Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans was so good as a rookie last season that he has potentially made fellow wideout Vincent Jackson expendable. Evans racked up 68 receptions for 1,051 yards and 12 touchdowns while V-Jax managed 70 catches for 1,002 yards and two touchdowns, his lowest output in years. For a rebuilding team, having Jackson count $12.2 million against the salary cap as a declining 32-year-old may not be palatable.
So will Jackson be back with Tampa Bay next season?
"Tampa shopped Vincent Jackson before the trade deadline and while they might still be open to dealing him, they haven't restarted that process yet, sources said, and at this point it looks like he'll be back," Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports wrote.
"Jackson will not agree to a pay cut, sources said, and the Bucs have plenty of cap space and need all the assets they can get, especially with it looking more like a done deal that they draft quarterback Jameis Winston first overall."
La Canfora may believe that the Bucs will keep Jackson around, but if they were willing to deal him once, they would be willing to deal him again. If the New England Patriots - who were rumored to be interested in adding Jackson before the trade deadline last season - came calling with a draft pick or two, Tampa Bay would be hard pressed to pass that deal up as they look to add younger talent and build a long-term winner. Don't be surprised if trade talks heat up around the NFL draft once free agency is largely over.
In the short-term, it's possible that Tampa Bay will look at other players on the roster as potential cap casualties, specifically left tackle Anthony Collins.
"The signing of Collins last season was a no-brainer since he was coming off his best season with the Bengals in 2013," ESPN's Adam Caplan wrote. "However, he wound up losing his starting job with the Buccaneers to Demar Dotson, who moved over from right tackle. Collins has $3 million of his $6 million base salary fully guaranteed even if he's not on the roster. And the remaining $3 million becomes fully guaranteed on March 12."
