Bucs’ Season Ready to Kick Off

There’s a light at the end of the tunnel! If you’re reading this, you’ve made it! The ever-dreadful NFL Offseason has all but reached its dreary conclusion. With the Preseason and final cuts wrapping up, and real games less than a week away, it’s high time we review the offseason as a whole for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, including taking a look at the official 53-man roster.

Newcomers

QB Teddy Bridgewater, RB Josh Williams*, WR Emeka Egbuka*, WR Tez Johnson*, OT Ben Chukwuma*, OT Charlie Heck, DE Elijah Roberts*, EDGE Haason Reddick, ILB John Bullock*, CB Benjamin Morrison*, CB Jacob Parrish*, CB Kindle Vildor, P Riley Dixon

*Rookies

Departures

LB K.J. Britt, S Mike Edwards, C Robert Hainsey, G Royce Newman, T Justin Skule, OLB Joe Tyron-Shoyinka, CB Tavierre Thomas

Depth Chart

QBs: Baker Mayfield, Teddy Bridgewater

The Bucs will carry just two quarterbacks on the 53-man roster to start the year, with practice squad Quarterback and UDFA standout Connor Bazelak presumably being one of their two practice squad players to dress for games as the third stringer. Notably, they moved on from former 2nd round pick Kyle Trask, who has been the backup for his entire four year career. When Mayfield went down with a hand laceration during camp, Trask had the opportunity to get reps with the first team starters and was disappointing. He was bad enough to warrant signing Veteran Teddy Bridgewater off the street, who proceeded to outplay Trask in the preseason. 

Stats to watch: Baker Mayfield finished last season tied for sixth in passer rating while putting up career marks in yards (4500), touchdowns (41), and had one of the best QB rushing seasons in Bucs history. He also unfortunately led the league in interceptions. He also did this without his top two targets for a sizable chunk of the season. With a new, first time offensive coordinator, will Mayfield’s numbers regress? Or will added weapons in the offseason take the offseason to the next level?

Prediction: In his third season, I think Mayfield regresses in yards and touchdowns and fewer interceptions, as he (hopefully) takes fewer risks, but the development of RB Bucky Irving and WR Emeka Egbuka, as well as the health of WR Mike Evans and WR Chris Godwin all lead to a powerful spread offense that relies heavier on the run. Game flow will hopefully support this change to a run heavy offense, as the defense will hopefully be vastly improved, meaning less games where Baker had to force the ball downfield.

RBs: Bucky Irving, Rachaad White, Sean Tucker, Josh Williams*

Fan favorite Bucky Irving is set to lead the backfield in his second year in the league after finishing 6th in all purpose yards despite not seeing 15 total touches in a game until week 6. In fact, he didn’t have 15 rushing attempts until week 12! With Rachaad White set to potentially miss week 1 there’s a great chance that Bucky sets the league on fire to start the year. Don’t forget about Rachaad White just yet though. He’s only two years removed from a 7th place finish in all-purpose yards himself. Despite the case of fumble-itis late last year, he remains an elite pass protector (for a running back at least), and has the size, speed, and hands to be a ridiculously good receiving back. If he is healthy come week 1 don’t be surprised if the backfield split is more even than the end of last season.

Prediction: Bucky Irving dominates the early down rushing role and maintains his efficiency in the screen game as a receiver, but Rachaad White sees a bulkier workload as a receiver, as he did in 2023, especially with Chris Godwin set to miss the beginning of the year and Jalen McMillan missing perhaps 8 weeks. Even TE Cade Otton’s health has been a concern at the end of camp, leaving White as essentially the third best receiving option on the roster to start the season. Sean Tucker will probably mix in for carries, given that he was the most efficient running back with 50 or more carries last season, and I would be curious to see if he becomes a goal line running back to prevent overworking the other two running backs. The Bucs have also opted to carry a fourth running back on the roster this season with UDFA Josh Williams from LSU. I expect Williams will be back to return kickoffs with WR Tez Johnson, but the addition of a fourth running back hints at a larger role for formerly undrafted Sean Tucker this season.

WRs: Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Emeka Egbuka*, Jalen McMillan, Sterling Shepard, Tez Johnson*, Kameron Johnson, Ryan Miller

The Buccaneers were, at one point last season, without Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Sterling Shepard was WR1 (before Jalen McMillan broke out late in the year). Things were bleak. Jason Licht and krewe hope to prevent that this season by essentially drafting Chris Godwin’s clone in Egbuka, who has already impressed in camp and the preseason, and they grabbed a nifty WR in the seventh round as well who ought to be a perfect complement to the abilities of the rest of the receiving core. Johnson is awfully slow for his size (the lightest player in the history of the draft), but his stop/start ability in the open field makes him perfect in the “manufactured touch” department – screens, jet sweeps, end arounds, reverses, etc. Ryan Miller was perhaps the best looking out of everyone in the preseason, and seemed to be the only one that could get open on the field in the first two games. With Godwin set to miss the first few games, and McMillan set to potentially miss the first half of the year, the depth of the position group will NEED to be a strength.

Prediction: Mike Evans will presumably continue to be the 20 Million Dollar Man, and if he stays healthy he will likely improve from his career low 13.6 yards per route run last year. This is in part because he won’t need to dominate the target share, generally the Chris Godwin role when he’s healthy. With Emeka Egbuka on the field, expect a similar status quo. He’s blown minds in practice, and nobody has had a negative word to say about him. He dazzled in his limited reps, and if the rumors are correct, he very well could lead all rookies in receiving. They’ll need both WR’s to come out of the gate hot, and they’ll need to stay healthy. Keep an eye on Godwin when he does return though, as he was in the middle of the best start to season in his career. Can he replicate the magic?

TEs: Cade Otton, Payne Durham, Ko Kieft, Devin Culp

This is the position group I am most curious about this season. It was not much of a question that all four of these guys would make the roster. Otton took a massive step forward in his third year last season, and he hopes to capitalize on the lack of Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan in a contract year. However there are questions about his health headed into the year as well. Payne Durham is more often a blocker than anything else, and his massive size limits his utility to the red zone and short yardage (it’s not easy to hit second gear at 6’5” 255lbs). He also took a sizable step forward last year including catching not just his first but second career touchdown last season. Ko Kieft is more of a utility guy, playing more special teams and full back in previous years, but should Otton miss time, he would surely see actual TE action. Culp is a fun prospect who wasn’t active last year until the last few weeks, but he popped when he saw the field. Though he is undersized, a more run heavy offense may mean that we see more two tight end sets and potentially three tight end sets as well.

Prediction: If Otton stays healthy to start the year, he should get off to a hot start. He would figure to be third in the order of target share. If he isn’t healthy… it could get ugly for the Bucs. He could see even more usage if replacement left tackle struggles in relief of Tristan Wirfs, as the easy solution is to use Otton as an extra blocker. Either way, he could see a cooler finish to the year, especially with WRs getting healthy. Durham, Kieft, and Culp figure to remain footnotes so long as Otton stays on the field.

OTs: Tristan Wirfs, Luke Goedeke, Charlie Heck, Ben Chukwuma*

Wirfs is coming off his second All-Pro season after switching from right tackle to left, but he is set to miss games to start the year. Goedeke often goes unsung at right tackle, but he is among the best at the position in the league. They are perhaps the best duo in the NFL, and hopefully will be for a long, long time in Tampa Bay. Charlie Heck, newcomer swing tackle will start in Wirfs’ place, and one can only hope that he will play better than departed Justin Skule, who allowed Detroit Lions Aidan Hutchison 5 sacks while Goedeke sat with a concussion. Chukwuma is another intriguing storyline, as he’s one of the only undrafted free agents to make the team, and he does so from Georgia State, and only having played 12 games of organized football in his life. Yes, you read that right. Chukwuma didn’t play any football until he arrived at Georgia State, and while raw, he’s clearly talented enough to make the team at one of the most important positions on the field. 

IOL: Graham Barton, Cody Mauch, Ben Bredeson, Elijah Klein

The Bucs brought back all of their starting offensive linemen from last season, which is always a plus. Especially when they’re one of the best units in the league. They surrendered a pressure rate of just 24%, the lowest in the league, and the improvement in the run game was evident on tape. Should the group stay intact, the offense should not have any problems in the trenches. I would venture to say that Jason Licht’s greatest strength has been continuing to find offensive linemen that succeed in the league, especially from small schools. While yes, Tristan Wirfs is an Iowa alum (they practically make offensive linemen there), Goedeke attended Central Michigan, Cody Mauch came from FCS North Dakota State, Retired Buc Ali Marpet hailed from Hobart, and Ex-Buc Alex Cappa found his way on the roster via Humboldt State. The recent additions of wing interior linemen Elijah Klein (University of Texas-El Paso), and aforementioned Ben Chukwuma as depth should inspire confidence in fans, though 8 linemen feels like a few too few for the active roster. 

Prediction: Football is won in the trenches. Barring an act of god, this line will finish as a top five unit in the league, and the rest of the offense ought to follow. Regardless of Tristan Wirfs’ absence early this year, Baker Mayfield will be sacked fewer times than last year, and the position group will pave the way for another phenomenal year for Bucky Irving.

DL: Calijah Kancey, Vita Vea, Logan Hall, Greg Gaines, Elijah Roberts*

This unit was among the best in the league at stopping the run last season, and as long as Vita Vea is playing 90%+ of snaps, that should remain the status quo. However… While the Bucs as a platoon were among the top ten in pressuring the QB last season, having an interior lineman lead the team in sacks with fewer than 10 sacks is probably less than ideal. This isn’t a critique of this position group, but they stand to benefit greatly from the result of poor edge rushing; with the addition of OLB Haason Reddick, the pass rush as a whole should greatly improve. While he may not be a DPOY contender anymore, having multiple pass rushers that routinely require double teams is CRUCIAL to an elite defense. Look at any of the greatest pass rush groups in the history of the NFL, you’ll see multiple guys who were every-down threats. The 2002 Bucs had Warren Sapp (7.5 sacks), and unsung Simeon Rice (15.5 sacks), while in 2020, there were Jason Pierre-Paul (9.5 sacks), Devin White (9 sacks), and Shaq Barrett (8 sacks), and the early 2000’s Ravens had Rob Burnett, Peter Boulware and Michael McCrary. While the run defense is nice, it would change the outlook of the team drastically if they had just one pass rusher have 10+ sacks this year, much less a dozen. Part of that is health. Had Calijah Kancey not missed the first five games, he would’ve been on pace for 10.5. Rookie Elijah Roberts is a dark horse candidate for finding himself in the starting lineup, especially if Logan Hall continues to struggle, as Roberts led all players in pressure rate in the preseason.

Prediction: Like clockwork, this unit will lead the defense to a top 10 performance against the run this season, but the additions to the outside and the development of Calijah Kancey will not only lead to more sacks, but more turnovers, and take this team deep into the playoffs.

OLBs: Haason Reddick, Yaya Diaby, Anthony Nelson, Chris Braswell, Markees Watts

This position unit has been a massive headache since Shaq Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul essentially retired. Joe Tryon-Shoyinka was a fine pass defender, but not the edge rusher the defense needed, and he departed this offseason for greener pastures in Cleveland. Yaya Diaby, former second round pick, had a very exciting rookie season in 2023 with 7.5 sacks, but ended up with three less sacks in 2024. Chris Braswell was also a second round pick, and only logged 1.5 sacks, but could see more playing time now that the slight logjam of mediocrity at the position has cleared. Anthony Nelson is the only returning edge rusher with 15+ career sacks, and he peaked at 5.5 in 2022. Nelson’s veteran presence will be welcome as he rotates in from the bench. But fear not! The Bucs have landed their white whale in Haason Reddick, who previously had four straight seasons of 10+ sacks including 16 in 2022, when he also led the league with five forced fumbles. Yes, he sat out during a contract dispute with the Eagles before being traded to the Jets. But he says the past is behind him. Can he get there again? If he can, this defense could be a serious problem. 

ILBs: Lavonte David, SirVocea Dennis, Deion Jones, John Bullock*

Aside from edge rusher, this was perhaps the biggest hole on the field. They had one of the worst pass defenses over the middle of the field last season, and there’s a few reasons for that. Ex-Buc Devin White fell off a cliff in terms of production. Great run defender, elite pass rusher, couldn’t cover a traffic cone. His replacement K.J. Britt looked decent at the end of 2023. In 2024 he graded as one of the worst interior linebackers in the league. SirVocea Dennis, who looked decent to start the season, missed almost the whole year with a shoulder injury. Deion Jones joined late in the year to be a veteran presence in the middle of the injury riddled defense. And poor Lavonte David is no longer great enough to do it all himself. He remains to be a great run defender, but his pass coverage seems to be waning, as one could expect at age 35. While there were ultimately no players brought in outside of UDFA John Bullock, the hope here is that Dennis has developed enough to take the mantle from David in the near future. Anthony Walker Jr., from Miami, was meant to help plug the hole but missed most of camp with a knee injury and ended up on the Colts practice squad. With the vast improvements elsewhere on the field, there is at least hope that the inside linebacker issues can be mitigated.

CBs: Jamel Dean, Zyon McCollum, Benjamin Morrison*, Jacob Parrish*, Kindle Vildor, Josh Hayes

This has also routinely been a frustrating position to watch for this team, between their inability to stay healthy OR force turnovers. While they forced a whole host of fumbles as a team last year, McCollum and Dean combined for three interceptions last year. As a matter of fact the pair forced a total of FOUR turnovers over the last two seasons. Tykee Smith alone had more last season. Hence the reason Licht used two of his top three picks on Corners, with Benjamin Morrison and Jacob Parrish. Morrison is of course injury prone, as every DB to ever play for the Bucs has been. But he was projected to be a top ten pick before he missed most of his final year at Notre Dame. But boy oh boy does he look exciting. He fits every archetype and checkbox Todd Bowles wants, and he figures to compete for the top position immediately, so long as he’s healthy. Jacob Parrish will hopefully be Nickel, but only because of his size. Parrish plays like one of the big dawgs, and he hopes to have a massive impact in his first year as Tykee Smith makes the transition to Safety.

Safeties: Antoine Winfield, Tykee Smith, Christian Izien, Kaevon Merriweather, Rashad Wisdom

Antoine Winfield had an unfortunate 2024-25 campaign, in part due to missing so much of the season. But the former All-Pro hopes for a return to form, and the shift of Tykee Smith will hopefully help, as Winfield often had to cover for his fellow teammates’ mistakes. Izien, the every-man DB will also hope to compete for snaps at nickel corner, but he won’t be a bad substitute for either of the current safeties. The job for the position group should honestly be much easier, with hopefully more QB pressures, and fewer plays developing downfield.

Specialists: K Chase McLaughlin, P Riley Dixon, LS Evan Deckers

McLaughlin is coming off of a career year in Tampa Bay, converting 93.8% of his kicks, up from 93.5% in 2023, and his job was never in jeopardy even after the team brought in UDFA Ryan Coe to compete in camp. Riley Dixon will hopefully be the answer for all of their punting problems after going through three punters last year. And finally, long snapper Evan Deckers returns this year after missing six games last year.

Week 1 vs Atlanta

The 2025 season starts in just a little over a week, and this squad certainly feels like one of the better in the league. In Week 1, in the 1:00 window, the Bucs will face the division rival Atlanta Falcons, who are perhaps once again their main competition in the NFC South this season. They spent a lot of capital on the defense this season, bringing in LB Leonard Floyd and DT Morgan Fox, as well as drafting two edge defenders in James Pearce and Jalon Walker in the first round. They also grabbed two safeties in the third and fourth rounds, Xavier Watts and Billy Bowman, whom myself and other staff at RBLR were huge fans of.

While they had a nice offseason, and QB Kirk Cousins did throw for a combined 785 yards and 8 touchdowns while completing nearly 75% of his passes, it’s important to remember that QB Michael Penix Jr. did not play against Tampa last season. The presumptive starter rode the bench up until week 16 last season, and while he looked pretty good in the small sample size, a sophomore slump could very well be on its way, especially starting the year against a reloaded Bucs defense that spent five out of their six picks on the defense as well as bringing in former all-pro OLB Haason Reddick. Both offenses are loaded with weapons, but this game will essentially come down to the trenches, and it’s important to note that both teams will be missing a starting tackle, with Tristan Wirfs coming off surgery, and Kaleb McGary going down in the preseason.