A couple of guys who combined to start 15 Bucs games last season have no team.
They were cut this weekend and are under 30 years old.
Joe’s been keeping an eye on guard Michael Jordan (9 starts) and offensive tackle Charlie Heck (6 starts). Jordan latched on with the Eagles late in free agency and Heck landed with the tanking and salary-strapped Dolphins.
Each guy was a key Bucs figure last season and found himself unemployed yesterday.
Joe’s thinks Jordan and Heck struggling to find work really illustrates what was happening on the Bucs’ patchwork offensive line last season.
This is not a Sterling Shepard situation. The veteran receiver caught 39 balls for the Bucs last season and was cut by the Texans yesterday. Shepard is 33. Jordan and Heck should be in their primes.
Joe hopes — there’s that word again — the Bucs found better O-line depth this season. Justin Skule, 29, is back for his second go as a Bucs backup tackle, though “Dangerous” Dan Feeney and Luke Haggard are back on the roster. Second-year tackle Ben Chukwuma, an undrafted free agent last season, should be improved. And rookie fifth-round pick guard Billy Schrauth is in the mix.
Joe would sleep better if the Bucs signed a solid veteran off the street today. Think Joe Hawley or Gosder Cherilus in the summer of 2015.