Well, this is a surprise. While the Tampa Bay Bucs lost out on Jonathan Joseph earlier today, recent rumors have suggested that the Buccaneers are involved in the Nnamdi Asomugha bidding.
On one hand, this move makes sense. Nnamadi is widely considered one of the best free agents available — if not the best — and the Bucs have been trying to add more high-end depth at cornerback. They’re likely concerned about Aqib Talib’s long-term situation, and they have plenty of cap space to spend on a high caliber talent.
But then again, the Bucs have seemed reluctant to get too engaged in talks with expensive free agents this week. There have been mild rumors that they have had interest in a couple players — Jonathan Joseph and Doug Free — but the Bucs were never considered the top suitor in either case and their names surfaced late in the game. The Bucs lost out on Joseph and Free, supposedly for monetary issues, so I wonder if they’re willing to pay as much as it’d take to land Nnamdi.
So is this rumor legit or not? I’d be somewhat skeptical of it, as there have been no hints that the Bucs are interested in Nnamdi prior to this. And as Sander at Bucs Nation points out, this move wouldn’t exactly line up with the Bucs’ long-term plans:
But, let’s temper any expectations. Nnamdi does not fit with the Bucs’ supposed plan: Nnamdi is 30 years old, which certainly doesn’t fit with the Bucs’ youth movement. Keep in mind that good cornerbacks can play well until their mid-30s, though. Besides that, Dominik wants to stick with building through the draft. Obviously, signing Nnamdi would not fit with that. We’ll have to see, but Nnamdi Asomugha has been heavily linked to the New York Jets, and the Jets have supposedly created cap room to sign him.
Best case scenario? The Bucs are interested, but are still long-shots to sign Nnamadi. But hey, crazier things have happened. This rumor refuses to die on Twitter, so we’re just going to have to ride this one out to the end.
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