THURSDAY, 12:56pm: The Buccaneers have formally announced their deal with Sweezy, via a press release.
WEDNESDAY, 7:13pm: Sweezy’s deal is a five-year, $32.5MM accord, according to Fox Sports’ Mike Garafolo (on Twitter).
4:43pm: The Buccaneers have agreed to sign guard J.R. Sweezy, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link).
Sweezy will join a Tampa Bay offensive line that is now quietly full of players who are both young and talented. The club will field two sophomores in left tackle Donovan Smith and guard Ali Marpet, plus veterans Joe Hawley at center, some combination of Gosder Cherilus and Demar Dotson at right tackle, and now Sweezy at left guard.
But Sweezy won’t be replacing a scrub — no, he’ll be stepping into the shoes of veteran left guard Logan Mankins, who recently announced his retirement. Sweezy clearly isn’t the player that Mankins was, but he’s competent, and perhaps more importantly, reliable, having missed just two starts during the past three seasons.
The 26-year-old Sweezy ranked as PFR’s No. 15 free agent interior offensive lineman, and it’s a position that has seen a lot of action over the past several days. Kelechi Osemele, Alex Mack, Richie Incognito, Brandon Brooks, Jeff Allen, and others have all flown off the board.
Losing Sweezy will further hamper Seattle’s offensive line, but the club is negotiating to keep left tackle Russell Okung.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.