QB among potential free-agent additions for Bucs

Free agency begins March 15 at 4 p.m. ET.

Positional needs for Tampa Bay Buccaneers: QB, LT, SS, LB

QB is the top priority in Tampa Bay, whether it's re-signing Tom Brady, signing another free agent or drafting his successor.

If Brady returns for a 24th season, many expect it won't be with the Bucs. The team is $58 million over the projected salary cap, per OverTheCap.com, but the front office could restructure contracts with players to get as much as $47.9 million in cap space.

If Tampa Bay makes the space necessary to sign Brady, it will give the team less money to fill other glaring holes on the roster. It seems counterintuitive for a team built to contend for a championship to be better off without a QB with seven Super Bowl rings, but that's where the Bucs are.

Jacoby Brissett, QB, Cleveland Browns

Brissett is due for a pay raise after signing a one-year, $4.9 million contract with Cleveland and leading the team for 11 games in Deshaun Watson's absence. 

Per Spotrac, Brissett has a market value of roughly $5.5 million annually.

Per Football Outsiders' Defense-adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA), the Browns had the seventh-best pass offense in football during Brissett's time as a starter, ahead of Joe Burrow's Cincinnati Bengals and Lamar Jackson's Baltimore Ravens.

Cameron Fleming, T, Denver Broncos

Fleming is a nine-year veteran who could shore up the offensive line's weak link at left tackle. He ranked 34th of 139 graded offensive tackles, scoring particularly well as a pass blocker, per Pro Football Focus. 

He would be an upgrade over Donovan Smith, who struggled mightily this season. He was flagged 13 times in 14 games and allowed 35 pressures.

Smith is under contract through the 2023 season, but the team could save $15,250,000 by designating him as a post-June 1 cut while accruing $7,950,000 in dead money spread out over the next three seasons. (h/t Over The Cap)

The team will likely try to find more balance on offense in 2023, but the Bucs are built to throw the ball with talented wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Fleming will make the quarterback's job easier -- whoever that is.

Terrell Edmunds, SS, Pittsburgh Steelers 

Mike Edwards started at strong safety for Tampa Bay in 2022 and had a mostly unforgettable contract year. He ranked 83rd of 89 graded strong safeties by PFF and 147th of 167 of all safeties. Including the playoffs, he was targeted 45 times in coverage and allowed 34 receptions, 409 yards and four touchdowns. 

Quarterbacks had a passer rating of 114 against him. To put that in perspective, Tua Tagovailoa led the league in passer rating at 105.5.

Per PFF, Edmunds ranked 53rd among all safeties. Edmunds, like Edwards, is better in the box than in coverage. QBs had a higher passer rating when targeting Edmunds than Edwards, but QBs also had more games with a below-average passer rating against the Steelers' safety (six) than against Edwards (three).