The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had six players start on the offensive line during their 2020 postseason run to the championship, and now all six of them are under contract for 2021.
On Wednesday, just before the start of free agency, the Buccaneers re-signed guard Aaron Stinnie , who started the final three games of the playoffs at right guard after Alex Cappa suffered a fractured foot in the Wild Card round. Though they were the first starts of Stinnie’s NFL career he was up to the challenge, helping the Bucs allow only one sack in each of those three outings while rushing for 116 yards per game.
Stinnie was due to become a restricted free agent at 4:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday if the Buccaneers had extended a qualifying offer, but his new deal skips that process.
Tampa Bay first acquired Stinnie as a waiver claim from the Tennessee Titans in October of the 2019 season. He subsequently played in two games with two snaps on offense and was inactive for five others, but he went to training camp with the Buccaneers in 2020 and once again earned a spot on the roster.
The Buccaneers enjoyed good health among their linemen in 2020, with all five of the starters opening at least 13 games and three of them starting 15 or 16. As such, Stinnie did not see a lot of playing time during the regular season, and he was inactive for nine games. His most extensive playing time came during a week 15 blowout at Detroit, in which he saw 25 snaps in place of left guard Ali Marpet.
However, Stinnie was ready for his big role in the playoffs and he helped the Bucs’ surging offense continue on without missing a beat. He’ll get a chance to fight for a starting spot in camp this summer but at the very least will give the Buccaneers an O-Line reserve in whom they have great confidence.