Tampa Bay Buccaneers Officially Sign Britt, Wilcox, Stuard

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have gotten pen to paper with three draft picks.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers officially announced the first three signings of their 2021 NFL Draft class on Thursday: Linebackers K.J. Britt and Grant Stuard as well as Brigham Young cornerback Chris Wilcox. 

Contract details weren't available at the time of signing, but draft pick contracts are slotted on the rookie wage scale as part of the NFL's Collective Bargaining Agreement. 

Spotrac's projection of the 2021 rookie wage scale suggests that Britt will earn $3.7 million over the course of his contract and will count for $726,575 against the Buccaneers' 2021 salary cap table. For Wilcox, it's $3.6 million in total value with a $680,693 cap hit this year, while Stuard's total value comes in at $3.6 million with a $679,061 cap hit in 2021.

Four of Tampa Bay's draft picks - edge rusher Joe Tryon, quarterback Kyle Trask, offensive lineman Robert Hainsey, and wide receiver Jaelon Darden -, as well as its entire reported group of undrafted free agent prospects, remain unsigned. 

The majority of the draft class, however, reported to the team's facility on Thursday ahead of the Buccaneers' rookie mini-camp, which begins on Friday.

Reporting for rookie minicamp 👋 pic.twitter.com/Y5eWeZeB3r

— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) May 13, 2021

You can read each rookie's team biography below, provided by Buccaneers Communications.

Britt (6-0, 243) played in 42 games, making 14 starts, over four seasons at Auburn (2017-20), and was selected as a captain in his final season. He recorded 119 tackles (13 for loss), 2.5 sacks, two passes defensed and one forced fumble over his collegiate career. In his junior season in 2019, Britt was named first-team All-SEC by the coaches and second-team All-SEC by the Associated Press after setting career highs across the board with 69 tackles (13 for loss), 2.5 sacks and one forced fumble.

Wilcox (6-2, 195) was the first of the Buccaneers’ two seventh-round selections in the 2021 NFL Draft, being selected No. 251 overall. In five seasons at BYU (2016-20), Wilcox appeared in 41 games, with 26 starts, tallying 88 tackles (three for loss) and eight passes defensed. He was a first team Phil Steele All-Independent honoree and was part of a BYU defense in 2020 that ranked fourth in scoring defense and 10th in total defense, while limiting opponents to just 197.5 passing yards per game.The Buccaneers confirmed jersey numbers for each player at the time of signing as well. Britt will wear No. 52, Wilcox will wear No. 29, and Stuard will wear No. 48.

Stuard (6-1, 225) was the 259th and final pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, earning this year’s ‘Mr. Irrelevant’ title. He is now teammates with Buccaneers kicker Ryan Succop, the final pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, who last year became the first ‘Mr. Irrelevant’ to win a Super Bowl. Stuard, a team captain in his senior season at Houston, led the American Athletic Conference in 2020 with 8.7 tackles per game, finishing with 61 tackles (two for loss) and one fumble recovery on his way to 2020 Phil Steele first team AAC honors. Over his four seasons with the Cougars (2017-20), Stuard recorded 190 tackles (14 for loss), four passes defensed, 1.0 sack and one fumble recovery.

Stay tuned to AllBucs for further coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 2021 schedule release, and other news and analysis.