Troubled wide receiver Antonio Brown seemed to have found a home with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this past season. The 32-year-old former Pro Bowler signed a one-year, $1.67 million contract with Tampa Bay last offseason after drama-filled tenures with the Pittsburgh Steelers, then-Oakland Raiders and New England Patriots.
Brown responded by catching 44 passes for 483 yards with four touchdowns in eight games with the Buccaneers after serving an NFL-mandated suspension.
He also caught a touchdown in the Buccaneers’ blowout win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV. It now seems like Brown wants to run it back.
“Man I’d love to, I look forward to going through the process, this is a great spot for me and I would love to come back and give it another shot at a two-peat,” Brown said after the game. “I would love to be back here next year. It would mean everything to be back. I’m just excited and super grateful.”
It must be noted that Tom Brady went to bat for Brown after his short tenure as the quarterback’s teammate in New England. Obviously, the two have a great working relationship.
After some major issues on and off the field, Brown seemingly turned it around with the Buccaneers this past season.
In addition to Brown, the champs have a ton of free agents to consider re-signing this offseason. Those include running back Leonard Fournette and tight end Rob Gronkowski on offense. Defensively, Shaquil Barrett and Lavonte David have to be considered priority in-house free agents for the Buccaneers.
The good news here is that star wide receiver Mike Evans is willing to restructure his contract in order to help Tampa Bay retain these key free agents. The Buccaneers are currently an estimated $38.14 million under the salary cap. It will take some work for general manager Jason Licht to retain all of these players. That’s for sure.
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