The Buccaneers have acquired 29-year old WR Reggie Brown from the Eagles for a 6th round pick in 2011.  Brown played in 14 games for the Eagles last season in which he caught 9 passes for 155 yards (17.2 avg).  He has now played in 72 games in his NFL career in which he has caught 177 passes for 2,574 yards (14.5 avg) with 17 TD grabs.  Brown has also carried the ball 11 times for 68 yards (6.2 ypc) with 1 TD run in his NFL career.  This was a good move for the Buccaneers who are very desperate for WR help and Brown is a pretty decent receiver who was in Andy Reid’s Dog House last season.

The Buccaneers have released 33-year old punter Josh Bidwell.  Bidwell didn’t play last season for the Bucs due to injury.  Bidwell played six years with the Bucs in which he punted in 80 games.  Bidwell punted the ball 419 times for 18,426 yards (44.0 avg) for the Bucs.  He had 44 touchbacks with the Bucs (10.5%) and he pinned the opposition inside their own 20-yard line 124 times (29.6%).  The Buccaneers will be looking for a new punter in 2010.

The Bucs have released 34-year old punter Dirk Johnson.  Johnson played in 11 games for the Buccaneers last season and he punted the ball 62 times for 2,558 yards (41.3 avg).  Johnson only had 3 touchbacks (4.8%) and he pinned the opposition inside their own 20-yard line 16 times (25.8%).  The Buccaneers are looking to go in a different direction at punter in 2010.

The Buccaneers have released 29-year old CB Torrie Cox.  Cox played in 11 games for the Bucs last season and he made 21 tackles.  He played in 56 games in his career with the Bucs in which he made 79 tackles, defensed 5 passes, forced 1 fumble and he had 1 interception that he returned 55 yards for a TD.  Cox also returned 77 kickoffs for 1,758 yards (22.8 avg) for the Bucs.  The Buccaneers shouldn’t miss Cox at all.

The Buccaneers wanted to bring 1st round pick (#17 overall) QB Josh Freeman (out of Kansas State) along slow last season but they couldn’t.  With Byron Leftwich hurting and Josh Johnson failing the Bucs just threw Freeman into the fire.  He played in 10 games for the Buccaneers last season and he completed 159 of 291 passes (54.6%) for 1,857 yards with 10 TD passes and 18 INTs (59.9 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 30 times for 161 yards (5.4 ypc) last season for the Bucs.  If Freeman takes better care of the football he could turn into a really good QB for the Bucs because he has great arm strength and he is a great runner.  The 2nd best pick of the Bucs’ last draft wasn’t until the 7th round (#233 overall) when they selected WR/KR/PR Sammie Stroughter.  He played in 13 games for the Bucs before his season ending with a injury and he caught 31 passes for 334 yards (10.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Stroughter also returned 11 kickoffs for 324 yards (29.5 avg) with a 97-yard TD return.  He also returned 12 punts for 119 yards (9.9 avg) and he made 2 tackles on special teams.  He is a solid all-around football player for the Bucs and he has a bright future for them.  DT Roy Miller was taken in the third round (#81 overall) out of Texas.  He played in 15 games for the Buccaneers last season and he made 33 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 sacks and he defensed 1 pass.  Miller could develop into a starter down the line for the Bucs.  DE Kyle Moore was picked in the 4th round (#117 overall) out of USC and he played in 8 games in which he made 10 tackles and he defensed 1 pass.  OT Xavier Fulton out of Illinois (5th round, #155 overall) spent his rookie season on I.R.  CB E.J. Biggers (7th round, #217 overall) out of Western Michigan did not get on the field as a rookie last year.

GRADE FOR 2009:  C

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  B