Buccaneers release DE Vinny Curry after just one season

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers released Vinny Curry on Tuesday after the eighth-year defensive end spent one season with the team. The move comes four weeks before the start of free agency and effectively makes Curry an unrestricted free agent.

The Buccaneers signed Curry last March after he had been released by the defending-champion Philadelphia Eagles four days earlier. That move was part of an overhaul to a defensive line that also include the signings of Beau Allen and Mitch Unrein, the trade for Jason Pierre-Paul and the selection of Vita Vea in the first round of the 2018 draft. The Buccaneers improved from a league-low 22 sacks in 2017 to 38 last year. Curry began the season as the Buccaneers’ starting left end but was sidelined for four games at midseason with an ankle injury. In that time, Carl Nassib emerged as a productive bookend for Pierre-Paul and climbed to the top of the depth chart. Curry ended up playing in 12 games with seven starts and contributing 21 tackles, 2.5 sacks, seven quarterback hits and five tackles for loss.

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Curry entered the league as a second-round draft pick by the Eagles in 2012. He played six seasons in Philadelphia, serving in a reserve role for the first five before starting all 16 games in the Eagles’ Super Bowl season. In all, he has played in 96 games with 23 starts and recorded 152 tackles and 24.5 sacks.

Curry, 30, is hitting the free-agent market before the new league year opens, giving him a jump on landing a new gig. He might not recoup the $8 million he might have made, but should not find trouble landing a new home.

The Bucs have other avenues to create salary cap space and are just beginning the process of having coach Bruce Arians and his staff evaluate players from the 2018 season. The Bucs need to create room to sign several of their own free agents, including left tackle Donovan Smith and receiver Adam Humphries.

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