The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have added star free agents to their talented roster over the past two years. Odell Beckham Jr. will not be one of them.
Even though Beckham Jr. is a free agent and can sign with any team, head coach Bruce Arians will pass on adding another wide receiver to an already loaded arsenal.
"Too many letters – I've already got A.B. (Antonio Brown)," Arians said Wednesday. "I don't need OBJ."
The Buccaneers did sign a wide receiver this week, bringing back Breshad Perriman to the roster. Perriman spent the 2019 season with the Buccaneers, as the former first-round pick caught 36 passes for 605 yards and six touchdowns (17.9 yards per catch). Perriman caught 17 passes for 349 yards and four touchdowns over the final three games of that season, averaging 20.5 yards per catch.
Perriman spent the 2020 season with the New York Jets, catching 30 passes for 505 yards and three touchdowns (16.8 yards per catch). He spent training camp with the Detroit Lions before being released prior to the season and signing with the Chicago bears practice squad. The Bears released Perriman last week and he wound up back with Tampa Bay Wednesday, signing with the practice squad.
"It feels like the right thing and the right place for me," Perriman said. "It was just a great feeling to come in and see everybody's faces. There is nothing but good energy here, so I am really happy and blessed to be back."
Tampa Bay does have some injuries with their pass catchers. Rob Gronkowski (back) and Antonio Brown (ankle) are still nursing injuries while Chris Godwin (foot) was held out of Wednesday's practice. Tampa Bay needed depth, going the familiar route with Perriman and tight end Darren Fells -- who was signed to the practice squad Wednesday after being released by the Detroit Lions earlier this week. Fells spent four seasons under Arians with the Arizona Cardinals (2013-2016).
"They've been in other systems for a while, but the verbiage isn't totally foreign to them," Arians said. "They can come in, they can pick it up quick. We had Darren for four years in Arizona, and obviously 'BP' (Breshad Perriman). That is a huge advantage to them. When we see guys that we know, we know what they are, we know how to plug them in."
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