“From Baker’s Favorite Target to the Trade Block: Shepard’s Uncertain Future in Tampa”

The true flex as an NFL general manager doesn’t always come when the bright lights are flashing, like they are at the NFL draft or on the first day of free agency every year.

Sometimes it comes in the “death by a thousand cuts” portion of the job. When you find the little inches and little deals here and there that make a difference on a roster no one expected.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht has always seemed like he’s good at both — the big moves and the small moves. He has a chance to make one of those deft, non highlight reel moves, according to Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox, who thinks Licht should try and trade veteran wide receiver Sterling Shepard.

Knox has Shepard pegged as Tampa Bay’s “Top Trade Candidate” headed into the Buccaneers’ preseason opener on August 9 against the Tennessee Titans.

“The Bucs re-signed Shepard this offseason but might not have a role for him, even with Chris Godwin still recovering from a season-ending ankle injury,” Knox wrote on August 7. “Rookie seventh-round pick Tez Johnson and 2023 sixth-round pick Trey Palmer are also in the mix. Tampa could afford to see if Shepard can draw any interest on the trade market. Moving him would save $1.5 million in cap space.”

Unique College Connection Leads to NFL

Shepard turned into an NFL wide receiver his last 2 seasons at Oklahoma through a great stroke of luck — those were the first 2 years current Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield was Oklahoma’s starting quarterback.

After putting up 96 receptions for 1,224 yards and 10 touchdowns through his first seasons — totally respectable numbers — Shepard had 137 receptions for 2,200 yards and 16 touchdowns over his last 2 seasons while catching passes from Mayfield.

In his final season, in 2015, Shepard had career highs of 86 receptions for 1,288 yards and 11 touchdowns and played his way into becoming a second round pick (No. 40 overall) by the New York Giants in the 2016 NFL draft.

Shepard spent the first 8 seasons of his career with the Giants — he signed a 4-year, $41 million contract extension in 2019 after he had career highs of 86 receptions for 872 yards in 2018. He signed a 1-year, $1.34 million contract to rejoin Mayfield on the Buccaneers in 2024 and had 32 receptions for 334 yards and 1 touchdown, then re-signed on a 1-year, $1.75 million contract for 2025.

Bucs Might Have NFL’s Most Stacked WR Room

The reason Shepard might be expendable starts with the 2025 NFL draft, where the Buccaneers flipped the script and drafted a wide receiver in the first round with Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka at No. 19 overall and despite pressing needs on the defensive side of the ball, then added another wide receiver with Johnson in the seventh round.

If Tampa Bay can’t trade Shepard they might actually end up releasing him as they’ve already got Mike Evans, Godwin, Jalen McMillan and Egbuka above him in the pecking order. Add in an up-and-coming tight end in Cade Otton, and there just might not be enough receptions to go around.

“While Tampa re-signed Shepard this offseason, they also used a first-round pick on Emeka Egbuka and drafted Tez Johnson in Round 7,” Knox wrote. “If Chris Godwin is fully recovered from last year’s season-ending ankle injury, Shepard could be expendable. Tampa would save $1.7 million by releasing him.”