The 2020 NFL draft has come and gone, and despite the numerous trades we saw during the event, it’s the trade that didn’t happen that’s causing some buzz — that of Bucs’ tight end O.J. Howard.
Howard had a rough go of things in his first year playing for Bruce Arians, although he was an effective blocker. But after Tampa Bay completed a trade last week with the New England Patriots to bring Rob Gronkowski out of retirement, it seemed like a safe bet that Howard would be moved prior or during the draft.
But Bucs GM Jason Licht came out after the Gronk trade and said the team was looking forward to having Howard on the roster still. It sounded like a smokescreen at the time, but apparently, Tampa Bay is willing to carry the salaries of three tight ends into 2020.
As it stands, the Bucs are comfortable eating the salary cap hit of nearly $20 million and keeping tight ends Rob Gronkowski, Cam Brate and O.J. Howard. No realistic trade options surfaced, and TB wants to give Tom Brady all the matchup options he would need.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) April 26, 2020
Keeping Howard is a smart move. We all know that Arians will adjust his offense to accommodate tight ends in the passing game now that Brady is on board, which will only benefit Howard’s development. Working with a quarterback like Brady might be the saving grace to help get his career back on track. And that would only be good news for the Bucs.
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