The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are releasing one of their longest-tenured players in center/guard Evan Smith on Saturday, per The Athletic's Greg Auman.
Smith, 33, has been with the Bucs since 2014 after a four-year stint with the Green Bay Packers. He had only appeared in seven games for Tampa Bay during the 2018 season due to a hip injury.
Auman noted that Smith was due to earn $2 million next season and had surgery on both hips, which troubled his training camp with the Bucs and led to the Idaho State product receiving reps with the second team prior to his release.
The 6-foot-2, 308-pound offensive lineman won a Super Bowl with the Packers in 2010-11 although he did not play the regular season; he had been signed the last day of December before the playoffs had commenced.
The Bucs' longest-tenured player is 33-year-old tackle Demar Dotson, who has been with the organization since 2009, when he signed with the team as an undrafted free agent. Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy would be the next longest-tenured Tampa player, but he signed with the Carolina Panthers in the offseason. After Dotson, linebacker Lavonte David is the second most veteran Bucs player. David, a one-time Pro-Bowler, has been with the franchise since 2012, when he was selected in the second round of the draft by Tampa Bay out of Nebraska.
It's unclear what the next move for Smith is following his return from double hip surgery. He could retire or possibly find a practice squad contract with another franchise.
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