Tanner Hudson will not head to Free Agency

Tanner Hudson will not be heading to free agency; instead, he has been signed to a one-year deal. Originally heading to free agency as an exclusive rights free agent (ERFA), the Buccaneers did not want to deal with all of the legal mumbo-jumbo that follows such a destination.

Meaning: 

“As a player with two or fewer accrued seasons of free agency credit, Hudson would have started free agency as an exclusive rights free agent (ERFA) if the Buccaneers had extended him a one-year tender offer prior to March 18. Since Hudson would have then been able to negotiate only with the Buccaneers, the next logical step would have been to sign that tender upon hitting free agency, converting it into his contract for 2020. Hudson and the team just accelerated the process by getting a contract in place five days before the start of the new league year.” – Scott Smith, senior writer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Hudson was a preseason nightmare in 2019 playing in all 4 games catching 19 of 28 passes for 245 yards with a long of 61 yards and 3 touchdowns. During the regular season, he saw action in 9 games, starting 1, but was targeted just five times catching two for 26 yards.