Super Bowl News: Buccaneers WR Mike Evans "When we got Tom, I knew it was a possibility"
Once the celebration settled, after the Buccaneers won the NFL Super Bowl Championship, Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans took the stage for a post-game press conference. During that press conference, Evans made this statement about winning Super Bowl LV.
"When we got Tom, I knew it was a possibility"
If there was one Tampa Bay Buccaneers player that benefitted from the Tom Brady signing, it was Mike Evans. Evans recorded the most touchdowns of his career this season. He also went over 1,000 receiving yards for the seventh year in a row.
With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers dominating Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, that brings upon one big question for the 2021-2022 NFL season. What do the Buccaneers need to do to repeat themselves as NFL Super Bowl Champions?
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2021 NFL off-season
As of right now, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have key pieces for their NFL Super Bowl Championship team that need to be resigned. Shaquil Barrett, Lavonte David, Ndamukong Suh, Leonard Fournette, Antonio Brown and Chris Godwin are the six players that need to be resigned. Tom Brady will speak with veteran tight end Rob Gronkowski to get him to accept a bargain deal for 2021-2022.
The two players that the Buccaneers need to reach terms with are Shaquil Barrett and Lavonte David. Leonard Fournette could be persuaded by Tom Brady to take less money. Chris Godwin will most likely walk away from the Buccaneers during free agency for more money.
With the 2021 NFL draft being one of the best wide receiver classes in recent years, it is okay if Godwin does walk. Not to mention the amount of talent at the wide receiver position in free agency. Tampa Bay's defense needs Lavonte David and Shaquil Barrett.
What is the market value for Lavonte David and Shaquil Barrett?
According to spotrac.com the market value for Lavonte David is $12.7 million annual salary. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will have to offer Lavonte David a contract that looks a lot like this (3-years, $38.1 million). Tampa Bay currently has $38,144,114 million in cap space.
Shaquil Barrett will be the toughest player to sign for the Buccaneers. Barrett has a market value of $19.7 million annual salary. His new contract will look a lot like this 4-years, $78.8 million. If the Buccaneers want to re-sign Shaquil Barrett and Lavonte David, they will need to get Chris Godwin to sign a franchise tag to keep all three.
With that being said, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers could potentially be in trouble this off-season. Tom Brady needs to step in and talk to all the free agents. Let them know that if they stay they will win another championship in the 2021-2022 NFL season.