Bucs WR Trey Palmer – Photo: Cliff Welch/Pr
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Scott Reynolds from Pewter Report answers your questions @pewterreport X Bucs MailBag account of the week. Send questions to SR weekly via X using the hashtag #PrmailBag. Here are the BUCS questions I chose to answer this week’s edition:
Question: What’s going on with Trey Palmer? It looked very good and promising – and last season’s cricket.
answer: Trey Palmer took a step back last year, watching him appear as Tampa Bay’s WR3, catching 39 passes for 385 yards (9.9 average) and three touchdowns. Palmer, the sixth pick in 2023, has had some issues with ball security and penalty during his rookie season, with the Bucs trying to add more talent for the reasons he drafted Jalen McMillan in the third round last year and for the competition.
McMillan was thought to be one of the most anticipated training camp fights that easily defeated Palmer, who struggled with drops last August. Palmer won the punt return job, but fell out of favor with former offensive coordinator Liam Cohen. Palmer slid down the depth chart behind him, where he practiced Sterling Shepherd, Rakim Jarrett and even Squaredar’s Ryan Miller, who was signed to the active roster due to injuries to Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Palmer caught only 12 passes last year for 172 yards (14.3 average) and one touchdown.
Bucs WR Trey Palmer – Photo: USA Today
The fact that he scored eight touchdowns during his rookie season and drafted the receiver for Emeka Egbuka in the first round and helps Tez Johnson in the seventh time in helping him create a 53-man roster this year is the fact that McMillan is still high at McMillan. In fact, Johnson could be the leading candidate to win a punt return mission this year after Palmer averaged 8.8 yards per return last year.
However, Palmer had a quality offseason, so he intends to fight for the camp roster due to the competitive nature. But if Palmer becomes trade bait during camp, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s not planning on creating a team. The Steelers are rumored to have probably some interest, And perhaps Jason Licht could get a sixth or seventh pick for him before the start of the season, if Palmer doesn’t make a roster of 53.
Palmer will compete in camp and preseason tough times as Evans, Godwin, Egbuka and Macmillan will be trapped in top-4 receiver spots, and the Bucs will likely only be kept five or six receivers. It’s basically Palmer vs. Tess Johnson, Cam Johnson, Shepherd, Jarrett and Miller.
question: Do you expect any more free agent signatures?
answer: Before training camp, we haven’t seen free agents sign any more free agents this offseason. BUCS general manager Jason Licht, assistant to GM Rob McCartney and vice president of players Mike Biehl constantly scrutinizes exemption wires and researches free agents when they become available as teams move around the roster. But I haven’t seen any free agents that Bucs are really interested in now.
I know the Packers just released it Cornerback Jay Alexander, Someone who averaged $21 million per season because they couldn’t find trading partners across the league. The 28-year-old Alexander has been limited to just seven games each of the last two seasons, and has not proven to be durable. Certainly not in that price range.
Former Packers CB Jaire Alexander – Photo: USA Today
At 5-foot-10, 196 pounds, Alexander doesn’t have the ideal size to become an external cornerback for Todd Bowles’ defense. The Bucks drafted two cornerbacks, Benjamin Morrison and Jacob Parrish. Is Alexander better than the new Bucs cornerback? Yes, but what is the cost? And keep in mind that the team already has a frequently injured cornerback to Jamel Dean. He may be as good as Alexander at this stage of the game when he is healthy.
I don’t think Tampa Bay is interested unless Tampa Bay signs a very inexpensive, one-year proof contract. Perhaps there will be more money for Alexander along with another team, and his price tag will fall as training camp approaches. I think the Tampa Bay roster is piled up quite a bit now after another very successful draft, so I don’t see the position I really need at this point.
question: Can undrafted free agents create opening day rosters?
answer: This is a great question and you probably don’t know the answer right now. Like Jason Licht and Todd Bowles, you’ll need to see the pad teams during training camp and even preseason. As Bowles says, players will see the players essentially running around flag football and minicamp in “t-shirts and shorts” in the geeks and make a definitive assessment of the personnel.
There were a lot of players who absolutely starred in the offseason – former wide receivers Kenny Bell and Jeron Darden came to mind, but wilted after pads came or disappeared under preseason lights. For offensive and defensive linemen, it’s important to see them on the pads. It’s the same for linebackers and safety, as we need to see how Bowles and Licht tackle it.
Bucs Ilb John Bullock – Photo by Cliff Welch/Pr
So far, linebackers John Brock, JJ Roberts, safe and cross-trained at nickelback, offensive tackle Ben Chukma, center Jake Majors and Josh Williams are the most talked-about and rude free agents of this year’s draft class. Kam Johnson, a free agent wide receiver who hasn’t been drafted for a year now, continues to be impressed, and the team hopes he can stay healthy. He also has a shot that sticks as a WR6.
These are the most likely candidates now to take shots on the last 53 roster. But of that group, this is a very talented Bucs roster heading into the 2025 season, so only two or three might accomplish that. We’ll see how everything will play out as the pads begin on August 9th in Tampa Bay and as the preseason plays Tennessee.
Question: Is Benjamin Morrison not signed yet? If so, is that related to the fully guaranteed deal Jaden Higgins and Carson Schwessinger got from the Texans and Browns, respectively? Should that have something to do with us? Congratulations on your amazing Bucs coverage!
answer: Thank you for your praise! So far, the only contract has been signed for the second pick from the 2025 draft class. These two players are Cleveland linebacker Carson Schwessinger and Houston wide receiver Jaden Higgins. As you mentioned, both received a fully guaranteed contract. This is becoming an annual adventure across the league as agents are trying to win a fully guaranteed contract while NFL teams are making sure that doesn’t happen.
There are currently 30 unsigned two-round picks, including Bucs cornerback Benjamin Morrison. While it’s unlikely that a second pick that goes deep into the round will receive a fully guaranteed contract, Bucs and Morrison are at the mercy of No. 35 to see who gets what in terms of guaranteed money.
Bucs CB Benjamin Morrison – Photo by Cliff Welch/Pr
Drafts are essentially slotted in terms of what players make in terms of pay, taking into account certain rounds. The only variable is how much of that salary is guaranteed. The NFL does not want all 2nd round contracts to be fully guaranteed as they require you to receive a fully guaranteed contract, as they cause slippery slopes with your agents.
It’s only a matter of time before this is resolved this summer. Last year’s second round pick, Chris Braswell, was not signed until June 12th, and Graham Burton’s first one was not signed until June 13th. The good news is that the first round of the year, Emeka Egbuka, has already been signed. So, assistant general manager Mike Greenberg is waiting for the rest of the league to begin trading in the second round, where Morrison was selected before him, so he can enter the slot. There’s no reason to worry. Morrison will be signed by the start of training camp in late July.
