Tampa Bay Buccaneers plan to move on from guard Shaq Mason

It appears Shaq Mason’s brief stint in Tampa Bay is coming to an end soon. Per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, the Buccaneers are exploring the possibility of trading the starting RG, while Tom Pelisero of the NFL Network added to the report saying that the team would release Mason if they are not able to find a trade partner in the coming days.

Mason was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season from the New England Patriots for a 2022 fifth-round pick and provided the Bucs with stable play at the right guard position after Alex Cappa left the team in free agency for the Cincinnati Bengals. Mason is on the last year of a deal that would pay him 8.5 million dollars this season and the Buccaneers can free up about 5 million dollars in cap space moving on from Mason.

The Bucs will look to rely on younger players at both Guard positions moving forward with the potential re-signings of Nick Leverett, and Aaron Stinnie (Unrestricted Free Agent), and players currently on the roster including Robert Hainsey (who should move back to playing guard after starting at center the previous season), and John Molchon. With Luke Goedeke possibly moving over to right tackle to take over for Tristan Wirfs who is possibly moving over to left tackle after the release of Donovan Smith, the Bucs offensive line is in for some massive shifts this offseason and we will see if the gamble can pay off.