Arians: Freeman's price tag too high for Buccaneers

Bruce Arians is a straight shooter.

Earlier this offseason, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach said the team would go after Tom Brady, and the Bucs landed the six-time Super Bowl champ.

On Thursday, Arians admitted the team would be interested in free-agent running back Devonta Freeman.

"If his price tag was reasonable," Arians said, according to Jon Ledyard of Pewter Report. "He's asking for a lot of money and we don't have a lot of money."

The Buccaneers could use a veteran running back to complement their explosive passing game. However, Tampa Bay has $4.8 million in cap space, according to Over The Cap. The Seattle Seahawks were reportedly interested in Freeman but ended up signing Carlos Hyde to a one-year, $4-million contract.

Freeman is reportedly willing to sit out the 2020 season if he doesn't receive an offer that reflects his own evaluation of his worth.

The 28-year-old addressed the situation Thursday evening on Twitter.

I read in the media that Tampa Bay Buccaneers are interested. A number of teams are interested, but we can't negotiate through the media, the Buccaneers can reach out to me directly ..

- Devonta Freeman (@devontafreeman) June 5, 2020

As of now, the Bucs' depth chart at running back consists of two-year pro Ronald Jones, rookie Ke'Shawn Vaughn, and third-year player Dare Ogunbowale.

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