Despite making it known that he wants to be an every-down running back, Legarrette Blount has signed his exclusive-rights free agent tender worth a measly (by NFL standards) $540,000. With Preston Parker signing his tender last week, this means that every Buccaneer the team wanted to keep is now back in the fold. Blount's return is especially important, as the Bucs have all of one other running back under contract: Mossis Madu.
How Blount fits into the Bucs' new offense is yet to be determined: will he simply be a two-down back, or will the Bucs use him in a more multi-faceted way? Can he develop into a pass-receiver and quality pass-blocker? And can he fix his fumbling issues?
Interestingly, the Bucs also released quarterback Rudy Carpenter. The fourth-year player had been the Bucs' third-string backup quarterback for the past years, but the weak-armed QB seemed mostly to be a fit for the West Coast Offense, and not the new offense the Bucs are installing under offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan.