The Tampa Bay Buccaneers snagged a likely starter early in free agency by signing former Chicago Bears safety Chris Conte to a one-year deal, but it wasn't until Tuesday that the team found the favorite to start next to him in the secondary.
Buccaneers hope Chris Conte, D.J. Swearinger finally add consistency to secondary
The Buccaneers have swung and missed several times in their search for solid secondary play and hope D.J. Swearinger and Chris Conte won’t add to that list of duds.
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Newly claimed D.J. Swearinger will have to compete with Bradley McDougald for the starting strong safety role, but he is most likely to start after 22 starts in two seasons with the Houston Texans. There hasn't been much security in playing defensive back for the Buccaneers, though.
The team has dipped into the free agency and NFL Draft wells often to find safeties and cornerbacks, mostly with negative results, but that’s a problem that plagued Lovie Smith during his days with the Bears, too.
In the last three years alone, the Buccaneers have managed to rack up some big free agency and draft busts, although they managed to find one solid defensive back during the 2014 offseason.
Studs
After working his way to a starting spot for the Tennessee Titans, Verner earned a Pro Bowl bid in 2013 and cashed in with a four-year, $25.75 million contract with the Buccaneers. He backed up the big deal with a strong season in his first year with the Buccaneers, particularly as a run stopper in the team's Tampa 2 scheme.
Duds
One of the biggest free agency flops of the last few years came when the Buccaneers gave Wright a five-year, $37.5 million deal in 2012. He played just 10 games for the team due to a suspension, was traded to the San Francisco 49ers, failed his physical with the 49ers and was subsequently released by the Buccaneers for nothing in return. Wright retired before the 2014 season.
Any time a player is selected in the top 10 of the NFL Draft, the intention is that the player will be a cornerstone for the team for many years to come. The plan isn’t for the player to get traded away less than three seasons later for a pair of third-day draft picks. It’s not so much that Barron was bad in his 37 starts for the Buccaneers, it’s that he wasn’t very good, and that’s bad.
The Buccaneers saved face by trading away Barron for a pair of late picks and did the same with Dashon Goldson, who was traded to Washington in April. After back-to-back Pro Bowl seasons with the 49ers that included nine interceptions and 20 passes defended, Goldson recorded just one interception and nine passes defended in his two seasons in Tampa Bay. Not quite the ideal numbers for someone given a five-year, $41.25 million contract.
Based on play alone, Revis could have belonged in the stud category. He even earned a Pro Bowl nod during his one season with the team. Was it worth it, though? Absolutely not. He was acquired in a trade that included Tampa Bay's first-round pick in 2013 and even with Revis on the team, the Buccaneers still only finished 4-12. The Jets used their new draft pick to take Sheldon Richardson, who earned Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2013 and Pro Bowl honors in 2014.
Somewhere in between
The Buccaneers feel pretty comfortable with pairing Banks with Verner as the team’s starting corners. The second-year cornerback has seven interceptions and 30 starts already in his career and has the potential to step up his play further, but for now he’s just a decent starter, which isn’t quite enough to earn a “stud” label for a second-round pick.
After a decent start to his career, Wright was really bad for the Bears in 2013. The team allowed him to walk and he was reunited with Lovie Smith in Tampa Bay on a one-year deal. While he wasn’t excellent for the Buccaneers, he was good enough to earn another contract from the team that runs through the 2016 season. With improved depth at safety, Wright now provides the team with a solid backup and jack of all trades in the secondary.
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