Michael Lombardi mentioned the “GM Shuffle” podcast that he recently spoke to a league a source who told him that he doesn’t expect TE O.J. Howard to be back with the Buccaneers in 2020 and Tampa Bay is attempting to trade him.
According to Lombardi, the Buccaneers tried to move Howard before the trade deadline last year and were looking for a second-round pick in return for him at the time.
However, a deal never surfaced and Howard ultimately finished out the year in Tampa Bay.
Lombardi can see the Buccaneers trading Howard either during the draft or in the days leading up to it.
For what it’s worth, the Patriots have come up as a landing spot for Howard dating back to last year.
Howard, 25, is a former first-round pick of the Buccaneers back in 2017. He signed a four-year, $11.094 million contract that included a $6.208 million signing bonus and he stands to make a base salary of $1.97 million for the 2020 season.
Howard’s contract includes a fifth-year option for the Buccaneers to pick up this offseason.
According to OverTheCap.com, trading Howard would free up $1,977,936 of available cap space while creating $1,552,246 in dead money.
In 2019, Howard appeared in 14 games for the Buccaneers and caught 34 passes for 459 yards receiving and one touchdown.
We’ll have more regarding the Buccaneers and Howard as the news is available.
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