The Tampa Bay Buccaneers decided to cut their losses by releasing Pro Bowl cornerback Darrelle Revis on Tuesday. Less than a year after trading a first-round pick in 2013 and mid-round pick this May for one of the best defenders in the league, a new front office and head coach made the decision to start anew.
Instead of looking at just how bad the Revis trade looks in retrospect, it’s more important to take a gander at how this new front office has helped the Buccaneers rebound from ineptitude in just a couple days time. While not enough to contend in the NFC South, these set of moves at least gives fans in Florida some sense of confidence in what had become a fledgling franchise.
Let me be clear about this for one second. Releasing Darrelle Revis one year after trading a first and third rounder for him made no sense at all. It is apparent that new head coach Lovie Smith had different plans for his defense that didn’t include Revis. In this, Tampa Bay did an amazing job filling holes with the money it saved by releasing Revis.
Jason Bridge, USA Today: Verner is going to be a stud in Smith’s defense.
In a young offseason that has seen cornerbacks cash in big time, Tampa Bay was able to lock up my No. 1 overall free agent at that position outside of Revis himself. It signed former Tennessee Titans Pro Bowler Alterraun Verner to a four-year, $25.5 million contract with just $14 million guaranteed. Considering that Sam Shields re-upped with the Green Bay Packers for $39 million over four years and Aqib Talib got $57 million over six years with $26 million guaranteed, this might have been the steal of the young new league year.
Tampa Bay then went out there and signed former Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Clinton McDonald to a four-year, $12 million contract. Despite being released by the defending champs in training camp, McDonald ended up recording 42 tackles and 5.5 sacks after being retained early in the season. He’s a solid interior pass-rush threat.
These might not have been the biggest acquisitions for the Buccaneers.
Lovie Smith’s main reason for the Josh McCown move? He didn’t come to Tampa Bay for a rebuilding project. http://t.co/vCzHHGUHQ9
— Chris Burke (@ChrisBurke_SI) March 13, 2014
They signed quarterback Josh McCown to a two-year $10 million deal with a possibility of him earning $15 million over the course of the contract. Smith immediately named McCown the starter over second-year signal caller Mike Glennon, who himself had a stellar rookie campaign. At this time last year, McCown was teaching high school. He was approached by the Chicago Bears to return to the NFL and the rest is history. The veteran put up 14 total touchdowns with just one interception for a ridiculous QB rating of 109.0 in five starts for Chicago last year.
Even if Glennon somehow beats out McCown, the Buccaneers will have two solid options under center heading into the 2014 season.
Andrew Weber, USA Today: Johnson gives the Bucs defense a pass-rush threat.
The acquisition of former Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Michael Johnson was also pretty huge. Despite only recording 3.5 sacks last season, Pro Football Focus (subscription required), graded him out as the fourth-best overall 4-3 defensive end. He is also just one year removed from recording 11.5 sacks for the Bengals.
Johnson will team up with Adrian Clayborn to form a solid pass-rushing tandem from the outside. All of a sudden, Tampa Bay’s defensive line looks so much better than a season ago. That’s obviously helped by the emergence of Pro Bowl defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, who is coming off yet another stellar campaign.
Despite losing out on a top-1o pick last year and a mid-round selection this May in the ill-fated Revis trade, the new front office in Tampa Bay has more than made up for it.
Revis was set to count $16 million against the cap next season, but didn’t have any guaranteed money due to him. This means that the Buccaneers were able to get out of that deal without any dead money hit. All the players that they have signed in the first two days of free agency add up to just over $19 million for the upcoming season, which is just $3 million more than Revis was due.
This doesn’t mean that the work is done. In order for the Buccaneers to improve from a 4-12 record from last season and compete in a tough division, they have to fill a variety of different holes in the remainder of the offseason. At the very least, we might actually be seeing some sense of structure in an organization that has been so maligned recently.
All contract figures provided by Rotoworld.com
Photo: Kim Klement, USA Today