Special thanks to TheUltimateBucFan who recently posted both stories in the FanPosts section.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have officially placed the franchie tag on wide receiver Antonio Bryant. Be placing the tag on Bryant, the Bucs ensure the receiver will be in pewter and red in 2009. Once he signs of course. There is a small chance another team could scoop him up, but at the cost of two first-round draft picks, it's highly unlikely.

The two sides were not close enough in their long-term contract negotiations, but applying the franchise tag buys more time. Tampa Bay still has the opportunity to negotiate with Bryant without the fear of losing him.

In other signing news, the Bucs have signed reserve defensive tackle Ryan Sims to a four-year deal. The terms of the contract are unknown at this point.

This is an interesting move on the Bucs part as Sims provides depth, but will never live up to the hype he received coming in to the league. We'll reserve most of our thoughts on this until the terms of the deal are released. Locking up depth at a low price is never a bad thing.