Punter Bryan Anger has signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, according to ESPN's Adam Caplan. Some thought the Jacksonville Jaguars would use the franchise tag on Anger, a talented punter, but they elected not to do so and he hit the open market.
Bryan Anger, the punter the Jaguars drafted before Russell Wilson, signs with Buccaneers
Anger hit the market after Jacksonville declined to use the franchise tag on him, and now he’s headed to Tampa Bay.
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Anger, 27, is best known for where he was taken in the 2012 NFL Draft, when the Jaguars snagged him in the third round. Five picks later, the Seattle Seahawks took Russell Wilson, but the Jaguars didn't add a quarterback in the draft class, one year after picking Blaine Gabbert No. 10 overall in the 2011 NFL Draft.
The early selection of Anger set impossibly high standards for a punter and he has drawn consistent criticism for his inability to live up to his draft selection. While he has consistently finished near the top of the league in punting average, and was No. 10 in 2015, he has outkicked his coverage often and finished No. 22 in net average.
Still, he’s only 27 and has one of the NFL’s best legs among punters, so it was obvious he’d find a team willing to invest in him on the open market.
The Bucs were reportedly not the only team to show interest in Anger. The Panthers were in the market for Anger's services, too.
Well, the Panthers did have interest in Bryan Anger, who has agreed to terms with Bucs, per @caplannfl.
— Joe Person (@josephperson) March 22, 2016
The Jaguars made their plans to move on from Anger official when they signed Brad Nortman, formerly of the Panthers, to a four-year deal on March 9.
The Bucs signed punter Michael Koenen in 2011, making him one of the highest-paid punters in NFL history with a six-year, $19.5 million contract. Koenen was released by the Bucs prior to the 2015 season, and Jacob Schum took over for the 2015 season. Schum is still under contract with the Buccaneers, though none of his $525,000 salary is guaranteed.
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