Buccaneers' Top Players to Avoid in 2021 NFL Free Agency

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers need to make their second franchise-altering decision in three years at quarterback.

Tom Brady's retirement opened up a large hole in the offense that the franchise must fill with the right replacement if it wants to be in the mix for the top spot in the NFC.

Tampa Bay could use the strategy from two years ago and go after one of the major names on the market.

The Buccaneers should make an approach for Aaron Rodgers or Jimmy Garoppolo on the trade front, but if those advances fail, they may be forced to take on the free-agent market. Unfortunately for the Bucs, the best free-agent quarterbacks come with plenty of flaws, including one they are more than familiar with.

Not only do the Bucs have to bring in a quarterback, but they also have to revamp their running back room since their top three players at the position from the 2021 season are free agents.

Tampa Bay can make some improvements through the draft as well, which may be where it turns to if the free agents do not meet its standards.

Jameis Winston

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Jameis Winston is the best free-agent quarterback this offseason.

A reunion should not happen between the five-year starter in Tampa Bay and the NFC South champion.

Winston hits the market after a season in which he tore his ACL and did not give teams a full sample size of what he can do. He threw 30 interceptions in his final season with the Bucs, and because of the injury he suffered this season, he was unable to prove that he could avoid turnovers throughout an entire campaign.

The 28-year-old had 14 touchdowns and three interceptions in seven games in 2021. The promise shown in those starts may be good enough for some suitors, but it likely will not fit Tampa Bay's standards.

Replacing Brady with the quarterback he took over for would likely not go over well with the Tampa Bay fans, and it would be a significant downgrade from what the franchise expects at the position.

Teddy Bridgewater

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Teddy Bridgewater has 29 games' worth of film from the past two years for teams to break down ahead of his free agency.

Bridgewater recorded 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions in his season as the Denver Broncos' starter. His reliability in the pocket is better than Winston's, but the touchdown production is not good enough for Tampa Bay's standards.

The veteran quarterback had a strong set of offensive weapons around him, including Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton and Noah Fant, so it's not like he can blame a lack of options for his low touchdown total.

The only criterion Bridgewater fits for the Buccaneers is that he is an experienced starting quarterback in the NFL.

That likely will not be good enough for Tampa Bay, and if that is the case, the free-agent market may not be where the franchise goes to replace Brady.

Chase Edmonds

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Tampa Bay needs to revamp its running back depth chart this offseason.

Leonard Fournette, Ronald Jones and Giovani Bernard are all set to be free agents.

The Bucs need to figure out whether they want to bring in a veteran back to complement Ke'Shawn Vaughn, bring back one of the three players or attack the 2022 NFL draft for a replacement.

Chase Edmonds put together a nice career with the Arizona Cardinals, but he is not the potential No. 1 running back the Buccaneers are looking for. Edmonds does not have experience at being a No. 1 running back. He earned a career-high 116 carries as a backup to James Conner in 2021, with Conner taking up a majority of Arizona's scoring plays on the ground.

Tampa Bay might be intrigued by Edmonds as a No. 2 running back, but it is looking for a top ball-carrier first, and that should turn it away from the fifth-year player.