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Howard could end up seeing steady snaps alongside Rob Gronkowski in 2020 after coach Bruce Arians said last week that "12 personnel," or two tight-end sets, will be the "base offense" for Tampa Bay, Greg Auman of The Athletic reports.
After a disappointing 2019 season in Arians' first year as coach, Howard looked like he could be a trade candidate when the Bucs acquired Gronkowski in April, reuniting the latter with Tom Brady in Tampa Bay. Instead, the Bucs not only elected to retain Howard, but they also exercised his $6.01 million fifth-year option for 2021, signaling that the 25-year-old is still firmly in the club's plans. He'll likely need to keep both the drops and penalties that plagued him in 2019 in check to both gain Brady's trust and ingratiate himself to Arians. If not, Howard could see his role on offense dwindle in favor of more three-receiver formations that would likely feature Chris Godwin in the slot rather than out wide.
