The sudden retirement of left guard Ali Marpet leaves the Bucs in a tough spot entering free agency. Center Ryan Jensen and right guard Alex Cappa are free agents who the Bucs might not be willing to pay significant money. It’s not out of the question that a whole new interior offensive line could line up in Tampa Bay this season.

If only Jensen and Cappa had walked, the Bucs wouldn’t have panicked. Tampa Bay drafted Robert Hainsey last year, and have been encouraged with the growth of Aaron Stinnie, Nick Leverett and others. However, the prospect of losing all three starters is going to spur more aggression in free agency. Before, Tampa Bay may have been content to simply add a cheap center to compete with Hainsey. Now, they’ll likely look for a starter. Especially if Cappa moves on.

Here are the top options available in free agency.

RG Brandon Scherff, Washington Commanders – 30 years old

PFF Contract Projection: 3 years, $16.67M avg/yr ($30m guaranteed, $50m total)

Someone will probably give Scherff this kind of money, but it won’t be the Bucs. Scherff is a very good player, but he’s aging and already been injury prone. He hasn’t played a full season since 2016! That’s not going to get better as he gets older. Scherff is the best guard available in free agency, but these are the contracts you have to stay away from. And the Bucs will do just that.

LG Laken Tomlinson, San Francisco 49ers – 30 years old

PFF Contract Projection: 3 years, $9m avg/yr ($16.5m guaranteed, $27m total)

Tomlinson is a good example of a solid player who just doesn’t fit in Tampa Bay. He’s a lot better in the run game than he is in pass protection, which makes him ideal in San Francisco. Tomlinson is a physical, high character player, but he’s more of a zone blocker than an ideal gap scheme guard. He could work in Tampa Bay, but at 30 years old with a big scheme change ahead of him, it’s not ideal. Especially at $9 million per year. Just pay Cappa instead.

LG Andrew Norwell, Jacksonville Jaguars – 30 years old

PFF Contract Projection: 3 years, $7.25m avg/yr ($15m guaranteed, $21.75m total)

Norwell is still a solid player who could fit in Tampa Bay. He’s a good pass protector who won’t break the bank. But he is 30 years old looking at over $7 million per year. The Bucs may just want to go younger at the position. I like Norwell as a possibility however, especially if Tampa Bay can get him a bit cheaper. If they can front-load his contract, he’ll help bridge to younger players the Bucs will draft over the next two years.

Best Of The Rest For Bucs

Connor Williams, James Daniels and Austin Corbett are zone scheme heavy guards. Williams also isn’t good, and Daniels has his issues in pass protection. Corbett is a good player, I’m just not sure the fit is there.

Trai Turner had a decent year in Pittsburgh, but he’s a right guard with concerns in pass protection. There’s similar issues with the Colts’ Mark Glowinski, who is a better run blocker than pass protector. Plus, he’s nearly 30. After that, the options are pretty slim.

Bucs Should Look For Help Early In Draft

There simply aren’t many quality guards available in free agency for the Bucs to consider. Scherff, Tomlinson, Corbett and possibly Daniels are good players, but probably not good fits. Norwell is a possibility in Tampa Bay as a stop-gap. However, the Bucs are unlikely to find a long-term replacement for Marpet in free agency. Their money would be best spent re-signing Cappa.

Boston College G Zion Johnson – Photo by: USA Today

That means Tampa Bay must look to the draft for help. The Bucs could do that as early as the team’s first round pick at No. 27 overall. Right now, both the top two consensus guards in the draft, Texas A&M’s Kenyon Green and Boston College’s Zion Johnson, could be available. In my recent mock draft, I had the Bucs addressing the offensive line in Round 1.

It’s true that the Bucs have built their interior offensive line without using first round picks in the past. However, drafting at the end of Round 1 is a little bit different, especially in a class that leaves something to be desired. Also, Tampa Bay could be trying to replace three starters on their interior offensive line. All of that combined is grounds for expecting a break from the norm in GM Jason Licht’s drafting philosophy.