Following a disappointing 2022-2023 season, highlighted by an 8-9 regular-season record and first-round playoff exit, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will enter the 2023 off-season with more questions than answers. As stated by Spotrac, the Buccaneers were over the 2023 Salary Cap by $43.1 Million as of early February, giving them the second-worst cap situation in the NFL. Although the exact cap figure will not be known until the NFL announces it in early March, Tampa Bay’s financial situation may remain stagnant, especially with the surplus of Buccaneers becoming unrestricted free agents.
As of January 20th, 24 Buccaneers will enter free agency in search of a new contract, including wide receiver Julio Jones, wide receiver Scotty Miller, cornerback Sean-Murphy Bunting, cornerback Jamel Dean, and safety Mike Edwards. Despite owning their first (No. 19), second (No. 50), and third (No. 82) round picks in the 2023 NFL Draft, Tampa Bay won’t be able to replace all of the departures, and will need to prioritize these four position groups during the 2023 offseason.
Note: With Tom Brady announcing his retirement from the NFL on February First, Tampa Bay will obviously need to address the QB position this offseason. With this said, FL Teams has already covered the extensive list of QBs Tampa Bay may acquire, either through free agency or the NFL draft. Therefore, this article won’t go into a profound discussion of the QB position, but rather other position groups. The evaluation of Tampa Bay’s potential QB options via free agency and the NFL draft can be found with the links listed above.
1. Offensive Line
Entering the 2022-2023 season, Tampa Bay’s offensive line was expected to remain one of the best in the NFL after a dominant stretch of pass protection and run blocking in the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 seasons. As it turned out, however, this was not the case, as the Buccaneer’s 2022-2023 offensive line was one of the weakest position groups on the entire team. Throughout the 2022-2023 season, Brady was sacked 22 times for 160 yards, and had a sack rate of 2.9%, the highest in the NFL. While these numbers are very similar to that in the 2020-2021 (21 sacks, 143 yards, 3.3% sack rate) and 2021-2022 (22 sacks, 144 yards, 3.0% sack rate) seasons, Brady was consistently faced with pressure by the opposing team. Per Football Reference, was pressured 100 times, hit 55 times, and had a 13.2% pressure rate on dropbacks, all career highs as the Buccaneers’ QB. The main reason for Tampa’s Bay offensive line struggles can be attributed to the absences of left guard Ali Marpet (retirement), Center Ryan Jensen (injured reserve), and right guard Alex Cappa (free agency), all of whom didn’t play for the Buccaneers after anchoring a strong offensive line in the previous seasons.
In spite of this, Tampa Bay still had star left tackle Tristan Wirfs and veteran right tackle Donovan Smith to protect the edges of the offensive line, while veteran Shaq Mason, Robert Hainsey, and 2022 second-round pick Luke Goedeke made numerous starts at the guard position. At 29 years old, Smith may be a cap-casualty, as the Buccaneers will save $18.4 million in salary cap space by cutting him this offseason. If Tampa Bay decides to revamp its offensive line during the 2023 offseason, there will be no shortage of options through the draft or free agency. For reference, Kansas City’s Orlando Brown, San Fransisco’s Mike McGlinchey, Philadelphia’s Jason Kelce, and Denver’s Dalton Risner are all set to sign new contracts as unrestricted free agents this offseason. Likewise, Tampa Bay may use the No. 19 pick in the NFL Draft to draft an offensive lineman, such as Northwestern’s Peter Skoronski, Georgia’s Broderick Jones, Ohio State’s Dawand Jones, and Florida’s O’Cyrus Torrence.
2. Linebacker
In spite of Tampa Bay’s recent struggles, the dynamic duo of star linebackers Devin White and Lavonte David have continued to anchor the Buccaneers’ strong Defense. Since being drafted by Tampa Bay with the No. 5 pick in the 2019 Draft, White has quickly emerged as one of the NFL’s top coverage linebackers, as he earned 2020-2021 All-Pro Second Team Honors and was named to the Pro Bowl in the 2021-2022 season. In his fourth season as a Buccaneer, White produced another stellar campaign, recording 124 total tackles, eight tackles for loss (TFL), five passes defended, and 5.5 sacks. Meanwhile, David still enjoyed a strong 2022-2023 season at 32 years old, recording 124 total tackles, ten TFLs, five passes defended, and three sacks in seventeen regular-season starts. When David was targeted by opposing QBs, the one-time Super Bowl Champion held his own, yielding 55 completions on 73 targets for 376 receiving yards and one touchdown, all career-bests.
Outside of White and David, however, Tampa Bay’s linebacker corps is considerably weak. In the Buccaneers’ depth chart, Ulysees Gilbert III and K.J. Britt are the No. 3 and No. 4 coverage linebackers, respectively, giving Tampa Bay very little depth and experience behind White and David. Tampa Bay’s linebacker corp may become even weaker if David signs with a new team in free agency or retires after his eleventh season in the NFL. Furthermore, Tampa Bay is eligible to pick up White’s Rookie Fifth Year Option, which will delay contract discussions for one season. Fortunately, the Buccaneers will have other options in Free Agency to address the linebacker position, such as Tennessee’s David Long, Buffalo’s Tremaine Edmunds, Philadelphia’s TJ Edwards, or Los Angeles’ Drue Tranquill. In addition, Clemson’s Trenton Simpson, Alabama’s Henry To’Tot’O, Oregon’s Noah Sewell, and Arkansas’ Drew Sanders are the top linebacker prospects in the 2023 NFL draft.
3. Running Back
After recording 180 rushing attempts for 812 rushing yards, eight rushing touchdowns, and 4.5 YPC in 14 games last season, Fournette struggled mightily in his second season as Tampa Bay’s No. 1 RB. For reference, Fournette recorded 189 rushing attempts for just 668 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns, and 3.5 YPC, all signifying a clear decline in Fournette’s running ability. It’s worth noting that Fournette was heavily used as a check-down receiver for Brady, finishing the 2022-2023 season with 73 receptions for 523 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns, all career highs. In spite of Fournette’s reliability as a pass catcher, Tampa Bay could certainly cut ties with Fournette, due to the salary cap situation and the emergence of 2022 third-round pick Rachaad White.
As stated by Spotrac, Fournette is in the midst of a three-year, $21 million contract with Tampa Bay, and is set to become an unrestricted free agent in the 2025 offseason. However, if the Buccaneers cut Fournette this offseason, they would save $10.5 million across the next two seasons, a significant amount of money considering Tampa Bay’s extensive list of pending free agents. In addition to freeing up future cap space, Tampa Bay would be able to give White an expanded role in the offense, who showed flashes as a dual-threat back in limited action this season. In 17 games (eight starts) this season, White recorded 129 rush attempts for 481 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown, and 3.7 YPC while catching 50 passes for 290 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns. If Tampa Bay isn’t sure that White has the talent to serve as the lead back with Fournette gone, then the Buccaneers could always use their additional cap space to sign one of the top free-agent running backs, which includes New York’s Saquon Barkley, Las Vegas’ Josh Jacobs, and Dallas’ Tony Pollard.
4. Defensive Line
As a team, Tampa Bay notched 45 sacks throughout the 2022-2023 season, the seventh-highest total in the NFL. In reference to this, the Buccaneers received notable contributions from defensive end Anthony Nelson (5.5 sacks, 4 TFLs), defensive end Joe Tryon-Shoyinka (4.0 Sacks, 6 TFLs), and defensive tackle Vita Vea (6.5 sacks, 7 TFLs). Outside of the aforementioned linebacker duo of White and David, along with Nelson, Vea, and Tryon-Shoyinka, the Buccaneers lack serious depth on the defensive line, and it will worsen following the 2023 offseason. To be specific, Akiem Hicks, Carl Nassib, William Gholston, Genard Avery, and Nelson will all be unrestricted free agents this offseason. Therefore, Tampa Bay will definitely need to add multiple defensive linemen via Free Agency, and could do so with New Orleans’ Marcus Davenport, Indianapolis’ Yannick Ngakoue, and Baltimore’s Justin Houston on the edge, or Washington’s Daron Payne, and Philadelphia’s Javon Hargrave in the interior.