Buccaneers Decision To Retain Vincent Jackson Could Have An Impact On Other Veteran Receivers?

Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reported earlier in the day that the Buccaneers will retain veteran WR Vincent Jackson at his current salary of $9.777 million.

According to Stroud, Buccaneers GM Jason Licht met with Jackson’s agent at the Combine, but never discussed a restructured contract.

There has been talk that Tampa Bay could approach him about a pay cut or even field trade offers for him like they did before last year’s trade deadline.

However, with the Buccaneers comfortable Jackson his current salary, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that this could have a trickle-down effect with other veteran receivers like Mike Wallace, Percy Harvin and Dwayne Bowe.

Rapoport sources said that the Bucs’ decision could essentially reset for market for wide receivers that are seemingly on the chopping block.

In recent days, we’ve seen veterans like Josh McCown and Ricky Jean-Francois sign respectable contracts, so there’s at least a chance that some of these receivers could get close to the money they’re currently making.

If the Buccaneers are willing to pay a 32-year-old Jackson $9.777 million, you could make the case that the Dolphins could justify retaining Wallace at his $9.85 million salary.

Of course, the Buccaneers are in a much better cap situation than either the Dolphins or Chiefs, so that will likely weigh into their decisions to keep either Wallace or Bowe for another year.

For what it’s worth, I would still expect the Jets and Chiefs to part ways with Harvin and Bowe in the coming days. It would also be fairly surprising to see Miami decide to retain Wallace now that they’ve been exploring ways to move on without him.