9:50am: Collins’ five-year contract with the Bucs is worth $6MM annually, for a total of $30MM, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. $15MM of that total is guaranteed, says Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
9:39am: The Buccaneers have agreed to sign Anthony Collins, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). Tom Pelissero of USA Today reports (via Twitter) that it’s a five-year contract. We heard yesterday that Tampa Bay was pushing hard to land the left tackle, while another report suggested that Collins had narrowed his choices down to the Bucs, Bengals, and Panthers.
Having spent his first six NFL seasons in Cincinnati, Collins has never had an extended run as a full-time player, starting no more than seven games in any season for the Bengals. However, he was excellent in his 673 offensive snaps last season, never recording a negative grade in a game, according to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required). If he can maintain that type of performance in full-time action, he could be one of the steals in this year’s tackle market.
It has been an incredibly busy couple days for the Buccaneers, who have also signed defensive end Michael Johnson, cornerback Alterraun Verner, and former Bears quarterback Josh McCown, among others. With Collins expected to play left tackle for the team, expect the Bucs to try to move Donald Penn, according to Stroud (via Twitter).