Julio Jones http://www.tampabaybuccaneersteamonline.com/lavonte-david-jersey , one of their most important playmakers.Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff said the team was informed Monday that Jones will not be present when the three-day minicamp opens on Tuesday.Jones, under contract through 2020, apparently is seeking a new deal as he has fallen behind other top NFL receivers in average earnings."We have been in contact with Julio and his representation," Dimitroff said in a statement released by the team."We will not discuss those conversations publicly except to say we feel they have been productive and constructive. We understand the concerns and thoughts from their perspective. Although not ideal, Julio informed us today he would not be attending minicamp."We have much respect for him and what he means to our team, our city and our fans."Jones' absence is a big surprise. Before Monday, coach Dan Quinn and others had said they were confident Jones would attend the minicamp despite missing the voluntary offseason program.Jones, 29, still has three seasons remaining on his five-year, $71.3 million deal with $47 million in guaranteed money. He is due to earn $10.5 million this season, $12.5 million in 2019 and $11.4 million in 2020.Jones' salary cap figure of $12.9 million for 2018 ranks seventh among NFL receivers, well behind recent deals signed by Tampa Bay's Mike Evans ($18.252 million in 2018) and Cleveland's Jarvis Landry ($15.5 million).Jones' holdout comes in a summer the Falcons made quarterback Matt Ryan the NFL's highest-paid player. Ryan's new deal could average out to as much as $30 million annually over five seasons.Jones' value to the team is unquestioned. He earned his fourth straight Pro Bowl berth, and fifth overall, in 2017, when he had 88 catches for 1 http://www.tampabaybuccaneersteamonline.com/kwon-alexander-jersey ,444 yards. It was his fourth straight season with at least 80 receptions and 1,400 receiving yards.Jones had only three touchdown catches last season as the Falcons' offense failed to match the standards set in 2016, when Atlanta led the league in scoring and advanced to the Super Bowl.Jones' absence in the minicamp will leave more opportunity for another former Alabama receiver, rookie Calvin Ridley, to have more work with Ryan. Ridley, a first-round pick, is expected to earn a role behind Jones and Mohamed Sanu on the depth chart. There are tons of questions currently surrounding the Tampa bay Buccaneers and in the coming weeks and months, many of those questions will be answered. General manager Jason Licht will be a busy man this off season. Not only does he have to find a new head coach, but he also has to reconstruct the roster and at the same time, focus on some of the best prospects in college. But hey, that’s why they get paid the big bucks. Back to that roster point. When Licht spoke to the media on Monday afternoon, he had this to say when asked whether or not their needs to be drastic changes in the teams personnel for the 2019 season. “You tweak your roster every year. We have a lot of young talent, like I said. We have a lot of guys that we really like. More so this year than in previous years. Still have a lot of work to do, but we have a lot of flexibility in our contracts, in our salary cap http://www.tampabaybuccaneersteamonline.com/vernon-hargreaves-iii-jersey , in the way we do things – that we can add more players. The answer isn’t always adding the splashy superstar. To find some good players, we’ll have flexibly to do that.”One part of that quote was really telling when I read it and it’s the part in which he talks about the teams salary cap and the flexibility they have this off season when it comes to managing contracts. Currently, as things stand right now, the Buccaneers are projected to have about $30 million dollars in cap space, after the NFL increases the cap, as it does every year. Without that increase, Tampa Bay would have $17 million. After two consecutive 5-11 seasons, the Buccaneers will look to shake things up a bit and here are some of the guys that Licht was referring too when he said the team has flexibility. The following players can be cut and will leave behind no dead cap. After I give the list, I will give the players I would move on from. Jason Pierre Paul ($14.5 million), Gerald McCoy ($13 million), DeSean Jackson ($10 million), Lavonte David ($9.75 million), Vinny Curry ($8 million), Cameron Brate ($7 million), Demar Dotson ($4.725 million) Womens Gerald McCoy Jersey , Mitch Unrein and William Gholston ($3.75 million each), Bryan Anger ($3 million) and Evan Smith ($2 million).That is a total of 11 players the Buccaneers could realistically move on from when the new league year begins. Obviously, not all players will be released, but here are some of the moves I would make to increase that cap room for the new regime. 1. Cut/trade Gerald McCoy. Best case scenario is you get a third round pick for him, but either way, the production and salary cap number doesn’t match up anymore and this team can use that $13 million on many different positions. 2. Cut/trade DeSean Jackson. Again, maybe you can get a mid round pick for him, but that’s unlikely. Both sides want to move on and it’s only a matter of time. Add another $10 million to the bank roll. 3. Cut Gholston and Unrein. Both can’t stay, but one could make it on the roster next season for depth purposes. Heck, no one has seen Unrein since July because of a concussion and Gholston didn’t really make much of an impact either for the second year in a row. With a loaded D line class, I think the Buccaneers can draft at least one of these guys replacements. Cut Unrein and Gholston. Add $7.25 million.4. Cut Cameron Brate. This move may come as a surprise to many, but Brate is expandable to me, especially when the new coaching staff realizes O.J. Howard shouldn’t come off the field. The Buccaneers have talent at the tight end position and frankly $7 million is too expensive for a number two tight end. Use this money to shore up depth along the offensive line.5. Cut Bryan Anger. He has declined over the last three seasons and the Buccaneers will save $3 million. This is a no brainer. Those six moves would bring the Buccaneers to about $70.25 million dollars in cap space. This allows them to address many different areas and with a top five pick, this adds to why the Buccaneers job is an attractive one to many coaches.