Breshad Perriman, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Selected 26th overall by the Baltimore Ravens in the 2015 NFL draft, Breshad Perriman has struggled to live up to that first round billing. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are his third stop in the NFL, and it is likely they will not be his last.
Perriman failed to consistently crack the starting lineup in Baltimore, starting just four games over his three years with the Ravens. He missed his entire rookie season after suffering a torn PCL on the first day of training camp. He appeared in all 16 games in 2016, starting one, and caught 33 passes for 499 yards and three touchdowns. In 2017 Perriman appeared in just 11 games, with three starts, and caught just ten passes on the year.
Perriman was released by the Ravens in September of 2018. He signed with the Washington Redskins a few weeks later, but was almost immediately waived. In October of 2018 the Cleveland Browns signed him, and he managed to contribute somewhat, catching 16 passes for 340 yards and two touchdowns.
However, when the Browns made waves last off-season by trading for Odell Beckham, Jr., that did not sit right with another WR they had just inked to a new contract. “Just hours” after signing Perriman to a one-year deal, the organization traded for Beckham. Irked by that, Perriman and his agent Drew Rosenhaus worked with then-Browns general manager John Dorsey to void the verbal agreement, and Perriman was suddenly a free agent.
Perriman signed a deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for one season, and last year was arguably his best season as a pro. He caught 36 passes (a career high) for 645 yards (a career high) and six touchdowns (also a career high).
Now he enters free agency, and with a great class coming up in the draft and some top-flight options available in free agency (such as Amari Cooper, Robby Anderson and A.J. Green) Perriman might be an afterthought yet again. But the way he ended his season might be a harbinger of what lies in store for him. He started the final three games of the season for the Bucs, and eclipsed 100 yards receiving in each contest, including a three-touchdown effort against the Detroit Lions in Week 15.
Bolstered by those final three games, and with evidence on tape of what he can truly bring to an offense, Perriman is perhaps a very solid option for teams looking to tap into the WR position on the secondary free agency market. A landing spot such as the Philadelphia Eagles might see him truly take off in 2020.