NFC South Notes: Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers, Saints

Buccaneers

• NESN’s Doug Kyed points out the Patriots could still trade TE Rob Gronkowski while he’s on the reserve/retired list if he wanted to come out of retirement and a team like the Buccaneers were interested. 
• Per ESPN’s Jenna Laine, Buccaneers GM Jason Licht addressed that buzz: “Well he’s doing a pretty good job in Wrestlemania right now. I have no idea if he’d want to play.” 
• Licht told reporters the team was still open to bringing bck QB Jameis Winston if their pursuit of Tom Brady hadn’t been successful: “It’s just … really comes down to we had a chance to get Tom Brady, and Tom Brady is a hell of a player, and we’re very excited about that. I’m very confident that Jameis is gonna go on and get an opportunity. That’s not the last you’re gonna hear from Jameis.” (Jenna Laine)

Falcons

After releasing CB Desmond Trufant, the Falcons are down to just four players at the position on their roster right now. Cornerback was arguably a need even before moving on from Trufant, their most established player in the secondary, and Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff confirmed the Falcons will likely add multiple players during and after the draft. 

“I’m a big believer, I’ve said this before, you really can never have enough corners and I think it’s really important for us to hone in on that,” Dimitroff said via Kelsey Conway of the team’s website. “Whether it’s the back end of free agency or whether it’s in the draft, we’ll continue to look in that area and make sure we have the right amount of people to fortify not only the front line but the depth as well. I understand the concerns of where the numbers are at this point.”

Panthers

This year marks the first year Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey is eligible for an extension. While the wisdom of extending running backs has been called into question recently, McCaffrey holds the distinction of being Carolina’s leading rusher and receiver since being drafted. His representatives are expected to lobby the team to pay McCaffrey more like a receiver than a running back and Panthers HC Matt Rhule gave them some ammunition. 

“To label him a tailback, that’s not respectful to him. He’s a tailback-slash-wideout. He can do it all — returner,” Rhule said via the Athletic’s Joe Person. “So I’m anxious to get him out there, I’m anxious to continue to build this thing around him. I think he’s going to be a special player for us. But contracts and all that stuff, Marty, I know he handles those things.”

With Cam Newton now no longer on the team, Rhule voiced the obvious — McCaffrey is now the face of the franchise and the player Carolina is building around. 

“We want to be a serious football place. We want to be a place that’s all about the game,” Rhule said. “And I think that’s who Christian McCaffrey is.”

Saints

• The Athletic’s Katherine Terrell looks at some recent big-money contracts given out to running backs in the context of the Saints’ decision with RB Alvin Kamara, who’s entering the final year of his contract. 
• Todd Gurley and David Johnson are no longer with the teams that initially gave them their market-setting extensions, though Johnson is still playing out that deal with the Texans. 
• It’s still too early to tell if the Cowboys regret RB Ezekiel Elliott‘s deal, as he just finished the first year of it and played well, but the Jets fielded trade offers for RB Le’Veon Bell after signing him to a major deal last offseason and he could be gone in 2021. 
• Adrian Peterson was the only back Terrell listed who played through nearly all of his first big extension, and she adds the Vikings moved on more due to allegations of child abuse than Peterson’s play declining.