Tampa Bay Buccaneers Extend OL Donovan Smith, Create Cap Space for Suh

The Bucs accomplished two things: Extend a key member of the offensive line while being able to spend money at defensive tackle.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers continued to re-work contracts Wednesday morning creating more cap space to spend in free agency this offseason.

After extending quarterback Tom Brady to a new contract that saves the franchise nearly $20 million earlier in the month, the Bucs extended offensive tackle, Donovan Smith, to a two-year extension worth $31.8 million, which helped create room to re-sign defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.

The new deal with Smith frees up about $10.6 million in cap space, according to Greg Auman of The Athletic. 

I can confirm that Bucs have signed left tackle Donovan Smith to a two-year extension, freeing up about $10.6 million in cap space. His $14.2 million base salary is mostly converted to a bonus, dropping his cap number to $3.6 million with two voidable years.

— Greg Auman (@gregauman) March 24, 2021

If this extension had not happened, Smith would have used up $14.25 million of the salary cap in 2021. As of Wednesday morning, the Bucs only had $1.25 million in cap space, according to OverTheCap.com. Instead, Smith will only count as $3.6 million against the cap in 2021, freeing up an additional $10.65 million, according to ESPN's Jenna Laine.

This move created cap space to allow the Bucs to re-sign Suh to a one-year, $9 million deal, according to NFL Network. Suh will now re-join the team for a third season.

RELATED: Ndamukong Suh, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Agree to New Contract

Smith was selected in the second round (34th overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft by the Buccaneers and has since started all 79 career games he has played in.

Since becoming a starter in 2015, Smith has been part of a Tampa Bay offensive line that has helped block for an offense that ranks third in third-down conversion rate, while recording the fourth-most yards per game in the league, third-most passing yards per game, and fifth-highest yards per play in that span.

There's a likely chance the Bucs aren't done yet in free agency. The franchise has continued to talk to representatives for wide receiver Antonio Brown and running back Leonard Fournette, and they are considering more moves to free up cap space, according to ESPN.

Stay tuned to AllBucs.com for further updates on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and 2021 NFL free agency.