Bucs Looking to Trade OL Shaq Mason, per Report

The guard was traded from the Patriots last March.

The Buccaneers are considering trading guard Shaq Mason, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported on Monday.

Tampa Bay is most likely choosing to trade Mason due to his salary, per Fowler, as Mason is scheduled to make $8.5 million in base salary in 2023, and the Bucs would save $5.3 million in a trade or release. 

Mason is coming off just one season with the Buccaneers following his seven-year tenure with the Patriots, from whom Mason was acquired last offseason. This means Mason has played every season but two (2020, ’21) with newly retired quarterback Tom Brady.

The two-time Super Bowl champion started in all 17 games last season as the Buccaneers went 8–9. They made the playoffs, though, but lost in the wild-card round 31–14 to the Cowboys. Tampa Bay is undergoing a roster shake-up amid Brady’s retirement, and cap space will come at a premium as the team still looks to add a quarterback and other components to its roster.