Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net reports that the Buccaneers are expected to be “big players” in the Branden Albert sweepstakes.
- Pauline adds that the Dolphins are also expected to pursue Albert as well.
This is the first we’ve heard regarding the Buccaneers possibly having interest in Albert.
Tampa Bay currently has Donald Penn manning their left tackle position and still has two years remaining on his six-year, $41.7 million contract. The Buccaneers used Demar Dotson at right tackle last year who proved to be a very solid option.
Pro Football Focus rated Albert as the No. 28 tackle in the league with Penn and Dotson coming in at No. 30 and No. 13 respectively.
With that in mind, it would be surprising to see the Buccaneers had out a market value contract to a guy like Albert who has dealt with injuries and will be entering his thirties next year.
Andrew Abramson of the Palm Beach Post mentioned a few weeks ago that the Dolphins are expected to “go hard” after Albert this offseason and that actually makes sense given their obvious offensive line issues.
Albert, 29, is reportedly seeking as much as $9 million per year with around $25 million guaranteed in his next contract and the Dolphins showed interest in trading for him last year.
We have him listed as the No. 23 player in our Top 50 Free Agents list.
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