The Tide is Turning: Offense Pt.1
6 min read
Image Credits: Scott Audette | Tampa Bay Buccaneers
New Sherrif in Town.
Unless you have been living under a rock, you have heard the news that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have signed Tom Brady to a 2-year $50m deal guaranteed with $9 million in incentives. The contract language also called for a no-tag, no-trade clause which will allow Brady to control his future, whether that’s to stay in Tampa, or head to another team and continue playing at the age of 45.
Here is the breakdown of the two-year, $50 million contract that Brady signed – per Albert Breer.
2020: $10 million roster bonus, $15 million base, $4.5 million in incentives.
2021: $10 million roster bonus, $15 million base, $4.5 million in incentives.
Performance incentives (in each year): $562.5K each for a top 5 finish in passer rating, yards, TDs, completion percentage, and yards/attempt, capped at $2.25 million.
Team incentives (in each year): $500K for playoffs, $750K for a playoff win, $1.25 million for making the NFC title game, $1.75 million for making the Super Bowl, $2.25 million for winning the Super Bowl.
A minimum of 224 attempts is required for performance incentives, and 75% playing time for team incentives.
Adding An Offensive Lineman.
Following the news of Brady’s signing came the announcement that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have signed former Colts offensive tackle, Joe Haeg, to a 1-year $2.3m contract. Haeg was selected by the Colts in the 5th round of the 2016 NFL Draft, where he played in 15 games, starting 14 in his rookie season. Haeg played left and right tackle at the University of North Dakota, making him versatile, but he’s spent most of his NFL career playing all over the line. Bucs sure do love some offensive journeymen. He could become starting right tackle dependant on what happens with Demar Dotson, but either way, having a guy that can play guard and tackle is always a good thing.
Bucs Bring Back WR Bryant Mitchell.
In 2019, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Bryant Mitchell, after he was recently waived from the Arizona Cardinals. He looked good in camp and played well during the first preseason game against the Steelers. He was thrown to 5 times catching all 5 passes for 32 yards before tearing his Achilles. He was later placed on injured reserve on August 13th of 2019 and had surgery to repair his torn Achilles shortly afterward.
Mitchell played for Northwestern State from 2013-2014, catching 53 passes for 564 yards and 5 TDs. He went on to play for the CFL team Edmonton Eskimos from 2016-2018, playing in 19 games catching 97 passes for 1,418 yards and 6 TDs.
He has re-signed with Tampa on Thursday to a one year contract. He will be solid depth if he makes it through again this year. Details of his contract are not known at the moment, but I’d assume that it will be higher than the $387k he signed for last year.
Cameron Brate and Bucs Restructure Contract.
Cameron Brate was due to make $6m of his $40.8m contract he signed in 2018. The reconstruction is team friendly and has incentives. Brate will now make $4.25m this year with incentives, and make $6.5m the following season. There could be another restructure coming in the future, as following 2021 he will be due $6.8m in 2022 and then $7.5m in 2023 – If he remains with the team. Not too shabby for an undrafted free agent out of Harvard, who had been waived, re-signed to the practice squad, waived again, and then finally re-signed for good. Tom Brady is going to put this man to work.
Tanner Hudson Re-Signed.
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
Bucs Re-Sign Antony Auclair.
Antony Auclair will get a one year contract with the Buccaneers for the 2020 season. Auclair is an undrafted free agent that signed with the Buccaneers in 2017. He has been an integral part of blocking schemes. Last season he earned the 3rd spot the depth chart last season before being injured in week 9 and ultimately placed on Injury Reserve.
Peyton Barber Signs With Another Team.
I truly liked Peyton Barber and as sad as it makes me that he’s gone, I truly hope he succeeds in Washington. Barber recently signed a two-year $3m, $600k guaranteed deal with the ‘Skins. Barber signed with Tampa as an undrafted free agent out of Auburn in 2016. He played for two seasons filling in for Doug Martin occasionally. In those two seasons behind Martin, he played in 31 games starting 5 of them, carrying the football 163 times for 646 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also caught 21 of 25 passes for 142 yards and 5 touchdowns.
In 2018, Doug martin was out and Peyton Barber was named the starter. In ’18 he carried the ball 234 times for 871 yards and 5 touchdowns while catching 25 passes for 91 yards and a touchdown.
An up and coming Ronald Jones was lying in wait.
As the 2019 season rolled around, Barber was again named the starter, but the up and comer began to have a breakout season and took over the starting job. Barber still finished the season on a high note with 154 carries for 470 yards and 6 touchdowns while hauling in 16 passes for 115 yards and 1 touchdown.
Barber will benefit from Adrian Peterson’s tutelage while in Washington and will bring tough competition to the team and should find himself playing a major role in the running game.
Breshad Perriman Catches on With Another Team.
Perriman came in with many questions surrounding him. Will he learn to catch a football? Can he stay healthy?
After a shaky start to the season, the veteran began showing signs that he totally can get it. He started in 4 games and played in 14, but when he had his chance later in the season, he showed signs that he could be someone’s number 1 or number 2. From week 10 on, Perriman’s numbers shot through the roof. He hauled in 25 passes for 506 yards and 5 touchdowns. He had a career year in Tampa in just the final 5 games of the season, ending his stay with 36 receptions 645 yards and 6 touchdowns. He will certainly be an asset to the New York Jets.
Jameis Winston rides the tide out of Tampa.
Yes, we know, everyone knows. Some rejoiced while others cried, but business is business, and Jameis Winston was no longer seen as the guy who could take us all the way. For all of the good he has done and the fair share of the bad, Jameis Winston will always be a part of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers organization, considering he smashed most if not all of the Bucs franchise records.
Where ever he goes, he will compete for the starting job, and in some cases, may just flat out snatch the job from the current starter. I may be speaking as a fan of Jameis Winston and a friend to #Teamwintson when I say that, but facts still play a role in how I feel about the young man out of FSU.
Nonbiased perspective: Yes, Jameis made some terrible decisions on the field, one could argue whose fault it was all day long, but some of those decisions, regardless of fault, resulted in turnovers. Turnovers are bad, and no one wants a quarterback who throws 30 interceptions in a season, or 88 in a 5-year career, to go along with 50 fumbles. But he sure did it air that football out and was a lot of fun to watch. 19,737 yards passing 121 touchdowns, 1,044 yards rushing, and 10 touchdowns are some things you just cannot overlook.
