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Aside from having a new coaching staff and a new front office in 2009, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are also going to have quite a few new faces on the field.On Wednesday, the Buccaneers announced they will be releasing Joey Galloway, Derrick Brooks, Cato June, Warrick Dunn and Ike Hilliard.
According to PFT, the sweeping cuts will save Tampa Bay over $9 million in cap space, on top of the $40-plus million it entered the offseason with.
Brooks, 35, played 14 seasons in Tampa Bay and was part of the foundation that helped turn the Buccaneers from a bottom-feeder in the NFL to a consistent contender in the late '90s. He won a Super Bowl with the team in 2002, and has picked off 25 passes, forced 24 fumbles and recorded nearly 1,700 tackles in his career.
Dunn was in his second stint with the Buccaneers after being a first-round pick by the team way back in 1997. He's rushed for 10,967 yards in his career with Tampa Bay and Atlanta. He led the Buccaneers with 786 yards in 2008.
Galloway was never a factor this past season due to injuries, while Hilliard caught 47 passes, averaging just nine yards per catch.
June is the youngest of the players to be given their release (he'll turn 30 in November). Originally a sixth-round pick by Indianapolis in 2003, June signed with Tampa Bay as a free agent prior to the 2007 season. During his stay in Tampa Bay he recorded 136 tackles and two interceptions.
With free agency opening on Friday, the Buccaneers can now have their pick of any player on the market with a seemingly endless amount of cap space.
Tampa Bay has already been mentioned as a potential landing spot for defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth to strengthen a defensive unit that collapsed over the final month of the season. If recent rumors are any indication, Tampa Bay will need all the cap space it can find to sign Haynesworth.
While some Tampa Bay fans might be somewhat surprised by these cuts (and judging by the comments at the Tampa Tribune, that's putting it mildly) it's important to keep in mind, especially in the case of Brooks, that this is 2009, and not 1999. It's nice to see players like Brooks play their entire careers with one team, but that's just not the reality of the present day NFL.
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