Buccaneers tackle Donovan Smith received a small fortune in a new deal with the club. Smith has agreed to a new three-year, $41.25MM deal including $27MM guaranteed at signing, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. 
The new deal positions Smith as the fourth-highest paid offensive tackle in the league behind Taylor Lewan, Nate Solder, and Jake Matthews. Meanwhile, he graded out as just the No. 46 ranked tackle in the NFL in 2018, according to the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus. His so-so 66.4 score was roughly in line with his scores from the previous three seasons.
The Bucs were planning to apply the franchise tag to Smith, which would have earmarked him for $14.077MM this year. Instead, the long term deal smooths out the cap hit slightly and keeps him under club control through 2021.
Smith’s payout is indicative of the lack of offensive tackle talent throughout the NFL. Elite tackles in their prime rarely reach the open market, which has driven up the price for lower-tier options such as Smith. That means a similarly large deal could be on the way for Dolphins free agent Ja’Wuan James, even though James is not among the best at the right tackle position.
Smith’s durability likely gave the Bucs additional comfort in the deal. According to the team, he’s just the second player in franchise history to start every game in his first four seasons. The pact will also keep things consistent on the O-Line after they locked up fellow 2015 draftee Ali Marpet on a pricey extension last year.
Waste of cap space.
In what world does this make any sense? 46th ranked tackle but paid like he’s the 4th best??????? WHAT? Dumbest move of the offseason, but what do you expect from a team that spent a 2nd on a kicker. Reminder to any Bucs fans (at this point I’m not sure if they have any) you could’ve got Trent Brown for the same price and he’s WAY better
This is the Bucs. They massivley over value their own guys. They gave Brate a 6 year contract and still think Winston is a franchise QB.
I’m a huge Bucs fan, and sadly, I cannot disagree with any of you. Not a fan of Jason Licht at all. I’m hoping to see Landon Collins and/or Anthony Barr added in FA, and then one of the primo pass rushers at number 5.
As a Vikings fan, Barr won’t be worth his contract. He will be one of the highest paid linebackers but the production has never been there an entire season. I would rather pony up for Collins.
Bucs gotta be in on Collins – I think they tried to trade for him multiple times…
I think Barr’s production will increase in a 3-4 rushing the QB from the outside. He’s been very efficient when rushing the passer. He just didn’t do it often. Honestly he’s a great football player who has excelled despite being miscast since being drafted. I like Kwon but I say let him walk, move Levonte inside with Beckwith, and put Barr and JPP outside while rotating in the top pass rusher selected at 5 overall. Keep McCoy, Vea, and Nassib upfront. That’s a real nice front 7 (8). Add Collins on the backend and find a cover guy in the second round or FA and D becomes real solid.