The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are Super Bowl champions and it was an absolutely dominating performance in each phase from the Bucs. How will this team move forward from here?
We know Tom Brady is going to be coming back for another season. He confirmed as much after his seventh career Super Bowl victory.
Who else will be coming back for the Bucs? This team, perhaps more than any other, has big-name free agents on both sides of the ball and they will hope with the salary cap declining to be able to bring back as much of this group as possible.
Let’s take a look through some key free agents for the Bucs and how likely the team is to bring these players back.
Buccaneers 2021 free agents
1. Shaquil Barrett, EDGE
In two seasons with the team, Shaquil Barrett has been nothing short of marvelous for the Buccaneers since coming over from the Denver Broncos.
The Bucs were able to sign Barrett to a very team-friendly deal after his time in Denver and he racked up 19.5 sacks, exploding onto the scene in 2019. The team was then forced to franchise tag him and didn’t come to an agreement on a long-term deal, and it’s safe to say that Barrett’s value has not gone down at all.
He had just eight regular season sacks, but Barrett had four sacks in four postseason games and was instrumental in the team’s Super Bowl 50 victory.
The benchmark for top edge rushers right now is north of $20 million for the best of the best. Players who are making more than $20 million on their average annual contract value include Frank Clark, Demarcus Lawrence, Khalil Mack, Myles Garrett, and Joey Bosa.
I’m not sure that Barrett, 29, will be able to eclipse all of those guys but he could very well get at least $21 million per year on average for his long-term contract. The Bucs may have to franchise tag him again to give themselves more time, but Barrett wants to be in Tampa and the Bucs undoubtedly want him there.
Buccaneers 2021 free agents
2. Chris Godwin, WR
The Buccaneers made it a point in 2020 to add a plethora of skill talent on the offensive side of the ball. Most people thought that having Tom Brady with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and OJ Howard was going to be potent enough, but then the team went out and got Rob Gronkowski, Antonio Brown, and they expanded the role of Scotty Miller in the offense.
Godwin was still second on the team in targets, receptions, and receiving yards, but how do the Buccaneers keep Godwin beyond this?
At the age of 25, he is going to be one of the most exciting young free agents on the market if he gets there.
In the 2019 season, Godwin was absolutely awesome with 86 receptions, 1,333 yards, and nine touchdowns. The dip in numbers does not reflect a dip in ability, and there is no question that Godwin would be able to get at least $17-18 million on the open market or more.
The best bet for the Buccaneers might be to work as hard as they possibly can to get a long-term deal done with Shaquil Barrett and then franchise tag Godwin.
It’s never easy to keep a Super Bowl core together, but the Bucs will have a tougher time than most because of the number of big names on both sides of the ball.
Buccaneers top 2021 free agents
3. Lavonte David, LB
One of the top veteran defensive players the Buccaneers have slated for free agency is linebacker Lavonte David.
David is one player — drafted by the Bucs in 2012 — who has been with this franchise through some ugly times. He has been a model of consistency through those ugly times and has truly been one of the best linebackers in football.
He was playing possessed in the Super Bowl especially in coverage on Travis Kelce. It looked like David was on a mission to will the Bucs to victory at all costs.
Now that David has reached the pinnacle, it’s hard to imagine he won’t find his way back to the Bucs again in 2021. Defensive coordinator Todd Bowles will be back, Tom Brady will be back, why would David not sign a one or two-year deal to remain a Buc and try to run it back in 2021?
4. Ndamukong Suh, DL
Ndamukong Suh, at the age of 33, is coming off of one of the best seasons he has had in the last five years or so.
Even though he’s no longer in his prime years, Suh is still having a tremendous impact on games, racking up six sacks and 19 quarterback hits this past season for the Bucs, as well as three QB hits and 1.5 sacks in the playoffs.
Suh is taking things year-to-year at this point but it makes very little sense for him to try to leave Tampa Bay unless the two sides are thinking in two different worlds financially.
Players like Suh could be hurt the most by the lower salary cap because at this point, Suh has made more money than most guys hitting free agency and he will likely have to take less money to stay with a team like Tampa Bay.
Buccaneers 2021 top free agents
5. Leonard Fournette, RB
As the Buccaneers assembled one of the most interesting groups of skill talent the NFL world has seen in recent years, it seemed like Leonard Fournette was really just empty calories for them.
The Bucs were always going to be an offense that aired the ball out most of the time, but Fournette proved his value in spades, especially down the stretch of the regular season and into the playoffs.
Combining his regular season totals and postseason numbers, Fournette contributed 1,048 yards from scrimmage on 225 total touches. He finished with 10 total touchdowns and showed his value as a three-down back.
Even though Ronald Jones was the more impactful back for the Bucs in the regular season, there is no denying the momentum swung in Fournette’s favor during the playoffs. It will be fascinating to see if the Buccaneers can find a way to bring him back.
6. Antonio Brown, WR
Brown will be 33 during the 2021 season but it’s abundantly clear that he has value to the Tampa Bay offense.
Because of his off-field situation and age, it seems likely the Bucs will be able to re-sign him for a reasonable price on a likely one-year deal.
Again, how many of these guys will weigh their options and undoubtedly realize that coming back to the Bucs for another season is their best shot at success in the league in terms of winning?
At this stage of his career, there’s not a ton of money to be made for Brown elsewhere and he obviously has a clear connection with Tom Brady.
My guess is that Brady will convince the Bucs’ front office to bring Brown back and he will be able to convince Brown to come back at a team-friendly rate.
Buccaneers top 2021 free agents
7. Rob Gronkowski, TE
Remember when Rob Gronkowski was too skinny to come back to the NFL?
After taking a year away from the game to let his body recover and just have some fun, Gronkowski returned to the NFL and picked up where he left off.
Looking as good as he ever has, Gronkowski caught 45 passes for 623 yards and seven touchdowns. He provided tremendous value as a blocker as he always does and also caught two touchdowns in the Super Bowl.
Gronkowski has insane value to this team as long as Tom Brady is on it, and playing in all 16 games for the first time since 2011, he’s got to be feeling good about possibly coming back for another season.
With the Buccaneers, Gronkowski was playing on the final year of the long-term contract he had signed with the New England Patriots a few years back, earning a total of $10 million with the Buccaneers in his lone season there.
The Buccaneers’ cap situation is truly not in a bad spot, and Gronkowski could easily sign on for another season or two, or as long as Brady is still going to play.