NFC Notes: Buccaneers, Falcons, Saints

Buccaneers

Buccaneers OLB Shaq Barrett said it’s close to a “50-50” in terms of whether he will sign his franchise tender with Tampa Bay. However, he should have an update on Friday regarding his contract situation. 

“It’s still up in the air right now, about 50-50,” Barrett said, via NFL.com. “We’ll find out a little more information on Friday.”

Although Barrett mentioned that he would like to improve from his 19.5 sacks in 2019, he admitted that achieving a 20-sack season would be difficult. 

“So, usually, before I had 19 and a half sacks, [my goal] was always to improve statistically, but trying to get 20, 21 is going to be hard,” Barrett said. “But I’m still setting it far up there. I just want, as a team, to help my team win a game, make a play every game, help the team win, make the playoffs.”

Falcons

• Former NFL GM and analyst for the Athletic Michael Lombardi writes the most obvious question for the Falcons in 2020 is if DC Raheem Morris can help the team keep up its momentum. Atlanta went 6-2 in the second half of 2019. 

Saints

Saints S Malcolm Jenkins said during an appearance on CNN that football as a “nonessential business” while adding there are a number of factors impact the NFL as opposed to other leagues like the NBA. 

“We have over 2,000 players, even more coaches and staff. We can’t do that,” Jenkins said, via ESPN.com. “So we’ll end up being kind of on this trust system, the honor system, where we just have to hope that guys are social distancing and things like that. And that puts all of us at risk, not only us as players and who’s in the building, but when you go home to your families. You know, I have parents that I don’t want to get sick.

“And I think until we get to the point where we have protocols in place, and until we get to a place as a country where we feel safe doing it, we have to understand that football is a nonessential business. And so we don’t need to do it. And so the risk has to be really eliminated before we — before I — would feel comfortable with going back.”