The Tampa Bay Buccaneers may not have as much going for them heading into the playoffs this year. The reigning Super Bowl champions had an epic run last year but have been facing a lot of drama to end the season. Wide receiver Antonio Brown was supposed to be a key contributor with Chris Godwin out for the season but he was cut after an embarrassing spectacle in Week 17.
With Brown out, the Buccaneers are bringing in another former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver who never played in a game. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Tampa has signed John Brown to the practice squad.
Brown was expected to be a key contributor for the Raiders this season but asked for his release prior to the first game. Even as the team has needed wide receiver help throughout the season, they didn’t bring him back. He’s broken 1,000 yards in a season twice in his career so it’s been odd that he hasn’t been able to stick with a team. He’s made a name as one of the better deep threats in the NFL in recent years but has battled injury issues. Earlier in the season, The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen revealed that it looked like Brown “lost a lot of speed” during the offseason. If he can’t stretch the field as he used to, he may not get a chance to make an impact for the Buccaneers.
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Do Raiders Have Enough Weapons to Compete in Playoffs?
The Raiders offense recently went through a major slump. From Week 9 to Week 16, the team only scored over 17 points in one game. Over the last two weeks of the season, Las Vegas scored a combined 58 points so there’s been an improvement. The team hasn’t had the best offensive weapons this season but it looks like things are clicking at the right time.
Hunter Renfrow is one of the best slot receivers in the NFL, star tight end Darren Waller is getting healthier and Josh Jacobs appears to finally be out of his slump by rushing for 324 yards over the last three games. The Raiders offensive line is still an issue and quarterback Derek Carr hasn’t been playing his best football but the team does have enough offensive talent to beat the Cincinnati Bengals.
Renfrow Named Raiders’ Most Explosive Playmaker
Heading into the offseason, the Raiders will need to find more wide receiver talent. That doesn’t they don’t already have one of the best in the NFL. Renfrow is a bonafide star and is one of the team’s most important players. In fact, Pro Football Focus named Renfrow the Raiders “most explosive” playmaker:
Reality show idea: give regular humans the chance to cover Renfrow one-on-one from the 10-yard line. Non-touchdowns net the civilian $1,000. I doubt the network would have to reach too far into their pockets for this one.
All Renfrow did after the Raiders released Henry Ruggs was rank fifth in receptions (65), 15th in receiving yards (639) and second in receiving touchdowns (7) among all players regardless of position; he’s a legit WR1 even if you wouldn’t expect it from looking at the man.
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