NFC Notes: Buccaneers, Falcons, Saints

Buccaneers

Buccaneers GM Jason Licht said Tom Brady is recovering “very well” from a minor knee operation but did not provide a timetable of recovery. 

“There are some corrections that are going to have to take place at some point down the road, but we’re not putting ourselves in a position where next year we have to release a lot of good players,” Licht said, via Kevin Patra of Around the NFL. “We’re going to be in good shape if we continue to just make sure that we make smart decisions and we do things right. We’re going to be competing for years to come.”

Licht discussed the use of adding voidable years on contracts this offseason, pointing out that their front office talked about using this structure in the event of having “an excellent team.”

“That’s been something that’s been done for a long time with different teams, and you see it too this year,” said Licht. “A lot of teams are using it this year. It’s something that we’ve talked about for a few years here in terms of our cap situation, our future cap situation, the way we’ve done contracts. We’ve said if we ever get to a point where we have a really good team, an excellent team like we have, and we need to start doing this, using the voidable years and kicking it down the road a little bit, then we would. We were in a position where we were able to do it this year.”

Licht added that voidable years puts them in a good position for the next offseason. 

“We’re not putting ourselves in a position where next year we have to release a lot of good players. [They’ll be] competing for years to come,” said Licht, via Greg Auman.

Falcons

• The Atlanta Falcons announced that in 2021 they will be playing an international game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England.
• Falcons’ new G Josh Andrews‘ one-year, $1.127 million deal includes a $137,500 signing bonus and $200,000 of his $990,000 base salary is guaranteed. (Aaron Wilson)

Saints

• Saints’ new TE Nick Vannett’s three-year, $8 million deal includes $3.8 million in guaranteed money. $1 million of his 2021 base salary is guaranteed, to go along with $1.5 million in 2022. He can also earn a $400,000 roster bonus in 2022. (Nick Underhill)
• Saints GM Jeff Ireland was spotted talking to Tulsa LB Zaven Collins after his pro day on Friday. (Andrew Groover)