Getty The Buccaneers may not be able to trade for Kyle Fuller, but they could sign him in the offseason.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers may not be able to pull off this deal right now, but they could in the offseason.
The NFL trade deadline came and passed early on in November. In other words, you won’t be seeing star players jump to another team this late in the season as teams make their playoff pushes.
However, in this hypothetical trade piece by Bleacher Report’s Chris Rolling, the trade deadline is thrown out the window. As the Buccaneers prepare to defend their Super Bowl title, their glaring weakness is their defensive backfield. According to Rolling in this dream scenario, the Bucs would make a push for Denver Broncos cornerback Kyle Fuller.
“Fuller, who has only given up a 55.3 completion percentage over 38 targets and played 73 percent of the defensive snaps, would be a fun addition for a team like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Starting Buccaneers corners Carlton Davis III and Sean Murphy-Bunting have dealt with injuries, with the former on injured reserve and the latter only just activated and playing in his second game of the season.
Richard Sherman, signed to provide relief, has suffered a calf injury and is also on injured reserve. That left a depleted secondary exposed during a two-game skid to 6-3 before a 30-10 rebound in Week 11 over a three-win New York Giants team. The NFC South still isn’t a guarantee with two teams at 5-6, including a New Orleans team that beat Tampa Bay in Week 8.”
While the Buccaneers have Sean Murphy-Bunting back in the lineup and could have Carlton Davis back as soon as Week 13, Tampa Bay is still decimated in the defensive backfield. The pass defense currently ranks 20th in yards allowed and 29th in touchdowns allowed.
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Sherman’s Play Has Been Underwhelming
Making matters worse is not only the injuries that have prevented the Buccaneers from playing at full strength, it’s that Richard Sherman — who was signed to fill the void of Davis and Murphy-Bunting — has been underwhelming.
In three games played — Sherman has been sidelined since Week 6 — the 33-year-old cornerback has a 48.1 grade in coverage, according to Pro Football Focus. For perspective, Sherman has never posted a coverage grade lower than 67.2 in his career. Furthermore, Sherman ranks only above one cornerback (Dee Delaney) on the Bucs’ roster in coverage grade.
Sherman has also allowed a 75% completion rate and has a missed tackle percentage of 15.4%.
Fuller Will Be Free Agent in 2022
While Fuller hasn’t quite played to his All-Pro billing from 2018, the former two-time Pro Bowl selection has played a nice versatile role on the Broncos’ stacked defense. The 29-year-old has played 122 snaps as a slot corner and 308 on the outside.
His coverage grade is more underwhelming than Sherman (40.5), but he’s allowing only a 61.7% completion rate and is a significantly better tackler at a missed tackle percentage of 8.3%.
Considering Fuller is only on a one-year deal with the Broncos, the Bucs could make a run at the veteran cornerback in the offseason. It’s worth noting that Davis will be a free agent in the offseason, which means Tampa Bay could be looking for a new starting corner if they can’t re-sign their fourth-year defensive back.