The offseason is fully underway and as we get closer to free agency officially opening on March 13th, the Buccaneers have some work to do before then. One of the players that is in need of a new deal is all pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr and it appears the Bucs could very well take advantage of the franchise tag to make sure he doesn’t hit the open market.
The franchise tag deadline opens on February 20th and ends on March 5th so the Bucs will have to make a decision and act quickly if they choose to go down that route but according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, the appears to be the likely outcome if Tampa Bay does indeed decide to use the tag.