Available Free Agents To Fill The Wirfs’ Void

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With Tristan Wirfs suffering an injury that is less serious than initially thought I doubt the Buccaneers bring in a free agent to help. But with a push to get back on track and make the playoffs the depth may be a plus even after Wirfs returns. However if they do bring someone in don’t expect them to play this week or maybe even next.

Nate Solder

Could a reunion between Tom Brady and an old friend be in order? If I’m on the staff I certainly look into it. Solder is a two time Super Bowl Champion with the Patriots who was on their roster from 2011-2017. Form there he found himself in New York on the Giants squad. It was there that he made a transition to right tackle to help a poor performing offensive front. Taking 853 snaps at right tackle, and 68 at left he allowed 36 pressures. Of those snaps 586 were passing plays giving him a snap per pressure number of 16 snaps. Not a staggering number but it’s about the same snaps per pressure as the other options on the roster already. What he has over those player though is experience, both in the regular season and playoffs.

The issue is he won’t be able to come in and play right away (none of these players mention will be able to). However the Buccaneers can do what the Jets did with Mike Remmers. The Jets signed Remmers to their practice squad to evaluate him and then offered him a one year $1.12 million dollar contract. Solder would come cheaper as more of the season has passed by and he’s not as highly regarded recently as Remmers was. This could be an option even for more depth as they push for the playoffs.

Daryl Williams

Another player still available with a right tackle pedigree is Daryl Williams. Buccaneers fans should have some familiarity with him as he was the starting right tackle for the Carolina Panthers from 2015-2019. In 2017 he earned second team all pro honors with the team. Williams played his last two seasons in Buffalo and logged an impressive 2,222 snaps. Almost all of them at right tackle. In 2020 he was in on 684 pass plays and allowed 21 pressures.  This gives him a snaps per pressure number of 32 snaps. In 2021 he fell off and was around 19 snaps per pressure. His grade last season for pass blocking from PFF was a solid 72.4. Regardless his vast experience at right tackle and availability are very intriguing.

Bobby Massie

Playing under Bruce Arians for three years in Arizona, Massie has moved around to three teams in the NFL. Each stint he’s been average but durable. Last season he spent his time in Denver. While there he ticked off 796 snaps. Among those were 312 pass blocking snaps where he allowed for a total of 36 pressures. This gives him a number around 8.6 snaps per pressure.  Not relatively high as it earned him a 60.1 PFF pass block grade. He performed much better in run situations where he earned a 74.8 run blocking grade.

Tyrell Crosby

The former Detroit Lion is only 27 years old and has been putting in consistent work since being drafted in 2018. Additionally, he has shown improvement each year since entering the league. In 2020 he earned an overall PFF grade of 62.4. In that season he saw 397 snaps as a rotational player with 255 of those coming in passing downs. While allowing 20 pressures he had an average of 12.1 snaps per pressure in 2020. In 2021 he was in on 424 passing downs with only 20 pressures for a 21.2 snap per pressure rate. Not too shabby. With average run blocking grades he’s a lesser known and viable option who would be inexpensive.

Final Thought

Just to reiterate I do not believe the Buccaneers will bring in an outside talent. They fully subscribe to the next man up philosophy and have shown this season that loyalty is more important to them than performance.

However if I was the general manager I’m kicking the tires on Williams and Crosby. I liked Williams aggressive play when he was in Carolina. As for Crosby he is young with little tread on the tires. I think he could fill in a little and maybe be depth for the future.

Bucs Report’s Postgame Show

Slick and AJ react to the Buccaneers loss to Cleveland. Who is at fault? Wirfs hurt, what now? Slick and AJ bring the heat.

The Aftermath With AJ & Slick

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