Buccaneers: Five Big Ticket Potential Free Agent Options

DeMarcus Ware

Now here is a name that hasn’t been associated with the Bucs as of yet, but I believe should be.

When you talk about winning games, what is one of the major elements you talk about? The pass rush. The team that can get to the quarterback wins games. It’s not just the pass rush, however, it’s also the situational pass rush. Which team can close out games? Take the Bucs, for instance. Think back to the night against Dallas. David Irving got to Winston in the fourth quarter, and the Cowboys were able to close us out.

Look at Dwight Freeney as a prime example of this point. At 35 years old he joined the Arizona Cardinals, seemingly at the end of his career. He was active for 11 games, didn’t start a single one, yet managed eight sacks. How did that happen? Situational pass rushing, that’s how. He came in and helped the Cardinals close out games.

DeMarcus Ware battled injuries in 2016 which allowed him into only ten games and to post only four sacks. The year before, however, he posted 7.5 sacks, and he is just two years removed from a ten sack performance. Ware can still get the job done, and the Bucs have the personnel that would allow Ware to be a situational player. Imagine him coming off of the edge on the opposite side of Noah Spence in the fourth quarter.

There is no reason to think that wouldn’t add up to some additional wins.