Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports that the Buccaneers will use their franchise tag on LT Donovan Smith before tomorrow’s deadline.
According to Stroud, talks between the two parties are going well on an extension and they could still get an extension done at a later date.
The franchise tag would cost the Buccaneers $14,067,000 fully guaranteed for the 2019 season, but it would also buy them time to continue negotiating a long-term extension before the July deadline.
Smith, 25, is a former second-round pick of the Buccaneers back in 2015. He played out the final year of his four-year, $6.068 million contract and is in line to be an unrestricted free agent this March.
In 2018, Smith appeared in all 16 games for the Buccaneers and is rated by Pro Football Focus as the No. 46 offensive tackle out of 80 qualifying players.
We have him featured in our Top 100 – 2019 NFL Free Agents list.
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