The Tampa Bay Buccaneers continue their busy offseason with yet another splash. Jason Licht and company have reached an agreement with the Houston Texans to trade veteran guard Shaq Mason to the Lone Star State, as first reported by NFL insider Tom Pelissero on Tuesday morning.
The deal involves a “late-round pick swap, a 6th rounder for a 7th rounder,” NFL insider Ian Rapoport would further report.
This news comes just a day after initial rumblings surfaced stating that the Buccaneers were shopping the 29-year-old. Shaq Mason's departure now clears out what was expected to be a cap hit of $9.6 million, thus helping the organization inch closer to the league's required $224.8 million cap figure before March 15’s 4 p.m. cutoff.
The lineman leaves Tampa Bay as he arrived, as he was acquired by the franchise via trade last offseason to help protect star signal-caller Tom Brady for what would ultimately be his final year in the NFL.
Mason, an eight-year veteran, spent the first seven years of his professional career with the New England Patriots, five of which with Brady. During his tenure in Foxborough, he went on to appear in three Super Bowls, winning two against the Atlanta Falcons (2016) and Los Angeles Rams (2018).
This deal by the Buccaneers marks yet another financially driven move by the front office this offseason, with the restructuring of key defensive tackle Vita Vea’s contract and the release of offensive lineman Donovan Smith serving as two recent examples.
One of the club's next cap-crunching transactions is expected to be the release of veteran running back Leonard Fournette. The 28-year-old still has one year left on his current contract holding a worth of $6.5 million.
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