NFC South Notes: Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers, Saints

February 27, 2018

Buccaneers

Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times takes a look at some free agents with ties to new Buccaneers DL coach Brentson Buckner including DE Alex Okafor, DL Frostee Rucker and Julius Peppers.

Falcons

Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff admitted Monday that they will have to make some “difficult moves” in the coming weeks as they prepare to sign QB Matt Ryan to a long-term extension.

“We all know that as we start nearing the signing of quarterbacks in this league, and especially quarterbacks of Matt Ryan’s status, you have to be very creative,” Dimitroff said on 680 The Fan Monday. “There are going to be some difficult moves for us to make probably early next week and into next week.”

According to D. Orlando Ledbetter, two potential cap casualties to watch for the Falcons are G Andy Levitre and DE Brooks Reeds, who could net them $10.6 million total.
Other cap casualty candidates, according to Ledbetter, include QB Matt Schaub ($3.25 million), DT Derrick Shelby ($3.2 million), WR Mohamed Sanu ($3.1 million) and TE Levine Toilolo ($2.5 million).

Panthers

Darren Rovell and David Newton of ESPN are reporting that the bidding process for the Panthers franchise hasn’t officially begun yet and it could take months.
As of now, there are only two real bidders for the team: David Tepper and Ben Navarro.
Forbes projects the Panthers to be worth $2.3 billion and if the franchise were to sell for this amount, it would require a downpayment of $690 million from a buyer.
According to the report, there appears to be a lack of other solid bidders for the team, but Tepper is considered to be the front-runner for now.
One issue that could be impacting the sale of the Panthers is the fact that others teams are expected to on the market in the coming years.

Saints

Free agent OL Senio Kelemete said it’s his “first priority” to be back with the Saints. However, he believes he’s done enough to have earned a starting role.

“I’ll let my tape do the talking,” Kelemete said, via Herbie Teope of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. “I do feel confident that I am a starter just because of the many positions I’ve played. With the less time that I’ve had to prepare and just kind of settle in at that position, I’m still able to play at a high level no matter what position I had to play –– right guard, left guard or right tackle. You name it, I’m going to give it my best, and I felt like I did that.”