Russell Gage will remain with NFC South next season but will be picking up passes from Tom Brady instead of Matt Ryan.
The free agent intends to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a source told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
Without Antonio Brown last season, the Bucks were ranked third behind pro bowlers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, which became very apparent after Brown’s sacking and Godwin’s knee injury at the end of the season. Tyler Johnson didn’t have a temper and at times he had some issues when he took on a big load.
Gage had seasons of over 700 yards with the Atlanta Falcons in 2020 and 2021 as his role rose following injuries to Julio Jones in 2020 and personal issues that kept Calvin Ridley out of 12 games last season.
After suffering an ankle injury in his second week, Gage, 26, missed three games and, even when he returned, was not fully recovered until the second half of the season. He has appeared in the past two months, catching 11 passes for 130 yards against the Buccaneers on Dec. 5. He also had nine receptions for 126 yards and a touchdown in the season finale against the New Orleans Saints.
Gage set career highs in receiving yards (11.7), catch percentage (70.2%) and yards per goal (8.2) last season.
The 6-foot, 184-pounder had 193 catches on 287 targets for 2,065 yards and nine touchdowns in four seasons with the Falcons after being drafted in the sixth round in 2018.
Jenna Lane of ESPN and Michael Rothstein contributed to this report.