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Despite the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ ordeal with a decimated secondary, safety Mike Edwards could get traded.
That’s what The Athletic’s Mike Sando speculates amid potential moves before the NFL’s November 2 trade deadline. Sando reported that Edwards, the team’s third safety, could go elsewhere in a trade.
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Kansas City (3-3) desperately needs another safety, and Edwards could be a fit for the Super Bowl LV runner-ups, one NFL executive told Sando. With that said, the Bucs bettering the Chiefs off the field seems unlikely, Sando noted.
A third-round pick in 2019, Edwards had arguably the best game of his career in Week 2 when he picked off two passes for touchdowns against Atlanta. He earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week from the performance.
Edwards stepped in another two games this month in place of safety Antoine Winfield Jr, who sustained a concussion at New England. The former Kentucky football star posted 10 tackles in games against the Miami Dolphins and Philadelphia Eagles.
Who Tampa Bay would acquire from the Chiefs for Edwards remains the big question. The Chiefs don’t have much to offer, considering the defense is in danger of “becoming New Orleans from 2014 to 2016, when the Saints were so bad on, they couldn’t contend even with a Hall of Fame quarterback,” Sando noted.
Moving Edwards also doesn’t clear much cap space since he will make $1 million this season, according to Over The Cap.
Tampa Bay appears likely to make a move, Edwards or not. The team “will to maximize Tom Brady’s championship window as much as possible by acquiring a veteran player at the trade deadline,” according to ESPN’s Jenna Laine. The Bucs acquired defensive tackle Steve McLendon, who had 12 years of experience at the time, at last year’s trade deadline.
Winfield Jr. Making Progress
Winfield Jr. could make the Bucs’ secondary injury situation a little better for Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears.
He practiced in pads on Wednesday and fielded punts according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. Winfield Jr. missed the past two games while in concussion protocol.
The second-year safety from Minnesota has 25 tackles and an interception this season.
Overall, the Bucs have dealt with six members of the secondary missing time due to injury this season. It started with safety Jordan Whitehead missing the start of the season followed by cornerbacks Sean Murphy-Bunting and Carlton Davis III getting injured. Cornerback Richard Sherman, who signed on September 29, became the latest causality in Week 6.
Fellow cornerback Jamel Dean got injured in Week 3 but recently returned.
Injuries Not Moving Bruce Arians to Trade
Despite the slew of injuries, head coach Bruce Arians doesn’t sound inclined to make a trade. The question even came after Sherman went down with a hamstring injury at Philadelphia.
“No, we just keep playing with the guys we got and see what happens,” Arians said in the October 14 press conference. “See how long (of an) injury it is and next man up.”
Speculation of pursuing Minnesota Vikings cornerback Cameron Dantzler or New York Jets safety Marcus Maye arose around that time. Instead, it appears Arians will count on Dee Delaney, Ross Cockrell, Pierre Desir, Rashard Robinson, and Andrew Adams to get the job done.
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