The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ wide receiving corps for next season is now set with No. 2 man Chris Godwin staying for another year after the team used the franchise tag on him. With top wideout Mike Evans and speedy target Scotty Miller still under contract, the Buccaneers have one of the most formidable wide receiving corps in the league right now. But this wouldn’t prevent the Buccaneers from signing a veteran wideout to provide quarterback Tom Brady with another dependable target. Right now, veteran wideout Antonio Brown is on the Buccaneers’ radar, but another option could be free agent wideout Larry Fitzgerald, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
It looked like Fitzgerald’s stint with the Arizona Cardinals could be coming to an end after the team signed A.J. Green to a deal. Currently, the Cardinals have DeAndre Hopkins, Christian Kirk and Green as wide receivers and have no room for Fitzgerald. A third overall pick by the Cardinals in 2004, Fitzgerald has played his entire career in Arizona, but he could be headed elsewhere in the offseason, with Florio raising the possibility that he could join Brady in Tampa Bay. The most important thing, according to Florio, is Fitzgerald has a close relationship with Brady. If he indeed joins the Buccaneers, Fitzgerald will have a strong chance of winning a Super Bowl ring before he calls it a career.
The Cardinals made it to the Super Bowl in 2008, but they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-23. In 263 career games, 261 of them starts, Fitzgerald has had 1,432 receptions for 17,492 yards and 121 touchdowns. Brady, in his first season with the Buccaneers, led the team to their first Super Bowl win since 2002 following a 31-9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Bucs sign kicker Ryan Succop
The Buccaneers made it official Thursday, signing veteran kicker Ryan Succop to a three-year deal, per Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com. The contract is worth $12 million, with $6.25 million in guaranteed money. Succop will earn $8.25 million in the first two years of the deal. Succop provided stability in the position for the Buccaneers as he made 37 of his 40 field goal tries and 64 of 70 extra point attempts last season.
Succop was a perfect nine for nine in the playoffs to help the Buccaneers capture Super Bowl LV.
Smith makes signing official
Starting left tackle Donovan Smith has made it official, signing a two-year extension that includes $30 million in guaranteed money over the next two seasons. According to Luke Easterling of USA Today, the deal helped lower his cap number for 2021 as the base salary was converted to signing bonus. Smith’s cap hit in 2021 will be a lowly $3.6 million, allowing the Buccaneers to sign defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh.
