USAT: Buccs Wire audio clip

USAT: Buccs Wire

Mar 19, 2022

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers already have two Pro Bowl wide receivers in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, but having a quality third option was still high on the team’s priority list heading into the 2022 offseason. - They found their man in free agency earlier this week, a familiar face in former Atlanta Falcons pass-catcher Russell Gage, who signed a three-year deal with the Bucs worth $30 million. - What does Gage bring to Tampa Bay? - “Versatility,” he says. “I can definitely go inside and out. I’m really dominant inside, I’m really dominant against man coverage –quickness in and out of breaks. I get open against man coverage really well. I think that’s going to be a lot of things that people notice about me once you get to watching, skill-set wise.” - Gage was a role player for much of his time in Atlanta, but last year’s offseason departure of Julio Jones and the extended absence of Calvin Ridley for personal reasons thrust him into being Matt Ryan’s No. 1 target. - That experience was invaluable for Gage, and he brings the mentality of a No. 1 receiver to the No. 3 spot in Tampa Bay. - “When you come into it, you don’t really look at it as, ‘He’s the one, he’s the two, he’s the three.’ Because in any given day, you’ve got to be ready to play on a ‘one’ level. You might have a bigger role in a certain game that’s in the No. 1 receiver-type role. So, you have to be ready at any given time to play as if you’re a No. 1. That’s how you get really strong receiver corps. Everyone is playing at that wide receiver No. 1 level. So, definitely the mindset is in that state.” - Injuries have plagued Tampa Bay’s receiving corps in recent years, and despite some promising young talent, the Bucs’ lack of proven, experienced depth at the position has been exposed when either Evans or Godwin hasn’t been in the lineup. - Gage played some of the best games of his career against the Bucs over the last few years, and he’ll be hoping to build on that success now that he’s wearing Red & Pewter. - - List - - NFL free agency: Tracking all the latest Bucs news, rumors - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Email - - - - - Sign up - - - - - - - - Like this article? - Sign up for the Bucs Wire email newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning - - - - An error has occured - - - Please re-enter your email address. - - - - - - Thanks for signing up! - - - You'll now receive the top Bucs Wire stories each day directly in your inbox.

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Jan 27, 2022