Buccaneers sign underrated OT Anthony Collins to five-year, $30 million deal

Anthony Collins (right) finished the season as Pro Football Focus' No. 1 tackle. (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been among the

Doug Farrar | Mar 13, 2014

Buccaneers sign underrated OT Anthony Collins to five-year, $30 million deal /

Anthony Collins (right) finished the season as Pro Football Focus' No. 1 tackle. (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been among the most active teams in free agency this year, acquiring defensive end Michael Johnson, cornerback Alterraun Verner, quarterback Josh McCown and defensive tackle Clinton McDonald. But one acquisition on Thursday morning, though under the radar, may pay the most outstanding dividends. Tampa Bay agreed to terms with former Cincinnati Bengals offensive tackle Anthony Collins on a five-year, $30 million deal with $15 million guaranteed, ostensibly filling a left tackle slot that had been problematic given Donald Penn's decline over the last few seasons. Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, Penn was released just a few hours after the Collins signing.

The 6-foot-5, 315-pound Collins, a fourth-round pick in 2008 out of Kansas, has never started more than seven games in a season, but his value to the Bengals in 2013 was notable. He started the last six games of the season, including Cincinnati's wild-card playoff loss to the San Diego Chargers, and didn't give up a single sack in 673 total passing snaps, adding just one quarterback hit and 13 quarterback hurries. For this, he was given Pro Football Focus' No. 1 overall ranking at his position. In addition, his excellence outside allowed the Bengals to move tackle Andrew Whitworth inside to guard, further bolstering the line.

Collins had been talking with the Bengals, Buccaneers and Panthers about his future (the Ravens also expressed interest before they re-signed Eugene Monroe), and the Bucs were wise to step in. Last season, Penn allowed 11 sacks, six quarterback hits and 28 hurries. A veteran who has often struggled with his conditioning, Penn will almost certainly be on the trading block.

MORE COVERAGE: 2014 NFL free agency tracker, grades

As for the Bengals, Whitworth has said that he would prefer to play left tackle, but there's no doubt that losing Collins is a big hit to their offense.

Grade: A.

Mike Glennon

Published Mar 13, 2014

DOUG FARRAR

SI.com contributing NFL writer and Seattle resident Doug Farrar started writing about football locally in 2002, and became Football Outsiders' West Coast NFL guy in 2006. He was fascinated by FO's idea to combine Bill James with Dr. Z, and wrote for the site for six years. He wrote a game-tape column called "Cover-2" for a number of years, and contributed to six editions of "Pro Football Prospectus" and the "Football Outsiders Almanac." In 2009, Doug was invited to join Yahoo Sports' NFL team, and covered Senior Bowls, scouting combines, Super Bowls, and all sorts of other things for Yahoo Sports and the Shutdown Corner blog through June, 2013. Doug received the proverbial offer he couldn't refuse from SI.com in 2013, and that was that. Doug has also written for the Seattle Times, the Washington Post, the New York Sun, FOX Sports, ESPN.com, and ESPN The Magazine. He also makes regular appearances on several local and national radio shows, and has hosted several podcasts over the years. He counts Dan Jenkins, Thomas Boswell, Frank Deford, Ralph Wiley, Peter King, and Bill Simmons as the writers who made him want to do this for a living. In his rare off-time, Doug can be found reading, hiking, working out, searching for new Hendrix, Who, and MC5 bootlegs, and wondering if the Mariners will ever be good again.