NFL Rumors: O.J. Howard Expected To Be On The Trade Block After Buccaneers Land Rob Gronkowski
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are reportedly landing Rob Gronkowski in a blockbuster trade with the New England Patriots, and O.J. Howard could now be the next Buc on the move.
On Tuesday, after rumors that Gronkowski was looking to come out of retirement to play with Tom Brady again following his move to Tampa, NFL.com reported that the Patriots and Buccaneers had come to terms on a deal. Because Gronkowski retired with the Patriots, the All-Pro tight end will be honoring his current contract.
As the above report noted, Brady now joins a team filled with weapons — possibly too many for the Bucs to hold onto.
“Now, Gronkowski is set to join a Buccaneers roster that currently has tight ends O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate,” NFL.com stated. “Whether that remains could be sorted out as the upcoming draft plays out beginning Thursday. Wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are also on board for Brady, making the Bucs offense hugely appealing on paper.”
Many expect Tampa to try moving Howard to make room for Gronkowski. Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus wrote on Twitter that Howard was already on the trade block with the Bucs before the deal landing Gronkowski, but reuniting Brady with his longtime target from their New England Patriots days will likely clear the way for an actual deal.
As Monson noted, Howard could be in high demand as the tight end class in the upcoming NFL Draft is seen as relatively thin.
If you need a TE you're suddenly very happy.
OJ Howard was probably already available. He's DEFINITELY available now and for a lot less than he was before.
In a weak TE draft that's a no brainer
— Sam Monson (@PFF_Sam) April 21, 2020
As Fansided wrote, the move to land Gronkowski makes it clear that Howard will be gone soon. The outlet added that the Buccaneers have been asking for a second-round pick in exchange for the tight end, who is set to make $1.8 million this season.
The report speculated that Tampa could take some other combination of mid-round picks in exchange for Howard.
“It’s unclear at this point if the Bucs will get a second-rounder, but it should be fairly apparent that Tampa Bay will add another pick in the mid-rounds (Round 2-4) to offload Howard,” Fansided pointed out.
The report speculated that it could take something like a 5th round pick and a 6th round pick in addition to a higher mid-round pick, but the competition for Howard is likely to be somewhat high so they may have the ability to be picky about it.
There are still some details to work out on the Gronkowski trade, including a physical, but insiders expect the Bucs to start moving more aggressively on unloading Howard to another team.
