A former Tampa Bay Buccaneers playoff hero is joining the competition.
Wide receiver Scotty Miller, who played a key role in the Buccaneers’ path to Super Bowl LV, is signing with the Atlanta Falcons, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
“Bucs free-agent WR Scotty Miller is staying in the NFC South, reaching agreement on a one-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons, per source,” reported Schefter on Tuesday, March 28.
Scotty Miller Was Tom Brady’s Favorite Target in 2020
The 25-year-old Miller had been a member of the Buccaneers since he was selected in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL draft. However, it was his contributions during Tampa Bay’s playoff run during the 2020 season where Miller saw his greatest highlights.
Miller’s touchdown catch just prior to halftime of the Buccaneers’ NFC Championship game win over the Green Bay Packers was one of the biggest plays of the game considering it gave Tampa Bay a commanding 11-point lead. The Buccaneers would end up winning the game, 31-26.
The small-framed — 5-foot-9, 174 pounds — receiver was one of Tom Brady’s favorite targets. In fact, as Fox Sports’ Greg Auman points out, Miller was Brady’s favorite target for a brief period of time.
“First half of Bucs’ Super Bowl season, Scotty Miller led the team with 400 receiving yards, had 25 catches, two TDs in eight games,” said Auman. “In 43 games since then, he’s totaled 450 yards and two touchdowns — just got marginalized by Antonio Brown, Julio Jones and others.”
Why the Buccaneers Are Moving on From Scotty Miller
The Buccaneers gave Miller two full seasons to carve out a role in the offense after his breakthrough campaign in 2020, but he failed to consistently do so. A turf toe injury slowed him down during the 2021 season and limited Miller to just five catches for 38 yards in nine games.
He surprisingly made it to the 53-man roster during roster cut-downs after training camp, with Tampa Bay even opting to keep Miller over former fifth-round draft pick, receiver Tyler Johnson. While Miller was more involved in the offense during the 2022 season, he still failed to make much of an impact, finishing the season with 23 receptions for 185 yards and one touchdown.
With Brady retiring and the Buccaneers already featuring one of the better receiving cores in the NFL — Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Russell Gage are all under contract for next season — it made little sense for Tampa Bay to bring back the former fan favorite.
As Auman also points out, the Falcons receiver room will feature many young and inexperienced receivers.
“Falcons have almost completely turned over their receiving corps in the past year — only WR left from 2021 roster is Frank Darby, who has 2 catches in 2 years,” says Auman. “Gage to Bucs, Ridley to Jaguars, Zacchaeus unsigned, others out of the league. In comes London, Hollins, Miller, more.”
With Miller no longer looking up at more experienced and dynamic receivers on the depth chart — as he did in Tampa Bay — he may finally be able to recapture the form that made him Brady’s favorite receiver during the first half of the 2020 season.
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Buccaneers Playoff Hero Signing With Falcons: Report