Buccaneers' Free Agent Wide Receiver Options Following Season-Ending Injury to Russell Gage
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers headed up to New Jersey this week to have joint practices with the New York Jets who they are set to face off against in week two of preseason on Saturday night.
Outside of a few minor injuries, the Buccaneers have stayed surprisingly healthy thus far in training camp. However, a wake-up call to the squad occurred Wednesday during the team's joint practice with the Jets that saw the Bucs' WR3 Russell Gage go down with a non-contact knee/leg injury while backpedaling.
Report: Buccaneers Starting Wide Receiver Out For Entire 2023 Season
It is never good when a player goes down with an injury, but from the looks of things, Gage's injury is quite serious and will put an end to his 2023 season before it even begins. Gage was visibly upset when being carted off the field, so unfortunately it appears that Gage also has an inkling that this is serious.
Following practice, head coach Todd Bowles exclaimed that the injury seemed "pretty serious" and "our hearts go out to him".
Since arriving in Tampa Bay last offseason from Atlanta, Gage has been slotted in as the Buccaneers' #3 wide receiver behind Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. After showing off his skills in Atlanta, Gage was thought to be the missing piece the Bucs were looking for at the position. Unfortunately for both Gage and the Bucs, he battled injuries throughout the season and wasn't able to fully come into form and be the guy the Bucs needed. Now, things may be the same.
With things pointing in the negative direction with Gage, the question becomes who will help fill out that spot that is left open as the Bucs' third wideout?
READ MORE: New York Jets Cancel Second Joint Practice With Buccaneers
First, let's look at who the Buccaneers currently have on their roster that could currently slide in and help out at the wide receiver 3 position. Currently, outside of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, the Buccaneers have veteran David Moore, second-year guys Deven Thompkins and Kaylon Geiger, and then a couple of rookies who have been standing out at training camp in sixth-round draft pick out of Nebraska, Trey Palmer, and undrafted free agent Rakim Jarrett out of Maryland.
As of now, Deven Thompkins is listed as the backup to Russell Gage as the Buccaneers' third wideout, but ultimately it could be any of these guys. Outside of David Moore, none of the other potential suitors have any real playing experience in the NFL. The Buccaneers could decide to roll out one of these guys alone, but ultimately I think it would be better used as a position that you rotate guys in-and-out of depending on matchups, who has the hot hand, etc.
Another route the Tampa Bay Buccaneers can take is to look toward the free agent market to see if there are any viable options to help out the wide receiver room. The market for wide receivers is thin right now as we approach the regular season, but veterans such as Kenny Golladay, Julio Jones, Sammy Watkins, and Jarvis Landry are still out there.
Each of these players have seen success at some point during their careers and could benefit from being given another chance. The Bucs have already gone the Julio Jones route, so it wouldn't make much sense to bring him back again when you know what you are getting from him.
The other three names mentioned could definitely be in play, however. Landry and Watkins are more of the elder statesmen in this group and are likely on the downslope of their careers. Landry seemingly would be a better fit at the third receiver position and has shown that he is a reliable option. The intriguing option here would be Golladay. Golladay had a couple of astonishing seasons with the Detroit Lions before moving on to the New York Giants where he struggled mightily and eventually got pulled from their rotation altogether.
If the Buccaneers are serious about going after Golladay they will need to do their due diligence and make sure the Golladay is getting himself together to be able to perform to the levels we once saw from him.
The answer to the question is far from being in front of the Bucs, but they will need to make a decision hastily as they will need to make sure whoever steps in to fill that role that they are ready as the regular season gets ever so closer.
Stick with BucsGameday and the Locked On Bucs podcast for more coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout the offseason.
