to 4-12, a young quarterback (Mike Glennon) anointed by the old regime in the wake of the mishandled Josh Freeman benching, a feature back (Doug Martin) who missed most of the season injured, the NFL’s worst offense and a middle-of-the-pack defense that was about to lose the expensive Revis. It’s a legacy of championships versus a legacy of MRSA . The regular season is still nearly six months away, so the Bucs may have won nothing more than the unwanted “offseason championship.” Still, so far, Smith has made his team as much of a contender as the Super Bowl favorites.
