A fan favorite of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is hitting the open market today. According to recent reports, he is as good as gone.
Kwon Alexander’s free agency is looming and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have very little cap space to work with. The legal tampering period began Monday at noon and there were multiple reports earlier that he had willing suitors. Tampa Bay currently has the lowest cap space and with many other pressing needs, Alexander is doing his due diligence and trying to get the most money he can.
49ers & Jets Interested In LB Kwon Alexander, Could Get $10-$12M Per Year https://t.co/IRSCCZSg7k pic.twitter.com/IV7yZqwUHM
— NFLTradeRumors.co (@nfltrade_rumors) March 11, 2019
I’m told the asking price for Kwon Alexander is $11-$12 million right now.
— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) March 11, 2019
At this time there are two main suitors with cap money to blow this off-season. The New York Jets and the San Francisco 49ers. The Jets have $81 million and the 49ers have $66 million while the Buccaneers have $2 million, according to OverTheCap.com. Moves are going to happen to allow the Bucs to make some changes. Don’t expect them to free up $10-$12 million for a linebacker coming off a torn ACL. It’s too much to ask for most teams let alone one with very little room to work with.
#Buccaneers LB Kwon Alexander texted a group of his Tampa teammates a short while ago telling them he's going to miss them, source says. We'll see where he winds up but he's obviously not expecting it to be Tampa. Deal expected to be in the $12m/$13m per year range.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 11, 2019
There are even reports from NFL insider Mike Garafolo that Kwon is already saying his goodbyes to teammates.
Kwon Alexander is going to be missed in the locker room and by the fans of the team. He brought a swagger with him along with speed and intensity on the field. While he has struggled in coverage at times and missed a few tackles he would always show an extra effort to try and make a play every time.
Alexander led the league in solo tackles back in 2016 and no one on the roster has been able to replicate those type of numbers. Fans will also miss him going up against Atlanta twice a season where he appears to always play his best.
The self-proclaimed the Li-Ti-Rilla is worth every penny in my opinion. However, this is a new regime in Tampa and they reportedly have a completely different defensive system in mind. Hopefully, they have a plan to replace Kwon and while it will take some time to get over his loss, everyone knew it was going to happen eventually. While nothing is set in stone it seems more than likely Kwon won’t be in red and pewter this season.
In closing, I just want to say thank you, Kwon. You will be missed, enjoy that paycheck.
