The Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season ended in an undesirable way with the wild-card round loss against the Dallas Cowboys, but that wasn’t the last troubling news for the franchise management.
The Buccaneers finished the season with a whopping $55 million over their salary cap, even though their star quarterback, Tom Brady, retired. However, his departure also brought worrisome news for the authority to sign another starting quarterback for the next season.
To manage space for new players in the upcoming draft, the Bucs took a judgmental approach to getting aligned with the salary structure.
What did the Tampa Bay Buccaneers do for salary restructuring?
The Bucs have decided to renegotiate the salaries of their four veteran players, including Vita Vea, Carlton Davis, Ryan Jensen, and Chris Godwin.
The two-time Super Bowl champions expect to clear up $44 million from the four professionals’ restructured salaries. A portion of the four players’ salaries will go into their bonus pool for the 2024 season.
Bucs have restructured contracts with veterans Vita Vea, Carlton Davis, Ryan Jensen and Chris Godwin to create $44 million in 2023 cap space.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) March 10, 2023
Center Jensen and defensive lineman Vea’s salary reconstruction contributed $9 million each, whereas wide receiver Goodwin agreed to contribute $15 million, and cornerback Davis did an $11 million salary restructuring.
Their general manager, Jason Licht, took the step into a new salary structure while they also considered lightening their roster. Leonard Fournette and veterans like Cameron Brate and Donovan Smith were released from the roster for the upcoming draft.
The Buccaneers are looking to maintain the $224.8 million salary cap, and they have until Wednesday to make this happen. Furthermore, they are still considering giving center Nick Leverett another year as a free agent.
The Bucs became the NFC South champion two times after their second Super Bowl title, but they couldn’t capitalize on their chance in the playoffs. Given the recent rough patch of form, the franchise might consider restructuring the whole roster for a suitable future.
They are still one starting quarterback short for the next season. Let’s see what happens in the meantime. Until then, stay tuned to SportsZion.
