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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have made a decision on a former first-round draft pick.
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Buccaneers are bringing back Breshad Perriman on a one-year deal.
“WR Breshad Perriman is – like Tom Brady – returning to the Bucs, this time on a one-year deal, per his agents @DrewJRosenhaus and @NFLrecord,” said Schefter.
Perriman had nice flashes for the Bucs while filling in at slot for the injured Antonio Brown. The 28-year-old wide receiver signed with Tampa Bay in November during the 2021 season before he was promoted to the active roster in December.
In six appearances, Perriman caught 11 passes for 167 yards and a touchdown. The highlight of Perriman’s season was his game-winning touchdown catch in overtime against the Buffalo Bills in Week 13 — the 700th TD pass of Tom Brady’s career.
Bringing Perriman back into the mix adds yet another weapon to a stacked Buccaneers receiving corps. Outside of lead receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay recently signed Atlanta Falcons receiver Russell Gage to be the team’s new slot wideout. That’s not mentioning the depth the team already has at receiver in Scotty Miller, Tyler Johnson, Jaelon Darden and Cyril Grayson.
With only five or six spots reserved for wide receivers on the roster, Perriman will have to battle to remain on the Buccaneers’ roster come September.
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Bucs Sign Division Rival Receiver
The Buccaneers are bringing Gage in on a three-year, $30 million deal, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
The former Falcons receiver figures to play the slot role left over by Brown following his release after a Week 16 meltdown versus the New York Jets.
The 26-year-old posted back-to-back 700-yard seasons for the Falcons. However, his real potential showed over the last month of the season. During a December matchup versus the Buccaneers, Gage caught 11 passes for 130 yards. During the season finale versus the Saints, Gage caught nine passes for 126 yards and a touchdown.
According to Pro Football Focus, Gage’s 76.0 receiving grade ranked 30th among all receivers in the NFL in 2021. That mark was actually better than Evans’ receiving grade of 74.7. During the 2020 season, Gage’s 76.4 offensive grade ranked 29th in the league.
And while Gage is on the smaller side — he’s six-foot, 184 pounds — and figures best as a slot receiver, he is capable of playing out wide. The fifth-year receiver played the majority of his snaps out wide (339) compared to his slot snaps (266).
Adding Gage to the mix will give Brady no shortage of receiving weapons entering the 2022 season.
Bucs Trade for New Starting Guard
The Buccaneers are bringing back a familiar face for Brady.
As reported by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero on Tuesday, March 15, the Buccaneers are acquiring offensive guard Shaq Mason from the New England Patriots for a fifth-round draft selection.
Mason had served as the team’s starting guard since the 2015 season and blocked for Brady until his departure from the Patriots following the 2019 season. As Greg Auman of The Athletic notes, Mason ranked fourth among all offensive guards in offensive grade, according to Pro Football Focus.
“Pro Football Focus had new Bucs guard Shaq Mason as their No. 4 guard last year in overall rating,” said Auman. “By comparison, they had Ali Marpet 7th, Alex Cappa 18th. Definitely fills a key need on offensive line tasked with protecting Tom Brady at age 45 this season.”
The acquisition of Mason fills the void left over by the unexpected retirement of 2021 Pro Bowler Ali Marpet.
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