Tampa Bay plans to release Cameron Brate, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. The veteran tight end has been with the team since 2014, having stuck around this long despite being a UDFA. The Bucs will save just more than $2MM through this cut.

This comes after Brate suffered a scary injury midway through last season. A sprained neck led to Brate being stretchered off the field in Pittsburgh, leading to a three-game absence. Brate, who had been bumped down in Tampa Bay’s pecking order during Rob Gronkowski‘s time with the team, returned but did not make a substantial statistical impact. He finished the year with 20 receptions for 174 yards and no touchdowns.

Brate, 31, has been with the Bucs since before their Jameis Winston draft investment. The Harvard alum’s 2,857 career receiving yards rank second among tight ends in team history, behind only Jimmie Giles‘ 4,300. Brate’s total tops every Bucs tight end since 1987. Although 6-foot-5 pass catcher has played a complementary role behind Mike Evans (and often others) throughout his Tampa tenure, he has been a valuable player for the team.

The Bucs gave Brate a rare six-year contract back in 2018, with the deal being worth $40.8MM. This came after he served as a key Winston target, totaling 1,251 yards and 14 receiving touchdowns from 2016-17. The Bucs’ O.J. Howard first-round pick changed Brate’s role a bit, as did Bruce Arians‘ arrival; Brate never topped 350 receiving yards after that 2017 slate. The Bucs twice restructured Brate’s contract, adding two void years. That created a $2.96MM dead-money charge.

Reduced role aside, Brate teamed with Gronk and Howard in one of the higher-profile tight end stables in recent NFL history, collecting a Super Bowl ring in the process. Brate made a notable contribution during the Bucs’ 2020 playoff run, catching 14 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown in the postseason to help the Tom Brady-led team to a home Super Bowl. Barring a second Brady unretirement, Brate also caught the legendary quarterback’s final touchdown pass — an 8-yarder in the Bucs’ wild-card loss to the Cowboys.

This cut comes not long after the Bucs agreed to release Leonard Fournette. Others from the Super Bowl year will be gone as well, via releases or the team letting them walk in free agency. Todd Bowles has said the team is not expected to be particularly active on the market. Before that point, however, Tampa Bay must clear more than $50MM in salary to move under the cap.

Hicks has been sidelined since Week 2 while nursing a foot injury. The veteran defensive lineman started 77 games during his six seasons in Chicago before joining the Buccaneers this past offseason. He started each of Tampa’s first two games, collecting five total tackles. His return to the lineup will surely help a defensive line that has struggled against the run.

“It helps because it puts everybody back in their roles,” coach Todd Bowles said. “It puts everybody back in their roles and they can get the amount of time and play how they’re used to playing, and it helps us up front because it gives us a dimension we haven’t had over there.”

Davis had missed the past two games after aggravating a hip injury in Week 6. The 25-year-old started each of the Buccaneers’ first six games, collecting 31 tackles and four passes defended. Murphy-Bunting suffered a squad injury in Week 5 that forced him to miss a handful of games.

Of course, as mentioned, Tampa Bay still has a crowded injury list. Pro Bowl defensive back Antoine Winfield Jr. will be out tomorrow against the Rams, as will tight end Cameron Brate, left guard Luke Goedeke, and wide receiver Russell Gage.

This is interesting considering the two players who have been most closely linked to trades — Christian McCaffrey and Shaq Thompson — were brought in before Rhule arrived. Rhule did greenlight McCaffrey’s extension; Thompson’s deal came under Marty Hurney‘s leadership. Carolina’s Temple contingent remains strong, even post-Anderson. Matthew Ioannidis, Cory Littleton and P.J. Walker remain in key roles, though Rhule-backed players cannot only be limited to the ones he coached in college. Littleton and Ioannidis are on one-year deals, making them interesting trade candidates.

Here is the latest from the NFC South:

• David Tepper bought the Panthers in 2018. The two football-related storylines most closely associated with the owner are Rhule’s seven-year, $62MM contract and the team’s Deshaun Watson pursuit. With the Panthers not having a winning season during Tepper’s time, is safe to say the owner’s stock has dipped. In the wake of Rhule’s firing, multiple NFL personnel men did not speak highly of Tepper, whom they classify as emotional and “difficult” to work for, per CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones. Descriptions like these, along with Carolina’s quarterback situation, stand to make it harder for Tepper to hire his next coach. Then again, he could simply throw out another monster contract. Rhule was believed to prefer the Giants to the Panthers in 2020, but money certainly talked.
• Although the Panthers designated Sam Darnold for return from IR, Steve Wilks said Walker will be his starter in Week 7. Jacob Eason will back up the former XFLer. Walker started in Week 6 and struggled, but the Panthers’ top three options (Darnold, Baker Mayfield and Matt Corral) are injured. Mayfield did return to practice Thursday, suggesting a possible Week 8 return is in play. But Mayfield and Darnold are set to wage another competition — several weeks after Mayfield prevailed in the training camp battle — following the former’s woeful start. The Panthers have three weeks to activate Darnold from IR.
• The Saints will go with Andy Dalton again tonight. The 12th-year vet will make his fourth start this season, while Ed Werder of ESPN.com notes (via Twitter) Jameis Winston will be the emergency No. 3 QB. Dalton supplanting Winston as the Saints’ full-time starter entered the equation recently, though Dennis Allen said Winston is not yet fully healthy. Winston, whom Dalton initially replaced due to spine fractures, re-signed on a two-year, $28MM deal this offseason. The Saints guaranteed Winston $15.2MM; Dalton is making $3MM this year.
• Cameron Brate left the Buccaneers‘ Week 6 game on a stretcher, but Todd Bowles provided relatively good news on the veteran tight end. Brate sustained a sprained neck and did not suffer any loss of feeling or nerve damage. It is not clear when the ninth-year Buccaneer will be able to play again. The Bucs drafted two tight ends — Cade Otton and Ko Kieft — this year before signing Kyle Rudolph. Otton, a fourth-round pick out of Washington, worked as Brate’s primary replacement against the Steelers.

Just because the two parties came to an agreement doesn’t necessarily mean everyone involved is now on the same page. The NFL’s chief medical officer, Dr. Allen Sills, was quoted as he spoke passionately on a Zoom call, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. Sills flew to the defense of the medical professionals involved in clearing Tagovailoa, saying that they operated with “absolute integrity.” He claimed that they all see “a patient and not a player” in that kind of situation and that “no one involved cares about the position of the player or the score of a game.” He then moved to defend the protocol, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, saying that it “is not broken” but “can always improve.”

In response to the firing of the unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant in Tagovailoa’s case, Sills claimed that “it was extremely unfortunate to make an action prior to review being completed.” According to Rapoport, Sills’ sentiments were echoed by the NFL executive vice president of communications, public affairs and policy, Jeff Miller, who was quoted saying, “It’s not something we would have done and didn’t. We never supported terminating him.” Miller deferred an explanation to the union, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, claiming it was the NFLPA’s decision to terminate the UNC despite protocols being followed.

Retired NFL center and president of the Players Association JC Tretter defended the union’s decision to terminate the UNC saying that, while the UNC technically followed the protocols, the NFLPA does “not believe this was a meaningful application of the protocols.” Tretter pointed out that “nobody, including the NFL, believes (Tagovailoa) should have been put back in the game,” seemingly insinuating that utilizing the loophole of Tagovailoa’s back injury as an alternative cause of gross motor instability, despite not taking time to examine him for a back injury, was a fireable offense.

Sills also spoke to the effects of the new protocol. He confirmed that, with the wording of the new protocol disqualifying any players showing symptoms of ataxia, Tagovailoa would’ve been effectively ruled out, according to Rapoport. He also warned of some potential negative consequences to the new wording, according to Pelissero, pointing out that “players diagnosed with ataxia will be treated the same as others with concussions, including needing independent neurologist clearance to play again.” He also pointed out that it would be “extremely unlikely” that a diagnosed player could clear all the steps required in order to return in just four days, hinting that the new protocol would also have held Tagovailoa out of the Thursday night game that saw him succumb to further head trauma.

Sills also acknowledged that, with the new wording, there will likely be some players who end up getting pulled even if they don’t have a concussion, according to Pelissero. This is one of the first major steps we’ve seen towards an actually conservative handling of head injuries, and it’s a tradeoff that the NFL and NFLPA will readily accept. Sills told the media, “We’d rather hold someone out that doesn’t have a brain injury than put someone out there that does have a concussion and we weren’t able to diagnose it,” a sentiment many who preach “player safety” have been pounding the table with for years.

The new protocol is now in place and will hopefully lead to more examples of protecting the league’s players. The protocol is only the first step, though, as now the league has to ensure that everybody involved in the process is retrained to follow the new checklist, released first yesterday by Pelissero. Even the two steps together will not guarantee that the protocol will be followed entirely to a T without fail. Just last week, Buccaneers tight end Cameron Brate returned to a game after suffering a blow to the head and exhibiting “injury behavior” without so much as an examination, according to Mike Florio of NBC Sports. Florio wrote that Sills disagreed with the spotters’ conclusion that Brate was struck in the shoulder and not the head, and that Brate should have been examined for a concussion before re-entering the game. So even with the perfect protocols in place, human-error still persists, and the league will need to take steps in monitoring cases like this and taking action, when necessary.

Finally, we can turn our attention to the larger picture, in terms of an entity to which even the NFL must answer. The recent controversy reportedly drew the attention of the US Congress as Bill Pascrell, Jr., a member of the House of Representatives and head of the Brain Injury Task Force sent a letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Dolphins owner Stephen Ross inquiring about what was to be done to address player safety. The letter showed fundamental misunderstandings of the league’s policy and procedures, according to Florio, but still rightly demanded that action be taken. Pascrell’s response to the action taken last night has yet to be seen, but the entire situation may not be fully put to bed until the fat lady (Congress) sings.

For now, though, the NFL is in action-mode, putting into effect their new protocol. The rest of us will have to wait and see; see if the league acts more conservatively, if the danger of brain reinjury wanes, if player safety will take precedence over profit and product. The league is under the microscope and will hopefully become more proactive than reactive as a result.

“No it really wasn’t hard,” Arians said during a recent appearance on the “Eye Test For Two” podcast (h/t to JoeBucsFan.com). “[Winning a championship is] great, but succession was really, really big for me. It didn’t happen in Arizona. It meant the world to me to make sure 34 families had jobs beyond February. The Super Bowl wasn’t guaranteed, there’s nothing guaranteed, but now our guys have 5-year contracts. Todd’s got a 5-year deal and all the assistant coaches are set for the future.

“I was probably done anyway, so why not do it now? I know a lot of people think the Hall of Fame is the end-all, be-all and if it happens, that would be the most unbelievable thing to be able to wear a gold jacket. But this meant more to me personally.”

When Arians stepped away from his gig, it was assumed that the move was influenced by Tom Brady‘s decision to renege on his retirement and return for the 2022 campaign. Both sides have said that wasn’t the case, and Arians even said he would have reconsidered had he known Brady’s intentions before making his own decision. Passing on the job to Bowles seemed like a natural move, especially with offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich still around to direct the offense.

With Arians no longer roaming the sideline, the long-time coach has transitioned into more of an advisory role. When Arians stepped down, his new role was described as “Senior Football Consultant.” The former coach indicated that he’ll still be interacting with both the coaches and the players, and he’ll naturally be able to take on a lesser role when it comes to game day:

“It’s a ‘What do you think?’ job,” Arians said. “Everybody asks me what do I think and they know they’re getting a brutally honest answer, whether it be [owner] Joel Glazer, [general manaher] Jason Licht, Todd Bowles or Byron Leftwich. It’s been fun going to practice, watching and learning some more, watching us change, looking at the new guys. Man, that draft class is going to be a home run. Looking forward to getting to camp.

“That’s the beauty of my job. I get to be in the locker room, get to be around the coaches every day and still have a big hand in the draft. The relationships were always the biggest thing for me. Building a new team, watching the new guys come in. Now, Sundays might be different sitting upstairs. I might be able to still holler loud enough to cuss out the refs from up there.”

Since he’ll no longer be responsible for devising a game plan, Arians will have more of an opportunity to contribute to team building. One of his more pressing issues will be figuring out how to proceed following tight end Rob Gronkowski‘s decision to retire. Fortunately, Arians doesn’t sound too worried about the team’s depth at the position.

“It’s a step back, that’s for sure,” Arians said. “[H]e’s a Hall of Fame player. But I really like the room right now. I love the young kids we’ve got in there and Cam Brate’s a good veteran player that Tom really trusts. Now, he’s not Gronk. That size and what he brings as a blocker and receiver I think is unmatched. You don’t replace that guy, but we also have Codey McElroy … I think it’s time for him to break out as a receiver.”

The tight end has taken “literal” pay cuts in each of the past two offseasons, per Auman. Brate inked a six-year, $40.8MM extension with the organization in 2018, and he’s set to earn $6.8MM in 2022.

The former undrafted free agent out of Harvard took a bit to find his footing in the NFL. He had a breakout season in 2016, finishing with 660 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. He’s been a consistent member of the offense ever since, appearing in every game for the Buccaneers since 2017. He finished this past season with 30 receptions and four scores.

He was buried behind Rob Gronkowski during Tom Brady‘s two years in Tampa Bay, but with the two Hall of Famers out of the picture, Brate should return to the top of the tight end depth chart next season. Fellow tight end O.J. Howard is set to hit free agency this offseason.

Arizona Cardinals

• Signed: DT Darius Kilgo

Atlanta Falcons

• Waived: CB Tyler Hall

Baltimore Ravens

• Signed: WR Siaosi Mariner
• Waived/injured: TE Jacob Breeland

Green Bay Packers

• Activated from PUP list: TE Dominique Dafney

Miami Dolphins

• Waived: LS Rex Sunahara

Minnesota Vikings

• Signed: WR Warren Jackson

New England Patriots

• Waived: QB Jake Dolegala
• Signed: LS Brian Khoury

Philadelphia Eagles

• Signed: S Blake Countess
• Waived/injured: S Obi Melifonwu

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

• Activated from PUP list: TE Cameron Brate

Washington Football Team

• Signed: C Jon Toth

Denver Broncos

• Placed on active/PUP list: CB Essang Bassey, LB Baron Browning, CB Duke Dawson

Green Bay Packers

• Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: LB Ray Wilborn
• Placed on active/PUP list: RB Patrick Taylor

Jacksonville Jaguars

• Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Chris Claybrooks

Kansas City Chiefs

• Placed on NFL list: DE Malik Herring
• Placed on active/PUP list: DB Armani Watts

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

• Signed: TE De’Quan Hampton
• Placed on active/PUP list: TE Cameron Brate, WR Justin Watson

Tennessee Titans

• Placed on NFI list: C Aaron Brewer
• Placed on active/PUP list: RB Jeremy McNichols, OT Ty Sambrailo

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The Buccaneers wiped $4.69MM from the books by converting $2.425MM of Brate’s pay to a bonus. Meanwhile, his listed salary has been reduced down to a modest $1.075MM. The remainder of Brate’s contract remains untouched — he still has base salaries of $6.8MM and $7.5MM for 2022 and 2023, respectively. However, those seasons are completely non-guaranteed, so the Buccaneers can release him with zero dead money left over.

Brate, an eighth-year pro, inked a six-year, $41MM deal with the Bucs in March 2018. At the time, he was hot off of two solid seasons with an average of 52 catches for 625 yards and seven touchdowns. Unfortunately, the 2018-19 campaigns were not as kind to him — his average dipped to 33/300/5 in those two years as he struggled through a hip injury.

Now, Brate finds himself playing second fiddle to Rob Gronkowski. In 2020, he put up some of the lowest numbers of his career — 28 receptions for 282 yards and two TDs. However, the 29-year-old (30 in July) saw a more significant role in the playoffs, culminating in Brate’s first ever ring.

Brate felt better on Friday and, despite being listed as questionable, is expected to play Sunday, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

Thanks in part to the addition of Rob Gronkowski, Brate put up some of the lowest numbers of his career in 2020, compiling 28 receptions for 282 yards and two scores. However, the 29-year-old has seen a more significant role in the playoffs. After collecting five or more targets in only two of his 16 regular season games, Brate has seen at least five targets in each of his three postseason contests, hauling in 11 receptions for 149 yards and one touchdown.

If Brate were to be sidelined for the Super Bowl, Gronk would likely soak up most of Brate’s snaps. With O.J. Howard sitting on IR, the Bucs could also hypothetically turn to Antony Auclair or Tanner Hudson.

There is some good news on the injury front for Tampa Bay. Rapoport adds that wideout Antonio Brown was a full participant at practice. The 32-year-old sat out the NFC Championship as he nursed a knee injury. Brown appeared in eight games for the Buccaneers this season, compiling 45 receptions for 483 yards and four touchdowns.

Here is the latest out of Tampa:

• Arians has not gotten much out of the tight end position during his stay as head coach in Arizona and Tampa. That should soon change. The Bucs currently house an all-time tight end stable, with Rob Gronkowski joining the team’s O.J. Howard–Cameron Brate duo already regarded as one of the NFL’s best. Arians said the Bucs will use a two-tight end offense as their base this season (via Auman, on Twitter). Going with more “12 personnel” looks would give Howard and Brate more time on the field and potentially represent an effort to conserve Gronkowski, who retired partially because of injury issues last year. This also points to the Bucs giving stronger consideration to keeping all three tight ends rather than trading Howard or Brate. Arians even said he’s interested in three-tight end looks.
• Tampa Bay is not expected to make a move to add interior offensive linemen to back up starters Ali Marpet, Alex Cappa and Ryan Jensen, Arians added (via Auman, on Twitter). The Bucs did not draft any guards or centers, but Arians likes what he has seen from backups Aaron Stinnie, Anthony Fabiano and Zack Bailey. A fifth-year blocker, Fabiano is now on his eighth team. Stinnie was a 2018 Titans UDFA; Bailey was a Bucs 2019 UDFA who spent much of last year on IR.
• However, the Bucs are keeping multiple roster spots open for possible veteran additions. Arians said (via Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com, on Twitter) he and GM Jason Licht discussed saving room for veterans who would be more prepared to play than rookie UDFAs. With Brady on a two-year deal, Tampa Bay stockpiling vets would make sense.

The Buccaneers listened on trade offers for Brate and Howard towards the end of last month, but they didn’t get any offers to their liking. Publicly, the Bucs said they were okay with having all three TEs on the roster. Then, before the early May deadline, they exercised Howard’s fifth-year option for 2021. This doesn’t automatically mean that Brate is the odd man out, or that they’ll commit a total of ~$20MM to the position. Howard’s option – guaranteed for injury only – doesn’t hamper the Bucs’ ability to trade him. Also, this surplus of TEs would be opulent, even by Brady’s standards.

Howard, ostensibly, holds more trade value than Brate. The Alabama product hasn’t lived up to his first-round billing, but he’s flashed serious ability and uncommon athleticism for a 6’6″ receiver. The Bills saw that first-hand last year, as Howard went off for six catches, 98 yards, and two scores in Buffalo. And, roughly one year earlier against the Eagles, he got nearly as many yards, just with better efficiency – three catches for 96 yards, mostly thanks to a 75-yard connection with Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Teams aren’t sleeping on Brate, either. It’s true that he’ll turn 29 in July (Howard won’t be 26 until November), but he’s a proven playmaker and blocker. Between 2016 and 2017, he averaged 52 catches for 625 yards and seven TDs. After that, the Bucs rewarded him with a six-year, $41MM deal, including $18MM guaranteed. He’s been slowed by a surgically-repaired hip, but he’s more than a year removed from the operating table. It also helps that the Bucs restructured his deal in January. The exact terms of the restructure aren’t clear, but he’s probably on the books for less than the $4.5MM in guaranteed dollars he was slated for.

Howard wouldn’t be especially pricey for other teams, either – his rookie deal calls for a 2020 cap hit of just $3.5MM. The Bucs, meanwhile, would carry a $1.5MM charge for trading him.

The Bucs didn’t find any worthwhile deals for them in April, but interest should pick up between now and September. Even after drafting Cincinnati’s Josiah Deguara in the third round, the Packers could use a high-end TE to pair with Marcedes Lewis. The Bengals may also want to give the Bucs a call as they look to surround Joe Burrow with extra artillery. The list goes on. Depending on the asking price, the Bucs could have a market of 20+ teams for either Howard or Brate.

However, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com, no realistic trade options presented themselves to Tampa (Twitter link). We heard a few days ago that the team nearly dealt Howard to the Redskins in exchange for Trent Williams back in February, so Fowler’s report may simply mean that no viable trade proposals surfaced after the Gronk acquisition on April 21 and throughout this weekend’s draft. In any event, it looks as if Tom Brady will have all three players at his disposal in 2020.

Fowler adds that the Bucs never felt the need to trade a tight end and that they are comfortable with their significant financial investment in the position. But it’s not as though they really have a choice. It’s much more likely that an opposing team would pursue Howard instead of Brate, and Howard carries a 2020 cap charge of just $3.5MM, $1.5MM of which would remain on the Bucs’ cap even if he were traded. One way or another, the overall TE cap hit is significant, so it makes sense to simply give Brady as many options as possible and to see if he can help Howard start to realize his potential. GM Jason Licht acknowledged as much several hours before this year’s draft got underway.

It remains unclear if the Bucs will pick up Howard’s fifth-year option for 2021. Though the option would be guaranteed for injury only since Howard was a 2017 draft choice, the Alabama product has not lived up to his status as a first-round selection, so his future in Tampa remains up in the air.

However, the team still expects to use Hill as a rusher and receiver next season, so Payton said New Orleans will add another QB that will be active on game days (Twitter link via Duncan). The Saints are expected to explore a long-term contract for Hill in the near future.

Now for more from the NFC South:

• Cameron Brate‘s recent restructure with the Buccaneers is better classified as a pay cut. Per Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, Brate accepted a decrease in his 2020 salary from $6MM to $4.25MM (Twitter link). The move will keep Brate, a quality red zone target, in the fold for Tom Brady while buying the team a little more cap space.
• Several days ago, the Panthers beat out several clubs for the services of XFL signal-caller P.J. Walker. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle says Walker’s pact with Carolina is a two-year deal worth $1.565MM, a pretty nice haul for an XFLer who has yet to crack an active roster in the NFL (Twitter link).
• CB Blidi Wreh-Wilson‘s new one-year deal with the Falcons includes a base salary of $1.05MM and a singing bonus of $137.5K, as Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com tweets.

Details of the restructure are not yet known, but it’s worth noting that $4MM of Brate’s $6MM 2020 salary was due to become guaranteed today. He will team with O.J. Howard to form a potentially formidable TE tandem for Brady, who will have a lot more weapons to work with in 2020 than he did in his last year with New England.

Brate, who will turn 29 in July, signed a six-year, $41MM deal ($18MM guaranteed) with the Bucs in March 2018. Over the prior two seasons, he averaged 52 catches for 625 yards and seven TDs, but the 2018-19 campaigns were not as kind to him. He underwent hip surgery last January, and his per-season averages dipped to 33/300/5.

But if nothing else, the former UDFA out of Harvard profiles as a reliable red zone threat, and he could become more with Brady under center.