The Tampa Bay Buccaneers accomplished quite a bit with Tom Brady and company in the 2021-22 season. They won the NFC South for the first time in 14 years and they finished with the best record in franchise history at 13-4. Sadly, the fun season came to an end in the divisional round of the playoffs as the Bucs lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams. After Brady’s brief retirement, he has announced to come back and Tampa Bay still looks to compete for another Super Bowl title next fall.
Re-Sign Everybody You Can; Keep the Super Bowl Champion Team IntactÂ
Part of the reason the 2021 Buccaneers were so good following their Super Bowl winning season was because GM Jason Licht kept the team together in order to pursue another championship. The Buccaneers need to do the same thing this offseason and they’ve already gotten off to a good start with it. The Bucs re-signed both Ryan Jenson and Carlton Davis III. Those are two key players of two position groups that the Bucs have been working hard to improve over the past few years. The team also recently franchise-tagged Chris Godwin, who is coming off an incredible year with 98 catches for 1,103 yards, scoring six total touchdowns.
Some notable guys who have yet to sign anywhere and could be re-signed by Tampa include Ndamukong Suh, Jason Pierre-Paul, Leonard Fournette, Ronald Jones II, and Rob Gronkowski. It is going to be hard for the Bucs to get all of these players back. To begin with, a lot of the guys who need to be re-signed are getting older. Jason Pierre-Paul, for example, is now 33 but he is still playing at his best. Pierre-Paul had 31 tackles and 2.5 sacks last year and is just two years removed from a Pro Bowl season. Age is a concern for some and the Buccaneers really need to diagnose who is going to provide the most value in their old age.
Fill the Needs for Guys Who Leave With Draft Picks
To general manager Jason Licht’s credit, the past few draft classes have done the team well. In the past three years, top draft picks such as Devin White, Tristan Wirfs, and Antoine Winfield Jr. have all worked out to be key pieces in the Bucs’ very talented roster. Therefore, it makes sense for Licht and company to continue the recent draft success the organization has had. A specific area to attack is the offensive line, which has seen both Alex Cappa (signed with the Cincinnati Bengals) and Ali Marpet (retired) leave the Bay. Tampa Bay completed a trade with the New England Patriots that allowed the Bucs to get guard Shaq Mason. That helped fill some holes, however, snagging some of the talented offensive linemen in this draft can help fill the depth that has been lost early on this offseason.
Getting more young guys in the defensive line group will also help the Buccaneers. Vita Vea is currently the youngest starter at 27-years-old. The team may want to plan for the future as the current defensive line group is going to start breaking apart very soon.
Simply, the return of Brady gives Tampa Bay a jolt of confidence for the 2022-23 season. The team will look to add some finishing touches to its already Super Bowl-caliber team.
(Featured image by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)