INDIANAPOLIS - Antonio Bryant will play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2009 or he won't play at all.
Bucs coach Raheem Morris said as much Wednesday, just hours before the Bucs placed the franchise tag on the veteran receiver to keep Bryant from hitting the free-agent marketplace.
"I know this," Morris said as he boarded a plane for Indianapolis, site of the NFL scouting combine. "Antonio Bryant will be a Buccaneer this season."
Morris' comments came as Bucs general manager Mark Dominik began yet another round of contract negotiations with the agent for Bryant, who came out of a year-long exile to lead the Bucs in receiving last season.
Those negotiations are expected to continue but it appears the two sides are too far apart to reach a deal before the Feb. 27 start of free agency and so the decision was made to franchise Bryant.
The tag guarantees Bryant a 2009 salary of $9.88 million, which is the average of the five highest paid players at his position. It would also drastically restrict his ability to sign with another team.
Any team interested in signing Bryant will now now have to compensate the Bucs by giving them two first-round draft picks. That's the reason players often dislike being tagged.
Once a player is tagged he can sign the one-year deal and continue negotiating a long-term contract.
The Bucs have not used the franchise tag since 1999, when they used it to keep defensive end Chidi Ahanotu from get away.
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