NFL free agents are officially able to sign with teams on Wednesday, and the Tampa Bay Bucs already are huge winners because they signed Tom Brady and were able to keep 2019 NFL sack king Shaquil Barrett in the fold by slapping the franchise tag on him.
Even giving Brady somewhere around $30 million per season and paying Barrett big money either via the tag or an extension, the Bucs still have quite a bit of salary-cap room. They also appear to have a hole at running back and might now be the favorites to sign former Chargers Pro Bowl tailback Melvin Gordon.
Behind Ronald Jones and Peyton Barber, the Bucs were not a great running team last season in averaging just 95.1 yards per game – although to be fair they did pass a lot. Still, averaging just 3.7 yards per carry as Tampa Bay did is not a way to reach a Super Bowl.
Gordon was not great for the Bolts in 2019 but got a late start to the season as he was holding out for a new contract, and he played behind a shaky offensive line. As recently as 2018, though, Gordon averaged 5.1 yards per carry with 10 rushing touchdowns. He's also a very solid receiver out of the backfield, and the Bucs are going to need that because Brady can't throw the ball deep downfield like he used to. Jones and Barber don't excel as pass-catchers.
Reportedly, the market for Gordon is down to Tampa Bay and NFC South rival Atlanta (Miami was in but signed Jordan Howard), but the Bucs have more money to spend. Plus, the lure of Brady has to be strong for Gordon. Should that happen, the Bucs would be absolutely loaded on offense with Brady, Gordon, 1,000-yard receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, and two good tight ends in O.J. Howard and Cam Brate.
Currently, Tampa Bay is slightly behind New Orleans on the William Hill NFL futures odds to win the NFC South, but that could flip with a Gordon signing.
