Tampa Bay Buccaneers forced Jeremy Trueblood to take a pay cut

About one year after everyone outside the team realized the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were overpaying Jeremy Trueblood with a $10 million, two-year contract it seems the Bucs came to that very same conclusion. Despite having arguably the best season of his career, Trueblood was asked to take a $1 million pay cut before training camp this year, or face being cut - according to Pewter Report. That pay cut has lowered his compensation for this season from $6 million to $5 million, $4 million of which is now guaranteed, basically guaranteeing Trueblood's place on the roster.

It's a little odd that the Bucs asked him to take a pay cut despite Trueblood playing better than he had in recent years. Although the veteran offensive tackle will always remain a liability in pass coverage, especially against speed rushers, he didn't present as big of a problem as he did in previous seasons. Of course, the Bucs have little depth at tackle behind him. They signed journeyman tackle Jamon Meredith to give Trueblood some competition, but Meredith has no starting experience whatsoever. Meanwhile, eternal talented prospect Demar Dotson appears to be the only one with a remote chance of unseating Trueblood, but he's now playing left tackle due to Penn's absence.

All in all, despite Trueblood's price and problems in pass protection, the Bucs simply can't do without him right now. In that sense it's interesting to think about what would have happened had declined to take a paycut. Would the Bucs really have cut him, and would they now be starting Meredith instead of him? That doesn't sound too enticing, all over $1 million in salary, which isn't that much on the Bucs' payroll.