With Alex Cappa and Ali Marpet departing, the Bucs made a move to shore up the offensive line
With Ali Marpet’s retirement and Alex Cappa leaving the Bucs to sign with the Bengals, Tampa Bay had two large holes to fill along the offensive line and it appears they are getting to work on it. After re-signing Aaron Stinnie to a one year deal, the team added another piece. The Bucs have acquired guard Shaq Mason from the New England Patriots for a 2022 5th round draft pick.
Shaq Mason will be 29 years old at the start of the 2022 season and has two years remaining on his contract, which is 16 million dollars in total.
Told it is for a 5th rounder. https://t.co/Xp7SlaJje3
— Mike Giardi (@MikeGiardi) March 15, 2022
This is a move that came out of nowhere and surprised a lot of people. Now the Bucs have their right guard situation figured out as Mason is one of the better ones in the NFL.
Only sending a 5th round pick to New England is strong value and the Bucs are filling a need. They could still look to select a guard early, but for now it seems like they are keeping their options open for the draft.
Pro Football Focus had new Bucs guard Shaq Mason as their No. 4 guard last year in overall rating. By comparison, they had Ali Marpet 7th, Alex Cappa 18th. Definitely fills a key need on offensive line tasked with protecting Tom Brady at age 45 this season.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) March 15, 2022
The Bucs will continue to look to add to their roster in the coming days, but it is clear that Jason Licht and company are not messing around so far.