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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers continue to work their salary cap magic in efforts to free up more space. The latest rabbit pulled out of their hat is an extension for veteran left tackle Donovan Smith.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the two sides agreed on a two-year extension worth $31.8 million. He’ll be able to collect on his guaranteed money from 2019-2022.
With this deal, Donovan Smith now will collect on four consecutive years - 2019-2022 - of guaranteed money totaling an unprecedented $57 million, via @SPORTSTARSNYC
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 24, 2021
The Athletic’s Greg Auman also reported the deal, which he says frees up over $10 million in cap space.
I can confirm that Bucs have signed left tackle Donovan Smith to a two-year extension, freeing up about $10.6 million in cap space. His $14.2 million base salary is mostly converted to a bonus, dropping his cap number to $3.6 million with two voidable years.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) March 24, 2021
As of Wednesday morning, NFLPA records had the Bucs listed as having $5.4 million of cap space to work with. An additional $10 million can certainly help in their efforts in bringing back other players they are currently believed to be working with, like defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, wide receiver Antonio Brown, and running back Leonard Fournette.
As more details on the deal come in, we’ll be sure to provide them here on Bucs Nation.