The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be release cornerback Alterraun Verner according to ESPN’s Field Yates. Verner’s release will save the team $6.5 million.  As is typical with Buccaneers contract there will be no dead money associated with the release since the Bucs do not use signing bonuses and all the guarantees in Verner’s contract had run out. Tampa Bay should now have around $68 million in cap room, which ranks fourth in the NFL behind the Browns, 49ers, and Jaguars. 

Verner was one of the rare cases of a player, by all accounts, hitting a home run in his walk year but failing to hit a home run in free agency. Verner in 2013 had 5 interceptions for the Titans and was selected to the Pro Bowl. But when free agency hit the interest was limited with many team sources stating that he wasn’t versatile enough to be a number 1 corner. That led to the Bucs signing Verner for a surprising $6.4 million a season with just $8 million guaranteed at signing.

As things turned out this probably turned out best for Verner as he never made the big impact in Tampa but his salary was low enough to where he earned the full three year value of the contract which probably would not have happened on a bigger contract. Had he opted for a one year contract to prove he could be worth more that would have ended up a big loss.

Verner had more or less been moved out of the primary rotation so the cut is no surprise. We had him ranked as the 6th most likely cornerback to be cut this season. Finding a new home is probably the best result for both sides.