Ten-year veteran wide receiver Keenan McCardell, regarded as the prize catch among the players who were post-June 1 salary cap casualties early this week, Friday night reached a contract agreement with the Tampa Bay Bucs.

One of the NFL's most consistent and productive wide receivers over the past six years, McCardell chose the Bucs over the Kansas City Chiefs. He had visited with officials from both teams this week.

He will sign a four-year contract worth $10 million and the deal includes a signing bonus of $2 million. McCardell was the second of the four high-profile wide receivers released this week to strike a Friday deal. Former Kansas City wide receiver Derrick Alexander agreed to a three-year, $5.1 million contract with the Minnesota Vikings.

"It really was a difficult decision," McCardell said. "You're talking about two class teams here. I really like the idea, though, of staying in Florida."

McCardell, 32, posted his fourth 80-reception performance in 2001, and he also went over 1,000 yards for the fourth time in his career. His 93 catches put him in the top 10 again and his 1,110 yards were bested by only 15 receivers. He will be teamed in Tampa Bay with standout wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson.

Right up to the end, the Chiefs felt they had the upper hand in landing McCardell, who had spoken to coach Dick Vermeil on Thursday. The team dispatched negotiator Dennis Thum to Las Vegas to meet with McCardell's representatives.

Part of McCardell's success in Jacksonville was his symbiotic relationship with partner Jimmy Smith and that will be difficult to duplicate even with a player of Johnson's skills. It would be unfair, however, to inextricably link McCardell's career statistics to his complementary bond with Smith.

McCardell still knows how to get open, runs precise routes, and gets separation with guile now and not speed. He will be a nice fit in the West Coast-style offense of new Bucs head coach Jon Gruden, a system that features plenty of crossing routes.

Since 1996, McCardell has averaged 83.2 catches per year, the most among the four wide receivers released this week. His seven seasons of 50-plus catches also ranks first. One negative is that, while McCardell registers first downs, he doesn't score a lot of touchdowns, and his career average is just one touchdown catch every 15.2 receptions. Notable is that McCardell, who does not possess great speed, has never scored more than six touchdowns in a season. In his four 1,000-yard seasons, he averaged just 4.75 touchdown catches.

For his career, McCardell has 579 catches for 7,526 yards and 38 touchdowns.

Len Pasquarelli and John Clayton are senior writers for ESPN.com.