Tampa Bay Buccaneers sign Chase Lucas

The Buccaneers' signing of Chase Lucas earns a C+ Contract Value Index (CVI), a middle-of-the-road grade that reflects the functional logic of a depth signing without any meaningful upside to push it higher. With position data unavailable, what's clear is that at a $1.145M AAV on a one-year deal, this is textbook minimum-range money — the kind of contract teams issue when they're filling out the bottom of a roster rather than addressing a genuine competitive need. The CVI lands in neutral territory because the salary itself carries virtually no cap risk; a one-year, $1.145M commitment is easy to absorb and easier still to move on from if Lucas doesn't stick. That financial flexibility is the deal's strongest attribute — there's no dead cap exposure, no multi-year obligation, and no draft capital sacrificed, which keeps the Buccaneers' options clean heading toward the regular season opener in September. The production tier here reads as replacement-level at best, and the CVI reflects that honestly — this isn't a signing that changes the competitive calculus for Tampa Bay, it's a camp body transaction that buys the front office a look without buying any commitment. For a team sitting at 8-9 and on the wrong side of the playoff bubble in the NFC South, these low-cost flyers are a necessary part of roster construction, but they don't move the needle on the larger roster picture. The one-year structure is smart given the uncertainty, but a C+ is the ceiling when the deal offers no discernible path to above-average value.