FAB 2. Bucs’ 2019 Free Agents

In last week’s SR’s Fab 5, I discussed how the Buccaneers are facing a salary cap crunch for the first time in a long time in 2019. Tampa Bay enters the offseason with the fifth least cap room available with just $17,857,759, according to OverTheCap.com. In my latest SR’s Fab 5, I listed the players that could be cut or traded to free up an additional $60 million in cap space that would be needed to re-sign some of the Bucs’ own free agents, pursue other team’s free agents and sign the 2019 draft class.

Bucs WR Mike Evans and TE Cameron Brate – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The Big Takeaway
Bucs general manager Jason Licht and director of football administration Mike Greenberg already got a jump on the team’s 2019 free agency class with contract extensions for wide receiver Mike Evans, tight end Cameron Brate and guard Ali Marpet in 2018. Those were three big extensions down with three more to go in left tackle Donovan Smith, middle linebacker Kwon Alexander and wide receiver Adam Humphries before the start of free agency in March. Throw in kicker Cairo Santos too, although I’m not sure if the team will pursue a one-year prove-it contract or a multi-year deal.

The Bucs will have to create some cap room in the meantime to make those deals happen. Keep in mind that only the Top 51 salaries count towards the cap during the offseason, and that nearly half of the 90-man roster will consist of players making the league minimum, and over a dozen of those will be rookies from the draft and undrafted free agency and they will be the cheapest of all. Here is a look at all of the free agents – unrestricted, restricted and exclusive rights free agents – that Tampa Bay has coming up:

Unrestricted Free Agents
LT Donovan Smith
MLB Kwon Alexander
WR Adam Humphries
K Cairo Santos
CB Brent Grimes
SS Chris Conte
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
QB Ryan Griffin
RB Jacquizz Rodgers
LB Adarius Taylor
LS Garrison Sanborn
LB Kevin Minter
LB Cameron Lynch
S Josh Shaw
DT Rakeem Nunez-Roches
Notes: The new head coach will likely have some say in which players stay based on scheme fit, but per his contract, general manager Jason Licht has control of the 90-man roster in the offseason – unless something changes with the head coaching hire and he cedes control. I discussed Smith, Alexander, Humphries and Santos. Those appear to be the offseason priorities for Licht and the front office.

Bucs CB Brent Grimes – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The 35-year old Grimes certainly won’t be back after a poor 2018 season. Rodgers was one of Dirk Koetter’s favorites and he likely won’t return as well. There’s a chance that the Bucs start over at backup quarterback and don’t re-sign either Fitzpatrick or Griffin. Minter and Taylor might return based on scheme fit, while Conte might have worn out his welcome in Tampa Bay.

Restricted Free Agents
RB Peyton Barber
S Andrew Adams
CB Javien Elliott
TE/FB Alan Cross
CB DeVante Harris
LB Devante Bond
RT Leonard Wester
Notes: Unlike last year when tight end Cameron Brate was signed to a contract extension instead of being given a one-year restricted free agent tender, look for these players to be offered one-year tenders. Licht likes Barber and Cross a lot, so they will be priorities, while Adams helped solidify the safety position and led the team with four interceptions and should be brought to camp along with Elliott, who improved a lot and had his first career interception. The jury is out on Bond and Wester, but don’t be surprised if they are re-signed to one-year deals for depth.

Exclusive Rights Free Agents
OL Michael Liedtke
S Isaiah Johnson
Notes: These players can only negotiate with the Buccaneers and both have done enough to receive one-year exclusive rights free agent offers and be brought to camp for competition.

The FABulous Ending
Licht and Greenberg have some work to do this offseason before the start of free agency, but really no more than in any other year due to some of the heavy lifting from a contract extension standpoint with Evans, Brate and Marpet. The Bucs don’t even have to cut all of the players that I listed in the previous SR’s Fab 5 to carve out an extra $60 million in cap space – unless they are really want to purse several big-name free agents.