The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have agreed to terms with nose tackle Greg Gaines on a one-year, $3.5 million contract, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.
“Greg Gaines' one-year deal with the Bucs is worth $3.5 million with a max value of $4 million, per source,” wrote Fowler on Thursday. “The 26-year-old set to be big part of the rotation.”
Gaines spent the first four seasons of his career with the Los Angeles Rams after being selected in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He won a Super Bowl with the franchise in Super Bowl LVI when the team defeated the Cincinnati Bengals, 23-20.
Gaines will reunite with fellow nose tackle Vita Vea; the two teamed up to give the University of Washington a dominant defensive front from 2015-17. The former Huskies teammates both have rings after Vea won his title with the Bucs in 2020.
It's a much-needed signing for Tampa Bay, bolstering an interior line crew that has been significantly thinned by free agency; “of the seven down linemen who took snaps for the Buccaneers in 2022, five became free agents last Wednesday,” wrote Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com on Thursday.
Gaines has accumulated 91 tackles, 8.5 sacks, 10 tackles for loss and 24 quarterback hits over the last two seasons. Over his first four seasons overall, he played in 55 games with 29 starts, postseason included, and recorded 137 tackles, 11.0 sacks, 13 tackles for loss and 25 quarterback hits, per Smith.
Will Gholston, Akiem Hicks, Rakeem Nunez-Roches and Deadrin Senat all become unrestricted free agents last week, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will hope that Greg Gaines can be a crucial part of the defensive side of the ball in 2023.
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