In a not so unexpected move during the free agency frenzy Monday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers decided to release veteran WR Russell Gage by way of declining the third-year option on his contract. Gage signed a 3-year, $30,000,000 deal going into the 2022 campaign. It is safe to say the team moved forward with releasing Gage for fear of him not being able to produce after a gruesome injury before last season even began.
Drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the sixth round of the 2018 draft, Gage played 4 full seasons with Atlanta before signing with the Buccaneers at the beginning of his fifth season. He played 13 games for Tampa Bay in 2022, catching 51 balls for 426 yards, finding the endzone five times.
Unfortunately, Gage tore his patellar tendon during a joint practice with the New York Jets in August 2023 before the season began; a non-contact injury universally believed to be one of the most difficult to return from for an athlete. It was assumed entering this off-season that Gage would become a cap-casualty, a fact that came to fruition on the opening day of free agency transactions.
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