The San Francisco 49ers know talent when they see it and even though Eric Wright was awful for the Buccaneers last season, he has shown flashes of brilliance and now he will be in a new uniform as Tampa Bay traded the cornerback to the West coast and coach Jim Harbaugh.
The Bucs announced the trade on Friday and ends a brief and not so great tenure with the team after Wright signed a huge free agent contract. He was suspended at one point for PED use and he also was just not very good for the team, as they ranked last in the league in passing yards allowed per game last season. The 49ers sent a conditional 2014 draft pick for Wright, showing how much the Bucs saw in him heading into 2013. Wright said that he planned on becoming an elite player this year, now he will do that on another coast.
Wright took a paycut to a one-year, $1.5 million to stay with the team and now he will be on the 49ers and so far one player in Donald Penn hates it, saying he couldn't believe the deal happened. The Bucs also did it because they have Darrelle Revis and now second-round pick Johnthan Banks will likely start for Greg Schiano on defense. The 49ers need cornerback depth and they signed Nnamdi Asomugha to play with Carlos Rogers, Tarrell Brown, Chris Culliver and Perrish Cox and now they have another body on the depth chart.
Head coach Greg Schinao loves what he has in his team now and despite the fact that they struggled at times during the year, he is confident that the Bucs can make the playoff jump in 2013. One of the biggest factors for the Buccaneers in improving in 2013 is to shore up the pass defense and after trading for Revis from the Jets without giving up too much and signing Dashon Goldson in free agency, the team is likely to get those numbers down.
The team gave up nearly 300 yards per game in the air and this season the play of the secondary could hinge on cornerback Eric Wright, who was signed to a big contract but was a disappointment in 2012 after dealing with poor play and a suspension. According to Pro Football Talk, Wright is ready for a bounce back year, but now he will do that in San Francisco as he tries to turn around his career.
Wright will have pressure on him to play well this year and said he is ready to compete and prove himself again after years in the league and he feels that he can be an elite player at his position. Wright was considered to be one of the top free agent signings last season for the Bucs along with Vincent Jackson, but after an up and down season that saw him suspended for using Adderall for four games, the team wanted to change up his deal. The new contract is a one-year deal for $1.5 million after he signed a five-year, $35.8 million deal with $15 million in guaranteed money.
After his issues last season the team gave him this new option and he now will be a free agent after next season and part of the reason was due to his four game suspension, which took away his second-year base guarantee, allowing the team to cut him if he did not agree to the new deal. In 10 games started last season, Wright had one pick and 39 tackles for a defense that ranked last in the league in passing yards allowed per game.
