Bucs begin preparations for 2018
The Tampa bay Buccaneers are ramping off the off-season program and getting ready for the 2018 NFL draft. There has been some news and notes slowly coming out of One Buc place.
The Bucs picked up the option year of Jameis Winston‘s contract for the 2019 season which will pay him north of $20 million dollars for the season. The Bucs will also pay Gerald McCoy $13 million in 2019. That’s over $33 million for two players. That’s a huge hit on the cap for two players.
There was also some news on the injury from the to report. Let’s start with JR Sweezy. He had surgery again this off-season and will miss OTA’s. He should be ready for training camp, but I don’t think Sweezy will ever again be the player he was in Seattle. His injuries have really taken a huge toll on him physically.
DeMar Dotson also had some surgery and will miss OTA’s as well. He will be ready for training camp and should have no issues going forward.
Kendall Beckwith fractured his ankle in an auto accident last week and his surgery will cause him to miss the OTA’s as well. He should be ready for team activities when training camp opens in July.
As OTA’ s began Jameis Winston spoke about him and DeSean Jackson working together and trying to get in synch a bit more. It was pretty obvious the chemistry was missing last year between the two. Winston, Jackson, and Mike Evans all spent time working out together in California, FSU and at Texas A@M. Hopefully we will see that work pay off this season with some better rhythm and chemistry between QB and receiver.
Winston also noted the NFL has not talked to him about the the alleged groping of a Uber driver in March of 2015. There is some talk that Winston could be suspended for his conduct.
The Bucs still have not addressed the DB needs on the team. Vernon Hargreaves continues to recover from an injury, and the Bucs signed Brent grimes to a one year deal. Justin Evans will be back after a solid season. As of now Ryan Smith, Keith Tandy, and Chris Conte all return from a defense that was torched over and over gains and ranked next to last in the NFL. Bucs will have to consider upgrading this area in the upcoming draft.
The NFL schedule has been released and it did the Bucs no favors. It is the 4th toughest schedule in the league and the bye week comes in week 5 this year.
The highlights of the schedule include a Monday night game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept 23. The Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles will come to Tampa to help the Bucs open their home portion of the 2018 schedule On Sept 16th. In addition to the NFC South teams, the Bucs will also Host the Cleveland Browns in October, and the Washington Redskins will also make a visit to Tampa as well as the much improved San Francisco 49ers.
Sept 9th is opening day for the Bucs, and they will do that on the road in New Orleans against the Saints.
The Bucs will play in Dallas against the Cowboys on December 23rd, and also have challenging matchups on the road against the Baltimore Ravens and the New York Giants.
In another quirk of the schedule, The Bucs will play 5 of their first 8 games on the road, while having 5 their last 8 at home for the first time since the old Tampa stadium days. The Bucs will play three games in a row at home, Nov. 25 against San Francisco, Dec. 2 against Carolina, and Dec, 9th against Atlanta.
It’s the time of year where optimism rises and expectations rise rise as well. Everyone looks like an All-pro in shorts and a t-shirt. There have been no injuries, no game planning yet. As the dog days of summer give way to the cool days of fall, that is where the rubber meets the road and you find out your optimistic feeling was right on, or the optimism gives way to pessimism as the losses start to mount.
