Page 22 - Florida Sentinel 3-6-20

Sports
Bucs Take Big
Broncos Agree To Trade Fourth-Round Pick For Jaguars CB A. J. Bouye
Cam Newton Could Reportedly Still Be Traded;
Risk If Jameis
Chargers A Team To Watch
Winston Hits
The Carolina Panthers have been sending mixed sig- nals about their intentions with Cam Newton since Matt Rhule was hired as the team’s new head coach, but recent reports have indi- cated they are proceeding as if Newton will be their start- ing quarterback in 2020. That could change at some point this offseason, espe- cially if a team like the Los Angeles Chargers aggres- sively pursues Newton.
The Panthers are not yet fully committed to keeping Newton on their roster.
Depending upon where certain quarterbacks end up
Free Agency
A. J.BOUYE
Denver Broncos corner- back Chris Harris will be in high demand as free agency starts, and the Broncos al- ready have locked in his pre- sumed replacement.
The Broncos agreed to a significant trade Tuesday, which would send a 2020 fourth-round pick to the Jack- sonville Jaguars for corner- back A. J. Bouye.
Bouye has been a top-end cornerback and a Pro Bowler in 2017. The trade can’t be of- ficial until the league year starts on March 18.
Harris’ agent reportedly met with other teams at the NFL scouting combine last week.
Tom Brady To The 49ers Actually Seems Like A Possibility
TOM BRADY
There have been numerous rumors about Tom Brady potentially leaving the New England Patriots to sign else- where, but none have made a whole lot of sense, until this one.
Patriots reporter Tom E. Curran was on Mad Dog Sports Radio for an interview Tuesday and talked about Brady’s future. Asked to pre- dict whether Brady would leave the Pats, Curran gave his thoughts, and mentioned San Francisco as a contender.
“50-50. To me, it’s either going to be New England or Tennessee, with the 49ers closing hard on the outside,” Curran said.
It's possible that not even the Tampa Bay Buccaneers know exactly what they want to do at the quarterback po- sition for the 2020 season and beyond. A big, big risk the Bucs and Coach Bruce Arians are taking.
They could sign Jameis Winston to an extension right this second if they wanted to, but since they haven't, it's a good bet they have other plans in mind. Those plans are likely influ- enced by the fact that many big-name veteran passers are set to hit the open market in a couple of weeks.
Tom Brady, Philip Rivers, Teddy Bridgewa- ter and more could be look- ing for a new home this offseason, and the Bucs might want to go more than window shopping in an at- tempt to upgrade from Win- ston.
Sure, Winston led the league with over 5,000 pass- ing yards and finished sec- ond only to NFL MVP Lamar Jackson in touch- down passes last year, but his league-leading (by far) 30 in- terceptions will likely have more to say about whether or not he stays in Tampa Bay than anything else. His turnover problems have got- ten worse instead of better over his five seasons in the NFL, and Tampa Bay might just be fed up at this point.
It seems more likely with each passing day that the Bucs will let Winston test the waters of free agency, while they themselves see what else the market could give them. If it goes the Bucs' way, they'll either end up with a veteran upgrade, or Winston will find very little interest from other teams, and will come back to Tampa Bay with far lower demands for a new contract.
But what if that doesn't
CAM NEWTON
and how confident teams are that Newton’s foot is com- pletely healed, there could be a significant trade market for the former NFL MVP this summer. The Chargers are believed to have the most in- terest of any team at the mo- ment.
JAMEIS WINSTON
happen?
What if Winston gets a
new deal elsewhere, leaving the Bucs at the mercy of the open market? What if Brady, Rivers, Bridgewa- ter and the rest make other plans, leaving Tampa Bay empty-handed at the game's most important position?
That could force the Bucs to get desperate when the 2020 NFL Draft, rolls around, leading them to reach for prospect or trading valuable resources to move up the board and get one who will be ready to start immedi- ately. Currently sitting at No. 14 overall in the first round, the Bucs would have to make a big jump to land the likes of Oregon's Justin Herbert or Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa, let alone presumptive No. 1 pick Joe Burrow.
Would Utah State's Jor- dan Love or Washington's Jacob Eason really be the answer with a top-15 pick? Could they wait until Day 2, asking Georgia’s Jake Fromm or Oklahoma's Jalen Hurts to take over the offense?
It makes sense why the Bucs would want to see what's behind every door this offseason, but they need to have a strong backup plan in place if everything goes south, and the league's top quarterbacks go everywhere else this offseason.
Texans OT Laremy Tunsil Fires Agent, Wants $19M A Year
The Houston Texans have a bit of an issue.
The Texans paid a huge price to trade for left tackle Laremy Tunsil from the Miami Dolphins last year. Tunsil was entering the final year of his contract, and made a Pro Bowl for the first time. Now he wants to be the high- est paid offensive lineman in NFL history.
And on the verge of free agency, Tunsil fired the CAA agency that has represented him since he was drafted by the Dolphins.
The Texans are looking at a big price tag.
Last week from the NFL scouting combine, Aaron
LAREMY TUNSIL Wilson of the Houston
Chronicle cited sources that said Tunsil wants “at least” between $19 million to $20 million per season. Lane Johnson of the Philadelphia Eagles is the highest paid of- fensive lineman in the NFL at $18 million per season.
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