TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have 17 players scheduled to become unrestricted free agents when the new league year begins March 9 -- nine on offense and eight on defense. In this first part of a multipart series, we'll rank those free agents, from highest to lowest in terms of priority to re-sign, starting with the top three.
1. DE William Gholston: Despite missing the final two games with an elbow injury, Gholston played the second-most snaps along the Bucs' defensive line last season (559), behind only Gerald McCoy. As the strongside defensive end, he anchors the C-gap (the area between the tackle and tight end on run plays) and is considered the team's best run-stuffer up front.
His efforts don't always show up on the stat sheet, but as head coach Dirk Koetter put in, "He’s not the flashiest pass-rusher, but he’s going to get some sacks by just working hard and being where he’s supposed to be and the quarterback maybe gets flushed to him."
In 2016, he registered 49 tackles, 3.0 sacks, nine tackles for loss, six run stuffs, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Gholston told ESPN at the end of the season that he would "love to be back," and that "this is my family."
2. RB Jacquizz Rodgers: Given the uncertainty of Doug Martin's situation, Rodgers' familiarity with Koetter's offense and his ability to play multiple roles in it, and Rodgers' level of production last year, re-signing the sixth-year running back should be a priority.
At the very least, they're getting a solid backup, and he's shown he can be a productive starter, rushing for 4.34 yards per carry, 15th in the league. He was also seventh in the league in yards after contact per run (2.03), behind Le'Veon Bell and ahead of Pro Bowler Melvin Gordon.
Koetter said at the end of the season that he wanted to bring Rodgers back. "Hopefully we get him back in the future," Koetter said. "I'm going to hold him to that in the offseason ... He’s not flashy. He is very tough. He is very consistent. He’s an extremely smart player. We had a big drop-off in explosive plays from our running backs this year. Jacquizz came in and filled a big void for us."
3. C Joe Hawley: Hawley wasn't healthy for much of the season, battling a knee injury, yet he still mustered 15 starts and played 928 snaps, fourth-most for the entire Bucs' offense.
He brings leadership, toughness and has strong chemistry with quarterback Jameis Winston. Granted, the offensive line didn't have its best season creating holes in the run game, nor did it have its best year protecting the quarterback, but two years ago, the Bucs had the right combination, rushing for 2,162 yards, fifth-most in the league, with 4.75 yards per rush, second-most behind the Buffalo Bills.
In 2015, they also averaged 4.97 yards per carry up the middle, the most in the league in that direction, and 4.81 yards per carry on inside runs (middle, left guard and right guard), second-most in the league, and those are areas Hawley certainly contributed to.