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Tampa Bay kicker Connor Barth, who had been carrying the franchise tag, now has a new four-year contract.

The Bucs just announced the news.

“For the Bucs organization, [general manager] Mark Dominik, coach [Greg] Schiano and everyone to believe in me, to know that I'll be their kicker for the next four years, is awesome,” Barth said. “It's just an amazing opportunity and I want to continue to perform like I have and live up to their expectations. I want to thank everyone -- the fans, everybody, the team behind me -- and I'm looking forward to getting back on the field.”

Barth finished second in the NFL last season with a 92.9 percent accuracy rate on field goal attempts (26 of 28) and that also set a franchise record for a single season. Barth ended the season making 15 consecutive field goals and has the longest active streak in the NFL.

The franchise tag was costing the Bucs $2.6 million in salary-cap space. We don’t know the exact terms of Barth’s new deal yet. But it’s likely worth more than $3 million per season. There were eight kickers in the league that averaged at least $3 million per year last season.

The Bucs also announced they have signed wide receivers Wallace Wright and Ahmad Lewis. The team has waived offensive tackle Mike Ingersoll and tight end Tyler Urban.

Today’s the day that rosters have to get cut down to 75 players. Aside from Tampa Bay booting running back Derrick Ward, we haven’t seen any other big names go down in the NFC South, but the news is just starting to trickle in.

In addition to Ward, the Bucs also released receiver Terrence Nunn and placed linebacker Jon Alston on injured reserve.

In Carolina, the biggest name to become a casualty was wide receiver Dexter Jackson. He was a second-round draft pick by Tampa Bay in 2008 and was a total flop. After getting released by the Bucs last preseason, Jackson caught on with Carolina’s practice squad. The Panthers thought bringing the Appalachian State product home might give him a chance to revive his career. But he didn’t show much in training camp or the preseason.

The Panthers also placed linebacker Thomas Davis on the physically unable to perform list and waived/injured defensive end Hilee Taylor. Receiver Wallace Wright was placed on injured reserve and receiver Oliver Young was released.

No roster moves have been announced by Atlanta or New Orleans as of the moment.

Let’s hit the links to review Carolina’s preseason 15-7 victory against Tennessee on Saturday night.

Tom Sorensen writes that the continued lack of offensive production now is a legitimate concern. With the starters getting extensive playing time in the third preseason game, that’s when you get the best glimpse of what the regular season will look like. If this is what Carolina’s offense is going to look like in the regular season, the Panthers could be in big trouble. But, keep in mind, they’ve been playing without receiver Steve Smith and running back Jonathan Stewart, who are expected back for the start of the season.

Carolina’s defense continues to play exceptionally well. That’s a little surprising, because the Panthers have a bunch of no-names up front, they’ll probably be without injured linebacker Thomas Davis for the entire season, and the secondary, aside from Chris Gamble, doesn’t appear to be anything special on paper. But always remember that John Fox can coach, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

Three guys that likely are on the roster bubble suffered injuries against the Titans. Receiver Wallace Wright (shoulder), running back Tyrell Sutton (shoulder) and receiver Trent Guy (hamstring) were the players Fox said were injured in the game. We probably won’t know the severity of any of the injuries for another day or two.

Steve Reed points out that the Panthers have spent most of their preseason working on the passing game. They’ve virtually ignored the run. While there’s no doubt they need improvement in the passing game, and Smith’s return should help, do you really think Fox is going to continue to abandon the running game in the regular season?

Atlanta Falcons

Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times takes a quick look at the Falcons and the rest of the NFC South.

Carolina Panthers

New Panther Wallace Wright should play a key role in the team's reconfigured special teams.

New Orleans Saints

Robert Stewart of the New Orleans Times-Picayune has a Q&A with receiver Matt Simon.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The No. 3 overall pick in the draft, the Bucs' Gerald McCoy, wants to get to training camp on time, but he's waiting on Sam Bradford's contract.

Carolina receiver Steve Smith broke his left arm sometime over the weekend and there is a bit of discrepancy over the details. Smith’s agent has said the injury came during Smith’s annual youth camp. All the team will say is the injury happened during a flag football game.

No matter who Smith was playing with, this isn’t good news for the Panthers in any way. Their best player won’t be available for the start of training camp. All indications are Smith should be ready for the start of the regular season. But he’s going to miss some valuable practice time with quarterbacks Matt Moore and Jimmy Clausen. That’s going to hurt Moore and Clausen more than it will Smith.

If you’re looking for some sort of bright spot, here’s a small one. Smith’s injury means the rest of the receivers will get more work in camp. That’s a good thing because the rest of the receiving corps needs all the work it can get.

Carolina drafted Brandon LaFell, Armanti Edwards and David Gettis this year. The Panthers also have Dwayne Jarrett, who’s been a bust since coming into the league. Other than that, the roster looks like this: Trent Guy, Dexter Jackson, Charly Martin, Kenneth Moore, Wallace Wright and Oliver Young.

Maybe the Panthers will go out and sign another receiver or two before camp, but don’t expect anything big from a team that’s not making any big moves right now. It’s more likely the Panthers will just throw all those young guys out there in camp and see who rises up.

• The Falcons have re-signed long-snapper Joe Zelenka.
• The Panthers have signed wide receiver Wallace Wright. Don’t get too excited. He’s not even close to a candidate to fill the No. 2 or No. 3 receiver spot, something the Panthers desperately need. Wallace was pretty much just a special-teams player in his time with the Jets.
• Safety Darren Sharper still is saying he would like to re-sign with the Saints. He also recently had minor knee surgery.
• Although the Falcons frequently talk about the “process,’’ Daniel Cox points out the signing of cornerback Dunta Robinson shows the team is moving with a sense of urgency.
• The Saints reportedly are showing interest in defensive tackles Jamal Williams and Maake Kemoeatu. Sounds like Williams is the first target.
• Former Carolina kickoff specialist Rhys Lloyd has signed with Minnesota. Lloyd did a nice job handling kickoffs for the Panthers the past two years. But the Panthers have been shedding a bunch of luxuries and a kickoff specialist no longer seems like a necessity. Field goal kicker John Kasay and punter Jason Baker have handled kickoff duties in the past, but neither excels in that role.