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Sweezy, who signed a five-year deal worth more than $32.5 million with the Bucs last offseason but never played a down to a back injury, had the final four years of his contract recently reworked, Jenna Laine and Field Yates of ESPN.com report.
The 28-year-old guard was one of the prize acquisitions for the Bucs leading up to the 2016 campaign after several stellar seasons in Seattle, including the Seahawks' 2014 championship campaign. However, a back surgery that took place shortly after the signing eventually led to him missing minicamps, training camp and all of the preseason and regular season. Sweezy was cleared to resume training at the end of the season, but the team naturally wanted to reevaluate the terms of the contract and implement some protections against another prolonged absence specifically due to back-related issues. Accordingly, the Bucs shifted half of what had been a $2.5 million roster bonus for 2017 into per-game roster bonuses that can be achieved for each game that Sweezy is on the 53-man or on injured reserve for any injury unrelated to his previous back problem. Injury waiver language as well as split salaries and base salary escalators tied into Sweezy playing at least 70 percent of the snaps over the next three seasons are also part of the revamped terms, providing the club protection while giving the sixth-year pro a chance to earn the full value of his contract if he remains sufficiently healthy.
