Buccaneers Rework J.R. Sweezy’s Contract

J.R. Sweezy signed a five-year, $32.5MM deal with the Buccaneers last year but has yet to play for his new team. After the sixth-year guard missed his entire first season with the Bucs, he will move forward on a reworked contract that’s emerged as a result of the injury struggles, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com.

Originally scheduled to earn $5MM in 2017 thanks to $2.5MM base salary and a $2.5MM roster bonus, Sweezy can now take in that same total through different mechanisms. The veteran guard’s new base salary is $3.75MM, while the additional $1.25MM will have to be made up through per-game roster bonuses. He’ll earn those bonuses if he’s on the active roster, or on injured reserve with something other than a back injury

Sweezy will also see his base figures from 2018-20 slashed by $1.25MM from 2018-20. Those previously resided at $6.5MM (2018), $5.75MM (’19) and $5.75MM (’20). Although, the 28-year-old guard now has availability-based escalators in the contract that will bump up those bases. Those escalators — which are worth the same $1.25MM — are tied to a 70 percent playing-time threshold during the previous season, Yates reports.

Additionally, Yates adds that split-salary language is now included in the ensuing three years of his contract, in an effort to protect the Bucs from further missed time from the ex-Seahawks guard. Jason Licht said Sweezy was cleared at the end of last season. His return to health would stand to benefit a Buccaneers offensive front that ranked 29th in the league last season. That’s down from fifth in 2015.

While Sweezy will have a chance to earn the original amount of his contract, he’ll must overcome his troublesome back injury to do so. Sweezy missed the 2016 minicamp, training camp and the entire season due to a severe disc-related problem in his back.

This marks the second time Tampa Bay adjusted Sweezy’s contract, Yates reports, noting that the Bucs pushed back the vesting date of his 2017 base salary guarantee to April 7 instead of March 14.