Devin McCourty stays with Patriots, Buccaneers silently weep

The New England Patriots will re-sign Devin McCourty, the safety told Shalise Young. So that means no top-of-the-line safety for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. According to Ian Rapoport, he signed a five-year, $47.5 million deal and turned down more money elsewhere to stay in New England.

It's not clear whether the Bucs were ever going to target McCourty, even though he'd be a great fit for their defense. A lot of teams were supposed to be interested in the safety, and the Bucs would have had to pay top dollar to get him. That's not something they've done under this regime. Not yet, anyway.

And the Bucs kind of hinted at their willingness to move on by re-signing Major Wright to something that looks like a starter's contract. It's not clear whether the Bucs are going to move on from Dashon Goldson, but they'd save $4 million by cutting ties with Goldson, who was at best 'okay' last year.

The Bucs are reported to be interested in safety/cornerback Ron Parker, but he's more of a strong safety/slot cornerback than free safety, like Dashon Goldson. It's starting to look more like the Bucs are going to move Bradley McDougald to that spot.