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This , we all know. But Tampa Bay hasn’t given up on the crop just yet, and despite Vernon Hargreaves III being placed on injured reserve, there’s still hope this group will make a positive impact on the 2018 defense. His name is Ryan Smith.Smith, like many members of this class who are still around the team came in with a lot of cold eyes on him. There hasn’t been a lot of patience surrounding his name when viewed on Twitter, or Facebook, or whatever other method you use to converse with other Bucs fans.Still, he was kept. Not just kept, but activated. While second-round pick Ronald Jones stands on the sidelines inactive, Smith is playing and playing significant snaps.In his first two years the North Carolina Central University product saw his rookie snap count on defense jump from under 250 to nearly 600 in 2017. Two weeks into 2018, he’s already played over 100 snaps on defense alone.His playing time has certainly been boosted by the absence of veteran Brent Grimes for the first two games, and also by the aforementioned injury to Hargreaves. Evidenced by the facthis snap count jumped nearly 30 from Week 1 to Week 2. So, while the team chose to keep him active, it wasn’t necessarily the plan for him to be a featured member of the defense. Rather, most of his participation was expected to be on special teams where he and Josh Robinson formed one of the better gunner duos in the league until Robinson was released this pre-season.And while Smith hasn’t necessarily earned his increase, it appeared against Philadelphia he was ready for it.There’s never been any question the 25-year old has athletic talent. He’s fast and has shown flashes of the range the Bucs likely saw when they tried to make him a safety coming out of college.What was missing was production and the conversion of athleticism into ability. And fans of the team spent much of last season on edge waiting for opposing quarterbacks to target him, fearing he was the weakest link in one of the worst past defenses in the league.In Week 1, Smith had three tackles on defense and one on special teams. In Week 2, he walked away with seven and two respectfully. Doubling his previous week’s totals. He had one pass defended in New Orleans. At home against Philly, he broke up three , including one intended for tight end Zach Ertz as the Eagles tried to pull closer with the score at 27-7.The Eagles did end up scoring on the same drive. However, following the pass breakup by Smith, another two minutes ticked off the clock before they found the end zone. Obviously we’d all prefer they don’t score at all, but we can’t deny how important those two minutes coming off the clock turned out to be.After two games this season, and with the unexpected increase in workload, Smith is on pace to collect over 100 combined tackles and has three passes defended. His previous career highs are 62 and five, both from last season.More importantly than the numbers are the values in those numbers. Like the pass defended in the end zone, Smith made some important tackles. The one most fans will remember came against punt returner Nelson Agholor.His chances of reaching those numbers will depend in large part on the recovery of Grimes. Once he returns, Smith’s snaps will likely drop again, but not quite as low as they once were. On his Week 2 performance, Smith had this to say,Pretty humble considering he just had the best game of his still young career. This according to his own head coach. I don’t know how many press conferences you watch, but normally if coach Koetter gets emotional, it’s either in a joking manner or in a bit of anger.This is not the emotion we saw when speaking about Smith. It shows just how much the coaches believe in Smith and how much they’ve invested into him. To see him come up big when they needed him most this season is a big step in the right direction. However, careers are not made with steps. They’re made with strides.If Grimes can’t go again for a big Week 3 match-up against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night, not only is Smith going to have another increased role on the defense, he’s going to have all of the lights and sounds of prime-time football to deal with.Oh, and then there’s Antonio Brown and Juju Smith-Schuster to deal with as well.Here’s hoping the solid start to this season is a sign of better things to come. We have to imagine there will be setbacks. Smith is not a finished product. But if we saw anything out of him on the field in Tampa Bay this weekend, it was justification as to why the team has kept him around.And people are taking notice. The final two games introduce the final two teams in our playoff free-agency watch. With the New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints both earning first round byes , there is definitely talent on each roster which could benefit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.Who are they, are who should you be looking for this Sunday? We’ll tell you right here, and if you missed their opponents’ previews, go ahead and take a look at who the Chargers and Eagles have worth watching as well.NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS2019 FREE-AGENTSPOSITIONNAMEAGEPOSITIONNAMEAGEPLAYER TO WATCH: OFFENSIVE TACKLE, TRENT BROWNGreg M. Cooper-USA TODAY SportsThe New England Patriots have made some good trades in the past, and the one to get Brown is one of them.After losing first-round draft pick Isaiah Wyn in Week 2 of the pre-season, the acquisition of Brown has looked better and better each week.He’s been praised by Tom Brady and Bill Belichick alike, and will draw quite the crowd of suitors come this off-season.The Patriots would surely love to keep him, and they could offer him a solid deal if they choose to extend one. However, it’s not as simple as do they like him or not.For one, Wyn will be coming back. How confident the team is in Wyn’s return will play a part in this. Brown can play both tackle positions, something which should be intriguing to the Buccaneers as they decide their own future at both tackle spots. This is something of interest to the Patriots too.If Wyn does come back, and the team re-signs Brown, then releasing right tackle Marcus Cannon may come into play. However, this also leaves them exposed should Wyn or Brown get injured.This isn’t a Patriots post, so let’s wrap this portion of the conversation up saying this, Brown has played impressively protecting Tom Brady’s blindside, and has played in the NFL at right tackle in the past.How he stands up to Joey Bosa and the Los Angeles Chargers will go a long way towards his next paycheck, and determining which teams will come calling when the new league year gets started.NEW ORLEANS SAINTS2019 FREE-AGENTSPOSITIONNAMEAGEPOSITIONNAMEAGEPLAYER TO WATCH: KICKER , WILL LUTZBrad Rempel-USA TODAY SportsGood kickers are hard to come by. Just ask the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.Unless Lutz starts asking for Dan Bailey money, he’s probably getting locked down by the Saints.Still, the 24-year old won’t turn 25 until next pre-season, and has gotten better all three seasons he’s been in the NFL.This year, he had a made field goal percentage of 93.3%. Yep. Oh, and one of his two misses - all year - was blocked. His long was 54-yards, and he made all but one extra point.So, including a blocked kick, Lutz has missed three attempts all year. Chandler Catanzaro had that many misses before the NFL season hit its eighth week of play, and he had a week off for Tampa Bay’s bye.Similarly, in seven games with the Bucs after replacing Catanzaro, Cairo Santos missed five kicks. One fewer than his predecessor.If Lutz hits the open market, Jason Licht should be gauging his interest in moving to Florida.The only question for Bucs fans is, how much will not kicking in a dome nine games per year impact Lutz’ numbers? For what its worth, he went 12-for-12 on field goals and 14-for-14 on extra points in open air stadiums this year. All three of his misses came indoors.The Patriots and Saints take the field Sunday as they host the Los Angeles Chargers and Philadelphia Eagles respectively.We won’t enjoy not seeing the Buccaneers playing, but we can keep an eye out for some future contributors to the cause.
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