19 hours Ago By Ben Levine, Pro Football Rumors
The Buccaneers continue to restructure veteran deals. After reworking Tristan Wirfs ‘ contract last month , the team has now restructured the contract of safety Antoine Winfield Jr. , according to Greg Auman of FOX Sports .
Specifically, the team took Winfield’s impending $21M base salary and converted it into a minimum salary and a bonus. In the process, a void year was added to the safety’s contract. After all the machinations, the Buccaneers managed to carve out $15.
86M in cap space. It was less than a year ago that Winfield inked a four-year, $84.1M extension ($45M guaranteed) with the Buccaneers.
The contract made the veteran the highest-paid defensive back in NFL history. Winfield still has three years remaining on that contract, although there is an out on the deal after the 2025 campaign. The former second-round pick has established himself as one of the league’s top safeties.
A lingering ankle injury limited him to only nine games last season, although he still managed to compile 60 tackles, two sacks, and a defensive TD. He earned his first career All-Pro nod for his efforts during the 2023 season. Wirfs and Winfield weren’t the only Buccaneers to have their contracts reworked.
According to Auman , receiver Mike Evans also had his deal restructured. However, unlike the other two deals, Evans’ restructured contract won’t provide the Buccaneers with any additional cap space. Instead, Evans simply saw some of his compensation moved to 2025.
Evans is entering the second season of a two-year, $52M deal he signed with Tampa Bay last offseason. This article first appeared on Pro Football Rumors and was syndicated with permission..
