NFL Free Agency: Buccaneers, Cardinals, Patriots Leading Candidates to Sign Sean Smith

Sean Smith seems to be the most coveted cornerback on the market at the moment, but as it stands now the list of teams in the running to sign him is down to three. Last night the Kansas City Chiefs made early contact with Smith but according to Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots are the leading candidates to land the top corner.

The Buccaneers have been linked to Smith for some time now, as their biggest need this offseason is upgrading their miserable cornerback situation. Almost as soon as it was announced Smith would be hitting the market, the Buccaneers were linked as a team that will be among the finalists to sign him but they aren’t the only ones.

Arizona would love add some talent around Patrick Peterson and Smith is regarded in the same was Brandon Carr was last season. Carr isn’t a guy that every NFL fan knows, but he is regarded by NFL front offices as a real threat and he’s proving that in Dallas along side Morris Claiborne. Doubling up on top corners is quickly becoming the norm in the NFL, as a formula like Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner are viewed is the way to go when it comes to structuring your secondary.

That brings us to the Patriots who are always looking to add talent to their secondary. Their likely losing Aqib Talib, and Smith is viewed as an Aqib Talib style player minus the character issues.

All three teams have the means to sign Smith but the Buccaneers have the most cap space to play around with. If New England does indeed pursue Mike Wallace, money may begin to become a problem. Smith likely won’t have a definitive destination until late Sunday, and more teams could enter the mix, but for now it appears we have clear cut favorites when it comes to where Smith will end up when free agency officially begins on Tuesday.