NFL offseason power rankings: No. 22 Tampa Bay Buccaneers try to shake off a brutal finish to last season

4 weeks ago 13

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers looked beauteous bully halfway done past season.

The Buccaneers had immoderate cardinal injuries aboriginal connected but acknowledgment to immoderate thrilling, adjacent wins, they were connected way to flooded them and instrumentality disconnected implicit the 2nd half. They were the uncommon squad to bushed the Seahawks, and did truthful successful Seattle. Tampa Bay besides won astatine Houston and bushed the 49ers by 11 points. After beating the Saints 23-3 they went into their Week 9 bye astatine 6-2 with a two-game pb successful the division. And they were getting immoderate interaction players backmost from wounded (though different injuries were coming, which happens successful the NFL).

That's what made the 2nd fractional of the play truthful perplexing. The Buccaneers were expected to tally distant with the division. They alternatively fell apart.

Tampa Bay's illness was arsenic atrocious arsenic immoderate successful caller memory. The Buccaneers mislaid 7 of their archetypal 8 games aft the bye. The debased constituent came connected a Thursday nighttime against the Atlanta Falcons erstwhile Tampa Bay blew a 14-point pb successful the 4th quarter. Atlanta had a third-and-28 and past fourth-and-14 precocious successful the crippled and the Bucs couldn't get a halt to triumph the game. Tampa Bay bushed Carolina successful the regular-season finale but owed to a three-team tiebreaker, the Panthers won the part astatine 8-9.

The flop was truthful atrocious that determination was speculation Mike Evans, 1 of the top and astir fashionable players successful franchise history, near successful escaped bureau for the 49ers due to the fact that of caput manager Todd Bowles, who was retained contempt Tampa Bay blowing 1 of the worst divisions successful NFL history. General manager Jason Licht said that had "zero to bash with" Evans leaving.

"I consciousness beauteous powerfully that — I've seen that mentation — but that's not it," Licht said, via ESPN's Jenna Laine.

Even if Evans leaving had thing to bash with dissatisfaction with Bowles, that it needed to beryllium addressed speaks to the implicit nonaccomplishment of Bowles and the Buccaneers past season. Bowles should person 1 of the hottest seats successful the NFL this season.

There is inactive plentifulness of blue-chip endowment connected the roster. The violative enactment has elite players. Receivers Emeka Egbuka and Chris Godwin person played astatine a precocious level, moving backmost Bucky Irving had a large rookie play (but present has concerning wounded questions), Vita Vea is simply a stalwart successful the mediate of the antiaircraft enactment and Antoine Winfield Jr. is 1 of the champion safeties successful the NFL. Baker Mayfield played astatine a Pro Bowl level successful 2024, though helium was a large crushed for the 2025 crash.

If we could spot the Buccaneers to play to their endowment level, they would fertile higher connected this list. They play successful the NFC South, which successful 2025 became 1 of 5 divisions successful NFL past to nonstop a losing squad to the playoffs. They person the benignant of squad that should triumph the part by aggregate games, and beryllium a imaginable occupation successful the playoffs.

But aft however past play ended, it's hard to number connected the Buccaneers taking vantage of the endowment they person connected hand.

Baker Mayfield walks disconnected the tract aft the Buccaneers' nonaccomplishment against the Panthers, 1 of galore disheartening losses down the stretch. (Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images)

Offseason grade

The Buccaneers said goodbye to 2 franchise icons. Receiver Mike Evans near successful escaped bureau to San Francisco and linebacker Lavonte David retired. Even though Evans dealt with injuries past season, helium and David were inactive producing astatine a precocious level. Alex Anzalone was signed to assistance regenerate David, and antiaircraft lineman A'Shawn Robinson and moving backmost Kenneth Gainwell were the different big-ticket free-agent additions. The Buccaneers had a large nonaccomplishment erstwhile cornerback Jamel Dean signed a three-year, $36.75 cardinal woody with the Steelers. Tampa Bay didn't adhd anyone to assistance regenerate him.

The Buccaneers were fortunate successful the draught erstwhile borderline defender Rueben Bain Jr. tumbled each the mode to them astatine No. 15. That was a cleanable matchup of worth and request and an casual pick. It was a ho-hum offseason successful Tampa, but the Bain prime could extremity up making it a bully one.

Grade: C+

Quarterback report

Baker Mayfield wasn't the lone crushed the Buccaneers went 2-7 successful the 2nd fractional of the season. It was a team-wide effort. But Mayfield's play was overmuch worse successful the 2nd half.

The discourtesy arsenic a full was a mess, which is simply a crushed the Buccaneers fired coordinator Josh Grizzard and replaced him with Zac Robinson. That mightiness help. But Mayfield, who has had his stock of ups and downs done his career, present has to beryllium that his 2024 vocation twelvemonth was person to his existent level. Various injuries, astir notably a near enarthrosis injury, apt affected Mayfield's play past season. As did the deficiency of continuity astir him owed to teammates' injuries done the season. Whatever the reason, the Buccaneers can't spend to person Mayfield play similar helium did successful the 2nd fractional of past season.

Odds breakdown

From Yahoo's Ben Fawkes: "The Bucs are inactive the betting favourite (+175) to triumph the NFC South and ain the highest triumph full (8.5) successful the division, but it surely feels arsenic though the part has tightened from a endowment level crossed the 4 teams. Tampa Bay was the NFL's worst squad against the dispersed past play (5-12 ATS), including a putrid 2-8 ATS arsenic a favorite. The Bucs are favored successful 9 games, but lone 4 by much than a tract goal. How overmuch first-round prime Rueben Bain Jr. tin amended Tampa Bay's walk rush, could beryllium the cardinal to different playoff appearance."

Yahoo's phantasy take

From Yahoo's Scott Pianowski: "Emeka Egbuka had a accelerated commencement and a sluggish decorativeness arsenic a rookie past year, though a hamstring wounded dogged him down the stretch. But ellipse him arsenic a imaginable breakout subordinate this season. Mike Evans is gone and Chris Godwin Jr. is present 30 — it makes consciousness for Tampa Bay to halfway its passing crippled astir Egbuka. The existent Egbuka ADP is simply a acquisition — you'll find him conscionable extracurricular the apical 50 successful aboriginal Yahoo drafts.

Stat to remember

The Buccaneers didn't person capable walk unreserved foodstuff from the borderline past season, which was a large origin successful their defence being beneath average. YaYa Diaby had a bully play disconnected the borderline with 7 sacks but nary different borderline rusher had much than three. Haason Reddick was brought successful past play to assistance disconnected the edge; helium had conscionable 2.5 sacks. This offseason Tampa Bay signed Al-Quadin Muhammad, who had 11 sacks with the Lions to assistance out. But Muhammad had conscionable 15 sacks successful his erstwhile 7 NFL seasons.

That's wherefore Rueben Bain Jr. falling to the Buccaneers was truthful fortuitous. Bain started the draught process arsenic a imaginable apical 5 pick, but fell owed to limb magnitude that is shorter than accustomed for a walk rusher and possibly besides due to the fact that helium was portion of a fatal 2024 car crash. The Buccaneers weren't unspeakable connected defence past season, finishing 18th in DVOA and somewhat beneath mean successful astir different categories. But the defence did stroke respective second-half leads and was a large crushed the squad missed the playoffs. Getting a walk unreserved from the borderline is indispensable if the Buccaneers privation to amended their antiaircraft numbers.

Burning question: Can Bucky Irving bounce back?

Irving, who had an outstanding rookie play astatine moving back, had a rocky 2nd season. His yards per transportation went from 5.4 to 3.4 and helium missed 7 games owed to injuries. He had ft and enarthrosis injuries, which astir apt affected his accumulation precocious successful the play erstwhile helium returned. And caput manager Todd Bowles' offseason update connected Irving's presumption wasn't great.

"He's coming on fine," Bowles said successful precocious May. "He's moving out, he's rough. We expect him sometime backmost successful the summertime oregon the autumn and we look guardant to him erstwhile helium gets back."

"Summer oregon the fall" is simply a precise wide scope for a return. Not being capable to definitively accidental he'll beryllium backmost earlier autumn is concerning. The Buccaneers signed Kenneth Gainwell, who tin transportation the moving crippled if Irving isn't acceptable for Week 1. Even if Irving is backmost for the play opener, Gainwell volition assistance support him fresh. Irving looked similar a imaginable prima for the Buccaneers a twelvemonth ago, and present determination are a batch of questions astir him going into his 3rd season.

Best-case scenario

From the Buccaneers' bye week successful 2024 to their bye successful 2025, they were 12-3. We've seen this radical play astatine a precise precocious level. If injuries were the crushed for past season's second-half swoon, that shouldn't repeat. There's capable prima powerfulness up and down the roster, peculiarly connected offense, to tally distant with a atrocious division. A batch has to spell right, starting with Baker Mayfield playing similar helium did successful 2024 and the archetypal fractional of 2025. But there's a crushed the Buccaneers are the betting favourite to triumph the NFC South. They person the champion roster successful the division. There's imaginable for the Buccaneers to beryllium much than an eight- oregon nine-win squad and triumph the NFL's worst division. They could adjacent triumph a crippled oregon 2 successful the playoffs if they deed their peak.

Nightmare scenario

When the Buccaneers were 4-1 to commencement past season, each of their wins were by 3 points oregon less. The 4 wins were by a full of 9 points. If that luck went the different way, we could beryllium talking astir the Buccaneers coming disconnected a 12- oregon 13-loss season. Even with that aboriginal luck successful adjacent games they couldn't decorativeness implicit .500. Baker Mayfield has been a large story, but determination was besides a crushed his vocation arsenic a starter was hanging connected by a thread earlier the Buccaneers signed him to a scant $4 cardinal woody successful 2023. He's up and down, and if there's different down play the Bucs volition person immoderate questions astir what to bash astatine quarterback. The defense's ceiling astir apt doesn't sniff the apical 10 of the NFL, which means Tampa Bay's discourtesy needs to person a large rebound. If the Buccaneers don't triumph the NFC South, they mightiness person to retool adjacent offseason and that would apt see moving connected from Todd Bowles arsenic caput coach. The stakes are precocious for galore Buccaneers this season.

The crystal shot says

It's hard to bargain into the Buccaneers again. I was very precocious connected them earlier past play aft a beardown decorativeness to 2024, and that fell isolated with a putrid 2nd fractional to the season. But the Buccaneers person the highest upside of immoderate squad successful the NFC South. A play with amended wellness should assistance their offense, and Baker Mayfield successful particular. Tampa Bay's defence won't beryllium great, but bully enough. I'm not repeating the mistake of being excessively precocious connected the Buccaneers for this season, but they'll triumph the NFC South and bash truthful with a winning record. That's not excessively overmuch to ask.

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