The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are reportedly trading offensive guard Shaq Mason to the Houston Texans.
According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, the Bucs and Texans will swap late round picks as part of the deal. The trade will help free up cap space for the cap-strapped Bucs. As for the Texans, they get a very good offensive lineman who can help protect whichever quarterback they decide to add with the second-overall pick of the 2023 draft.
The 28-year-old Mason is one of the better players in his position and was likely attracting plenty of attention on the trade market. The Bucs acquired Mason from the New England Patriots last season, sending a 2022 fifth-round pick the other way in exchange for the two-time Super Bowl champion.
Mason is heading into the final year of the five-year, $5 million deal he signed with the Pats in 2018 and is set to make $7.5 million in 2023. He carries a cap hit of $9.6 million, which will allow the Buccaneers’ front office to sleep a bit easier; yet it also creates a void in their roster which will need to be filled.
The trade means vacating a starting guard position for the Bucs. And, given that Tristan Wirfs is expected to move to the left side to replace Donovan Smith, the right side of the team’s offensive line will be lacking.
Don’t be surprised if Tampa uses one of their 2023 picks on some offensive linemen to man the right side of the line. They’ll also likely dip into the free agent pool at some point to snag a solid blocker at a bargain price.
