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"WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections 2016 NFL DraftInjuriesFree AgencyGame FilmBuccaneers Off-Season Superlatives New Caleb Benenoch Jersey ,2commentsTampa Bay’s most likely to....ESTShareTweetShareShareBuccaneers Off-Season Superlatives Kim Klement-USA TODAY SportsLet’s give a shout-out to Jimmy Fallon for making football superlatives a popular source of entertainment.I’d like to also give a shout-out to The Draft Network for connecting the dots between football superlatives and website coverage.Like Bruce Arians’ idea of running multiple practices at the same time, it’s an idea which makes so much sense for it not to have been a thing prior to now.Better late than never, right? Let’s crack open our first batch of off-season superlatives!MOST LIKELY TO BE RELEASED: WIDE RECEIVER, DESEAN JACKSONAaron Doster-USA TODAY SportsAnytime you try something for the first time it’s best to take it slow at first. For example, maybe don’t head to the black diamond slopes the first time you strap on skis. Also, if it’s your first time giving your kid peanut butter, maybe don’t go with afull blown PB&J. So, in the spirit of easing into this, let’s go with the low-hanging fruit. Wide receiver, Desean Jackson is easily the Buccaneers player under contract for the 2019 season who is most likely to be released.But, what about Gerald McCoy? Well, McCoy is younger - not much, but still - and there’s no doubt he could add something to an opposing roster if they have a need at defensive tackle.Jackson is obviously older, and has had just one 1,000-yard season in his last four. Sure, it could be Jameis Winston’s fault. Or Ryan Fitzpatrick’s. Remember, Jackson started with three 100-yard games with Fitzpatrick to start the season, but also had four games under it with the same starting quarterback.You know what, maybe it was Kirk Cousin’s fault in Washington. Either way, Jackson has never strung together three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons in his career. And he’s only eclipsed 1,100-yards twice. What are the chances he’s going to do it now, turning 33 down the final stretch of the 2019 season?The final cherry on top of the release sundae, is of course his desire to leave Tampa Bay.Teams likely wouldn’t offer much of anything - if anything - in a trade for Jackson just because of all the stuff I wrote above this. But add to it he’s not holding back on his desire to leave the team, and there’s zero leverage to force anyone into a trade.MOST LIKELY TO BE TRADED: DEFENSIVE TACKLE, GERALD MCCOYAaron Doster-USA TODAY SportsOk, so this is another easy one. McCoy has been on the team a long time. In fact, he’s the only face Bucs fans can directly associate with every single season of this latest stretch of misery put on by the franchise.As unfair as it may be, McCoy is the final piece of the losing culture which was there when the whole thing started to climb to it’s current pitch. Which is why so many are on board with seeing him sporting different colors in 2019.Add to it that his get off is still one of the best in the game, and there might be a team (Rams) inside a Super Bowl window (Rams) who could see the value in adding a veteran defender (Rams) and just so happen to understand how to have a hole opening up at defensive tackle (Rams).MOST LIKELY TO BE REPLACED BY A DRAFT PICK: CORNERBACK, BRENT GRIMESKim Klement-USA TODAY SportsFor one, it’s all but guaranteed Grimes’ days in Tampa Bay are done. His days in the NFL might be done. Either way, if your secondary needs an upgrade, you’re not likely to find it by bringing back Grimes who is on the wrong side of 30 and just doesn’t fit what is needed in what we expect the Bucs defense to look like in 2019. He’s not physical enough, and isn’t quick enough to play off coverage with enough consistency to be left on an island. Not happening.So, while it’s possible Jason Licht might look to free-agency for this, my money is on the starting cornerback playing opposite of Carlton Davis III being a rookie drafted in the second-round.I’d love a guy like win a ring while your team sits at home.Unfortunately, Bucs fans have gotten used to it over the years. Two prime candidates to move on from Tampa Bay and find new homes for 2019 are Cameron Brate and Adam Humphries.Humphries is a free-agent, but Brate is under contract. However, the whole two tight-end domination thing never really panned out, and O.J. Howard is a clear-cut number one player at his position.The problem with all of this though, is Howard’s injury history in just two NFL seasons.More on that at another time. If Brate were to be traded, there are some franchises who could use his services and may view him as a crucial key to their Super Bowl dreams - meaning they’d pay more.They are:NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTSThe Patriots are no strangers to bringing in talent for short stints and getting them a ring along the way.Rob Gronkowski isn’t the same player he once was, and really can’t ever seem to be healthy. I think smart money is on Gronk retiring after this latest Super Bowl win, and if the Patriots want to get Tom Brady and Bill Belichick another ring, they will need a suitable replacement.LOS ANGELES RAMSGerald Everett had one target for no catches and no yards and absolutely no impact on the Super Bowl.If the Rams want to repeat as NFC Champions and have a shot at winning next year’s title-fight, they’ll need to get some weapons who can actually produce when Todd Gurley is “not injured”.Brate would be one.DALLAS COWBOYSIf there is a team which rivals the Patriots in league-wide hatred, it might be this one. But with Amari Cooper, Dak Prescott, and Ezekiel Elliott all the Cowboys are missing is a legitimate threat in the middle of the field to open it all up for them.Every great Cowboys team had a contributor at the tight end spot. They don’t have one right now.LOS ANGELES CHARGERSSeems Brate may be destined for a move back to California. Philip Rivers may never get a ring Lavonte David Jersey White , but if he’s going to, he’ll need to find a solid tight end to replace his favorite target and long-time running mate Antonio Gates.The Chargers have a running game, good receivers and a capable defense.Upgrades in some key areas and the addition of Brate would make them a true contender in the AFC, and might get Rivers a crack at the Lombardi. EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — They were long-time teammates and champions on the New York Giants‘ Super Bowl team in February 2012.Eli Manning and Jason Pierre-Paul will add a new dimension to their eight-year friendship Sunday when the Giants (2-7) host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-6) at MetLife Stadium.They’ll be opponents for the first time.As he has been the past 15 seasons, Manning will be quarterback for the Giants. Pierre-Paul will be playing defensive end for Tampa Bay in his first game at the Meadowlands since New York traded him to the Bucs in March to clear salary-cap space.Pierre-Paul has had this date checked since the schedule was announced.“Eli is Eli, man. I know one thing: If he’s hot, he’s going to continue being hot,” Pierre-Paul said of Manning, who took some heat off himself by throwing three touchdown passes and engineering a late TD drive in the Giants’ win over San Francisco last Monday night. “We’ve got to get after him early and he knows I’m coming. I’m coming Eli, I’m coming. Just letting you know.”Pierre-Paul didn’t get the best sendoff after the trade. Not many teammates called him, although Manning did.“He’s a leader. I actually learned this from him, he comes in every morning real early,” said Pierre-Paul, who has eight sacks this season, two less than the entire Giants team. “He started that as a rookie. He never changed. Eli’s a great guy. But I ain’t falling asleep on him. That’s for sure.”Manning laughed saying, he hopes JPP takes it easy on him.“He’s getting a lot of sacks and making plays,” Manning said. “I expect him to be fired up. Hopefully we’ve got a game plan for him, and make sure we try to control him.”Here are five things to watch Sunday:CONTROLLING PIERRE-PAULThe Giants’ offensive line, which added waiver-wire pickup Jamon Brown at right guard, had one of its better performances Monday. Manning, who has been sacked 32 times, was taken down once. Left tackle Nate Solder will probably go against Pierre-Paul most of the time.Since Pierre-Paul lines up at different spots, right tackle Chad Wheeler also will go against him. Expect a tight end or a running back to chip him.EXPLOSIVE OFFENSETampa Bay has the NFL’s top-ranked passing attack and is also No. 1 in total offense. With 3,251 yards passing, the Bucs have thrown for the second-most yards through the first nine games of a season in NFL history behind the 2000 St. Louis Rams (3,330).They’ve had over 500 yards total offense four times this season, but are 1-3 in those games, including last week’s loss to Washington. Turnovers are the biggest reason. They are a league-worst minus-19 and have gone six consecutive games without a takeaway.CLASSMATESTampa Bay’s Mike Evans and New York’s Odell Beckham Jr. were part of an outstanding class of rookie receivers who entered the NFL in 2014. The group included Brandin Cooks, Jarvis Landry, Devante Adams, Sammy Watkins, Allen Robinson, Jordan Matthews, John Brown and Kelvin Benjamin. Evans (5,416) and Beckham (5,282) rank 1-2 among the class in career yards receiving, while Beckham is first with 42 TD catches, followed by Evans with 36. Beckham has 24 100-yard receiving games, tops in the class. Evans is next at 17.LACK OF PRESSUREThe Giants have 10 sacks. Rookies Lorenzo Carter and B.J. Hill lead with two apiece. The Bucs had allowed 26 sacks, but they also throw the ball an average of 41 times.“We’ve got to find a way to get some more pressure,” Giants defensive coordinator James Bettcher said. “We’ve got to win some more 1-on-1s, we’ve got to beat the back when we get on the back in protection. If we get a free runner, we’ve got to time up our pressures a little bit better. We had a couple of those this past week when our timing just wasn’t good enough. We were a little late in the pressures and we’ve got to clean that up, and play better on third down.”A RETURNMANThe Giants seemingly have found someone to return kickoffs. Corey Coleman handled the job for the first time in his NFL career, averaging almost 31 yards on three returns.Special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey was confident the 15th overall pick in the 2016 draft (Cleveland) could handle the job after being signed to the practice squad on Oct. 18. He had been waived by the Patriots.“He did it in college,” McGaughey said. “That’s part of our job as coaches, we’ve got to do our research. I worked with Art Briles, so I always followed Baylor kind of closely so I knew about him and I knew about his past. Kid can run.”

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  • Created: Sep 16 '19
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