Will Buccaneers let Bobby Rainey, Leonard Johnson walk?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have decisions to make on both Bobby Rainey and Leonard Johnson. As the Tampa Bay Times notes, both are restricted free agents, which means the Bucs can either tender them contracts at $1,542,000 each, or let them hit free agency. That's not a cheap deal, but it's not hugely expensive either, which makes this decision interesting. The Bucs have two make these decisions before March 10.

At first glance this would appear to be an easy decision to bring back Rainey: he's consistently looked like the best running back on the team. However, Rainey didn't touch the ball once outside of returns during the final three weeks of the 2014 season, when Doug Martin and Charles Sims took the lead. I'm not sure the Bucs are willing to pay him $1.5 million to be a third or fourth running back.

Leonard Johnson is likely to walk, too. Johnson's struggled throughout his tenure as the team's slot cornerback, which is where he's played for the first three years his career. He's never been quite bad enough to bench, but he's never been good enough that you actually want him to play, either. For the salary he'd earn under his tenure, the Bucs should be able to find a better player.

Letting these players walk doesn't mean they can't return. The Bucs could still re-sign them at a lower price tag. I just wouldn't expect the tags to be used.