Buccaneers are on the verge of losing one of their most promising players after the latest free agency move
Sean Tucker appears to be out the door after the Bucs signed Kenneth Gainwell.
Update: The Buccaneers tendered Sean Tucker at the buzzer. He’s set to make $3.52 million this year unless both parties come to an agreement an on alternate deadline before April 17. Tucker can still negotiate with other teams until then, as well.
Last year, Sean Tucker showed solid signs of progress in a reserve role with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and even shouldered the load with a 21 total touches, 140 total yards, and three total touchdowns against the Buffalo Bills in Week 11.
With Rachaad White leaving, Tucker was primed to take on the RB2 role, as long as he could work something out contractually, himself. Tucker was set to become a restricted free agent after the regular season, meaning he was without a contract.
The Buccaneers eventually decided to pass on tendering Tucker, which made sense considering the $3.52 million price tag that came with the tender. The option of signing him to a different deal remained, however, it just obviously would come down to the dollars and cents.
Well, a wrench was throw into Tucker’s plans when the Buccaneers and Kenneth Gainwell agreed to a two-year, $14 million deal on the first day of free agency (it also happens to be the latest move due to the Bucs not signing anyone since). Not only does that money cut into the pie Tucker was hoping to get a piece of, but it immediately screams primary back money, or at least a 50/50 split with incumbent starter Bucky Irving.
That leaves Tucker back where he started at RB3 and not the elevated RB2 position he was originally on track to earn by default.
Now, with just a few hourrs left before the start of the new league year, it looks like Tucker will be taking his services elsewhere in hopes of finding a better opportunity. The only way he’ll return is if he just absolutely can’t find any deal or opportunity then what’s being offered, now.
It’s disappointing because Tucker is a very promising player. The Buccaneers were ecstatic when they signed him as an undrafted free agent and even went as far to nickname him “Baby Nick Chubb” due to he and Chubb’s similar play style.
A heart issue held Tucker out of his rookie year, but he’s shown improvement since then. There were a couple of bumps, last year, but the entire Buccaneers offense hit bumps throughout the entire season.
If Tucker departs, the Buccaneers could look to Josh Williams, who was showing a lot of promise before a training camp injury slowed his momentum. He was suspended during the regular season, however, so it remains to be seen just how much that dings him. There’s also Owen Wright, who saw some regular season action last year, himself.
The Bucs could look to the draft. If they do it’d be a late Day 3 pick, somewhere in the Round 5-7 range. Either way, they’ll be looking to fill another void in the coming months.
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