After Bucs general manager Jason Richt re-signs the Pro Bowl wide receiver. mike evans While Pro Bowl quarterback Baker Mayfield and legendary linebacker Lavonte David made headlines by signing Jets strong safety Jordan Whitehead, Bucs fans are wondering, “What’s next?” You may be wondering. He went to Tampa Bay in free agency.
Well, Licht has a plan.
Richt appeared on NFL Network’s NFL Report and spoke with hosts Steve Wyche and James Palmer. While much of the discussion was about Evans, who is still in his prime, Richt also talked about potential contract extensions for safety Antoine Winfield and left tackle Tristan Wirfs.
Winfield was placed on the franchise tag before the deadline, ensuring he will be a Buccaneer this season. The All-Pro safety is set to make $17.123 million in 2024 thanks to the tag, but the plan was always to keep him in the building and sign him to a long-term deal by the summer.
Wirfs is in the fifth year of his rookie contract, during which time he has established himself as arguably the best offensive tackle in football. There’s no way the Bucks would let Wirfs go, considering what he means to the team. He’s set to earn more than $18 million on his fifth-year option, but Tampa Bay hopes to work out a long-term extension by the start of the 2024 season.
So Tampa Bay’s next goal may not necessarily be to add new members to the roster, but rather to solidify the roster’s two core members as future workhorses.
“I think they (both) are probably on their way to having historic careers,” Richt said. “They’ve already had great careers, but we want them to have historic careers and hopefully stick around while they’re here in Tampa. That’s a very high priority for us right now, first Antoine, second In no particular order, Tristan will also imprison them for an extended period of time.
please look Full episode and interview About Richt and the NFL report.
Could the Bucks’ front office do it again?
$17.123 million is a lot of money for Antoine Winfield Jr., but it’s only for one season, and his stellar play has earned him the right to be the highest-paid safety in the league. Chargers safety Derwin James currently makes an average of $19 million a season, so it wouldn’t be surprising if Winfield resets the market to $20 million. In an unexpected turn of events, Winfield did not make the Pro Bowl in 2023, but earned first-team All-Pro honors. This is a higher honor to achieve.
Tristan Wirfs doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to sign an extension at the moment. Now he has bigger things to deal with, as he and his girlfriend are expecting his first child in late March.
At the end of the season, when asked about the contract heading into its fifth year, Wirfs didn’t know much about it and seemed fine with doing what was best for the Bucks.
“I’m still learning how it works,” Wirfs said. “So they got me into my fifth year, so I’m still under contract, right? Whatever happens, I’ll be fine. I like being here. I’m not too worried. [Iowa] coach [Kirk] Ferentz always said, “Your film is your resume, so I just do my best to play good football.”
Signing Wirfs to an extension could actually help ease the burden on the Bucks’ salary cap this season, as their budget has been slightly reduced following other free agent moves. The Bucks could sign Wirfs to an extension to lower his projected $18.244 million cap hit in 2024.
Josh Quapo, Pewter Report’s resident salary cap expert, expects Wirfs to reset the tackle market with a five-year, $135 million deal. That equates to $27 million a year, more than Houston’s Laremy Tunsil’s $25 million annual salary.
Sometimes I wonder why the Bucks’ front office doesn’t get more recognition for what they’ve been able to accomplish over the past four seasons, when the team has made the playoffs, whether it’s finding high-profile free agents or keeping the Bucks’ team together. It can be puzzling. own free agency. Jason Licht and his company are achieving results year after year. The contract extensions for Winfield and Wirfs would be two more surprising moves in an already impressive offseason in Tampa Bay.