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The Buccaneers have re-signed 26-year old OT Demar Dotson to a 1-year deal. Dotson played in 13 games (2 starts) for the Buccaneers last year. He has now played in 22 games (2 starts) in his first two years with the Buccaneers. This was a good move as you can never have too many quality offensive linemen on your team.
The Buccaneers have signed 25-year old OT Jamon Meredith to a 2-year deal. Meredith played in 4 games (0 starts) for the Steelers last year. He has now played in 17 games (4 starts) in his first three years in the NFL. I like this pickup for the Bucs as Meredith will give them solid depth at tackle.
The Bucs have released 26-year old DE Tim Crowder. Crowder played in 10 games for the Bucs last year and he had 14 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 2 tackles for a loss. He played in 41 games in his three years with the Bucs and he had 87 tackles, 6.5 sacks, 4 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries and 7 passes defensed. This hurts the depth at DE for the Bucs in 2012.
The Buccaneers have waived 24-year old DE Nick Reed. Reed played in 3 games for the Buccaneers last year and he didn’t have any tackles. Reed has now played in 26 games in his first three years in the NFL and he has 23 tackles, 1 sack, 2 forced fumbles and 3 passes defensed. This won’t hurt the Bucs at all as Reed essentially did nothing last year for them.
The Buccaneers have re-signed 36-year old CB Ronde Barber to a 1-year deal. Barber played in 16 games for the Buccaneers last year and he had 79 tackles, 3 interceptions, 9 passes defensed, 5 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery. Barber has now played in 225 games in his first 15 years with the Bucs and he has 1,142 tackles, 43 interceptions (one returned for a TD), 192 passes defensed, 53 tackles for a loss, 27 sacks, 15 forced fumbles and 12 fumble recoveries. Barber still has some gas left in his tank, so I think they were smart to bring him back for 2012.
The Buccaneers have re-signed 26-year old DE Michael Bennett to a 1-year deal. Bennett played in 14 games for the Bucs last year and he had 39 tackles, 4 sacks, 9 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble and 2 fumble recoveries. Bennett has now played in 34 games in his first three years with the Bucs and he has 57 tackles, 6 sacks, 11 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries and 1 pass defensed. This was a smart move for the Bucs as Bennett has improved in each of his first three years in the NFL.
The Buccaneers have signed 28-year old QB Dan Orlovsky to a 2-year deal. Orlovsky played in 8 games (5 starts) for the Colts last year and he completed 122 of 193 passes (63.2%) for 1,201 yards with 6 TD passes and 4 INTs (82.4 QB Rating). He also carried the ball 6 times for 5 yards (0.8 ypc) last year. Orlovsky has played in 20 games (12 starts) so far in his NFL career and he has completed 272 of 465 passes (58.5%) for 2,880 yards with 14 TD passes and 12 INTs (75.9 QB Rating). Orlovsky has also carried the ball 13 times for 34 yards (2.6 ypc) so far in his career. Orlovsky is 2-10 (16.7%) as a starting QB in the NFL. For now, it looks like Orlovsky will be the #2 QB for the Bucs in 2012 behind Josh Freeman.
The Buccaneers have released 30-year old center Jeff Faine. Faine played in 15 games (all starts) for the Bucs last year. He played in 51 games (all starts) in his four years with the Bucs. The Buccaneers have decided to move Jeremy Zuttah from guard to center for 2012, which spelled doom for Faine in Tampa.
The Buccaneers have signed 26-year old OG Carl Nicks to a 5-year, $47.5 million dollar contract. Nicks played in 16 games (all starts) for the Saints last year. He has now played in 64 games (61 starts) in his first four years in the NFL. Nicks is 6’5″, 343 pounds and he’s nasty. He will team with Davin Joseph to give the Bucs one of the very best guard tandems in the enire NFL. I love this pickup for the Bucs, as you know Josh Freeman has a big smile on his face right now.
The Buccaneers have signed 26-year old CB Eric Wright to a 5-year deal. Wright played in all 16 games for the Lions last year and he had 73 tackles, 16 passes defensed, 4 interceptions, 1 forced fumble and 4 tackles for a loss. Wright has now played in 75 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has 322 tackles, 63 passes defensed, 13 interceptions (1 returned for a TD), 1 sack, 3 forced fumbles, 4 fumble recoveries and 11 tackles for a loss. This was a good signing for the Bucs as Wright will likely replace Ronde Barber in the starting lineup in 2012.