Breshad Perriman, O.J. Howard Reward Bucs' Patience, Trust
As the NFL trade deadline approached earlier this season, one of the hottest names on the market was Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end O.J. Howard.
A top-20 draft pick just two years prior, Howard was struggling through his third NFL season, getting few opportunities and making costly mistakes on the rare occasion the ball came his way.
But despite rumored overtures from multiple teams throughout the league, the Bucs let the deadline pass without dealing away the former Alabama star, with head coach Bruce Arians promising that Howard's time to shine would come.
Similarly, wide receiver Breshad Perriman had been a huge disappointment in 2019 after signing a one-year deal with the Bucs as a free agent this past offseason. After dealing with a nagging injury, Perriman had failed to make any sort of significant impact for an offense that desperately needed a third option to emerge behind the two-headed monster of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.
Considering the Bucs could have cut Perriman in early November and recouped an extra compensatory pick in next year's NFL draft, many expected that to take place. When the deadline to make that move passed and Perriman remained on the roster, many Bucs fans and analysts (yours truly included) alike scratched their heads, wondering how Perriman could possibly be more valuable than a mid-round draft pick.
Both pass-catchers rewarded their team's faith Sunday, finishing at the top of Tampa Bay's receiving leaderboard in a 28-11 road victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, the team's second in a row.
Perriman led the team with 87 yards on five catches, while Howard hauled in five passes of his own for 61 yards. Both players made big plays throughout the game, picking up big chunks of yardage and moving the chains in key third-down situations.
It may have taken longer than many would have preferred, but both Perriman and Howard are making the most of the fact that Tampa Bay chose to be patient with them through their early-season struggles.
As they try to keep a winning streak going through the final quarter of the 2019 season, perhaps even salvaging a .500 record in Arians' first season as their head coach, the Bucs will certainly need all the help they can get.
