On the eve of Wednesday afternoon’s NFL deadline to sign franchise players to long-term contracts, apparently Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Bryant won’t be getting an offer.
And Bryant wasn’t expecting one anyway.
Bryant’s agent, Lamont Smith, said he has been informed by Buccaneers team officials that they won’t try to hammer out a contract extension with Bryant prior to Wednesday’s 4:00 p.m. EDT deadline.
And that stance is apparently not causing a rift with Bryant and his representatives. Especially since Bryant is due to receive a $9.88 million, one-year franchise tender.
Smith told JOCKlife.com today that the Buccaneers’ approach “was not a problem for him or Bryant and that he has the security of the franchise number and the possibility of being a free agent again next year. With another productive season, Bryant’s price tag will only go up.”
Of course, the Buccaneers could always designate Bryant as their franchise player again for 2010.
Bryant caught a career-high 84 passes for 1,248 yards and seven touchdowns last season, reviving his career after being out of football in 2007.
The former Dallas Cowboys second-round draft pick has caught 333 career passes for 5,085 yards and 26 touchdowns.