So, how would that work if he wanted to come back to the Bucs? If he officially retires prior to June 1st, they would have a dead cap hit higher than his current 2022 cap hit. If he does file the paper work after June 1st they "Save" roughly 12mil this year(in june) but eat 24mil dead cap next year.
I guess they have a handshake agreement to keep him on the team at least through June 1st, and maybe do one last pitch to him to play one more season before he files any paperwork
One hint would be if he takes a "paycut" on his base salary to give the Bucs cap relief before the start of the season. Similar to what Brees did