After winning their second Super Bowl in franchise history, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are flying high or rather sailing high. Like most organizations though, especially ones with Tom Brady as their quarterback, they will not rest on their laurels.
The front office needs to make some difficult decisions this offseason. Some notable Tampa Bay free agents are wide receiver Chris Godwin, edge rusher Shaquil Barrett, defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh, linebacker Lavonte David, tight end Rob Gronkowski and running back Leonard Fournette. Each of these players helped make last season's success possible.
When you look at all the names up there, suddenly the team's $13,361,683 cap space does not seem that much. Another problem for the Buccaneers is that Super Bowl-winning free agents come at a premium, meaning teams are willing to even overpay for these players making continuity more difficult. With the pandemic ongoing, team practices would be more challenging, so team chemistry is now even more important.
With that said, here are two free agents Tampa Bay would be better off not signing.
1. RB Adrian Peterson
The Buccaneers are a pass-first team, but towards the end of the season and in the playoffs, the ground game gained traction. Having two sledgehammers in Ronald Jones II and Fournette paid dividends in unleashing a dynamic offense.
Peterson is going to be in the Hall of Fame and was the last non-quarterback to win league MVP when he rushed for more than 2,000 yards in the 2012 season. He has a physical running style that forced opposing defenses to stack the box to try and mitigate his impact. At age 35, he is best used as a complementary rusher. In the 16 regular-season games he played last season for the Detroit Lions, he ran for 604 yards and seven touchdowns. He started 10 of those 16 games.
Peterson has been healthy as of late and it's a testament to his conditioning that he is still able to play. After all running backs have a notoriously short shelf—life and usually their performance falls off a clip when they reach 30. Nevertheless, he has an injury history, and signing with the Buccaneers means a longer season than what he has been accustomed to.
Tampa Bay already has several veterans on the roster and it would be wise if they got younger at the position. Quality running backs are regularly available late in the draft. Also, there are several interesting free agents that would be a better fit, while also not causing too significant a cap hit—former New England Patriot James White and the well-rounded Jamaal Williams. Both players can act as a safety valve and feature prominently in the passing game.
2. EDGE Jadeveon Clowney
Believe it or not, there was a time when Clowney was considered a once-in-a-decade talent. After seven seasons as a professional with several injuries, that prediction was overblown, although he was a three-time Pro Bowler with the Houston Texans. Clowney mostly underwhelmed in his next stops with the Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans. He only played a total of 21 games with those two teams.
Clowney was projected as a game-wrecker in both passing and rushing plays. Only one of those came true. Despite his elite athleticism and 6-foot-5, 255-pound frame, he was never really great at getting to the quarterback. He had three sacks with the Seahawks and none with the Titans.
He is great at stopping the run though. With today's passing offenses becoming more potent, that skill set should not command top dollar. Next season, he will most likely have another one-year contract with a large guaranteed amount.
Clowney is between not being consistent enough to warrant a long-term deal, but tantalizing enough to get signed to relatively big deals. Being a former No. 1 overall pick certainly has its advantages.
The Buccaneers had the best run defense last season, even when they did not have much of nose tackle Vita Vea. The team needs a reliable, athletic, pass rush without having to resort to the blitz and Clowney does not check all the boxes required. At 28, he is not nearly old enough to take a significant pay cut and ring-chase.
A possible option to replace Barrett is Bud Dupree. He will have to adjust to a 4-3 defense and there are safer options out there, but they also command a much higher asking price. It is important to note that his old team was stacked on defense and he may have been a beneficiary of that defense more than a contributor. Dupree sustained a major injury, but consistently gets sacks and plays relentlessly, and does not give up on plays.
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