Buccaneers' Star Wide Receiver Traded for Saquon Barkley in NFL Projected Trade
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ future is uncertain following Tom Brady’s retirement. Because of this, they could easily hit the reset button and focus on youth development and free up salary cap space.
To kick off a rebuild, the Bucs could sell high on players that would return solid value in terms of picks and a potential young player.
Mike Evans is a player the Bucs could trade to recoup as much value as possible and turn the franchise in a new direction. For Evans, this would be the first time he would be on a franchise other than Tampa Bay in his career. Though there are no reports that the Bucs are looking to move the wide receiver, the writing is on the wall for the two sides to part ways.
Bleacher Report’s Maurice Moton pitched for the Buccaneers and the New York Giants to make a trade to send Evans to New York in return for Saquon Barkley and a second-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
READ MORE: One Buccaneers' Quarterback Emerging Early During Starting Competition
Without Brady under center, the Bucs' best chance to compete offensively would be hammering down the ground game. Barkley gives them the perfect opportunity to do so. Their running back room right now has four potential contributors in Rachaad White, Chase Edmonds, Ke’Shawn White, and Sean Tucker.
For the Giants, they would be able to strengthen their passing game, headed by quarterback Daniel Jones and tight end Darren Waller, as they could attempt to unlock and find Jones’ potential under center.
For both sides of this potential trade, the two teams would be able to figure out what their next step is as a franchise. Barkley gets a new location with a team that could run the offense through him, and Evans is a top option in New York for a year before he is a free agent and able to choose his next team.
This trade would be a great kickstart for the Bucs' rebuild and would help them find their way back to contending for a Super Bowl much quicker. Having the running game covered by Barkley would ease the pressure off both their quarterbacks in Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask.
Stick with BucsGameday and the Locked On Bucs podcast for more coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout the offseason.
