NFL Free Agency buzz: Buccaneers-Antoine Winfield Jr. zeroing in on multi-year deal, Xavier McKinney's asking price and more
It looks as though the first domino is about to fall at the safety position, and it could affect the plans moving forward for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Here’s the latest.
Word in Indianapolis late Saturday night is that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and star safety Antoine Winfield are zeroing in on a multi-year contract that would prevent them from placing the franchise tag on the defensive back. The word in the Circle City is that the deal looks like it will be in the area of three years, $60 million, an average of $20 million per season. Sources tell me a fourth year could be added to the contract.
I’m told the Buccaneers, who are projected by experts to be about $40 million under the revised salary cap of $255 million, will look to quickly sign Winfield as well as quarterback Baker Mayfield to multi-year deals and hope to sign receiver Mike Evans. If they can’t sign Evans, they could opt to put the franchise tag on the wideout to keep him with the franchise.
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The belief is that the New England Patriots have a multi-year deal on the table for their pending free-agent safety, Kyle Dugger. The deal is worth about $13 million annually, approximately $500,000 more than the deal New England reportedly floated in front of Dugger last November.
Kamren Curl is expected to receive a deal in the range of $12 million per year. There’s a chance that number goes higher if more teams enter the fray and a bidding war starts.
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Where does that leave Xavier McKinney of the New York Giants? Many believe if Winfield gets a contract upwards of $20 million annually, McKinney would ask for something in the range of $17.5 million to $18 million annually, though few believe he ends up with a deal that big.