TAMPA, Fla. _ The Bucs avoided making durable Donovan Smith their franchise player by signing the left tackle to a three-year, $41.25-million contract extension just hours before the deadline to place the tag on him.
The deal includes $27-million guaranteed over the first two seasons.
Smith, a second-round pick in 2015, is only the second player in franchise history to start every games his first four seasons.
In fact, Smith has played all but the 30 snaps he missed in 2017 during that remarkable stretch. Tackle Paul Gruber, who is in the team's Ring of Honor, is the only other player to start all 64 games to begin his career with the Bucs.
"Donovan has been a valuable player and a model of durability since we drafted him four years ago," Bucs general manager Jason Licht said. "We always aim to develop our players and reward them for their productivity and reliability, so keeping Donovan as a Buccaneer was a major priority for us this offseason. Donovan's presence ensures continuity at one of our most crucial positions on the offensive line, and I know our coaching staff is eager to begin working with him."
Although he was set to become an unrestricted free agent in eight days, the Bucs had already decided that Smith would play for them in 2019.
They were set to apply the franchise player tag on Smith by Tuesday's deadline, which would've guaranteed him $14.067-million on a one-year deal. So by guaranteeing him $27-million, the Bucs will get Smith in 2020 for a value of $12.9-million instead of what might have been $17-million if they made him the franchise player again next year.
The Bucs are anxious to see what improvements Smith may make under the direction of offensive line coach Joe Gilbert and run-game coordinator Harold Goodwin.
