Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 3 takeaways from Bruce Arians’ presser

The tale of Noah Spence and the broken record

Here we go again. The offseason Noah Spence hype that we have heard over the last three years has continued with the new coaching staff. When asked out Spence today in the presser, Arians stated that the fourth year edge rusher entering his contract year has “flourished in the role he has now” (via Trevor Sikkema).

This is a broken record as we hear this every year about Spence who enters camp in incredible shape but is unable to earn the trust of the coaching staff. Now he gets a fresh start with a new regime and with Todd Bowles as his defensive coordinator. It is now or never for Spence, and if he cannot earn any trust this year from the Bucs, he’ll struggle to make the final 53-man roster and could see his career dwindle.

Last year Spence was benched altogether by former defensive coordinator Mike Smith, and enters his fourth year with less than ten sacks over the past three years. Spence was talked up as a potential first rounder when he came out for the draft in 2016, ultimately fell to the second round to the Bucs, and has not lived up to the hype.

It is unsure of what the “role he has now” is, but it is most likely a limited, rotational role. This may be Spence’s best role, but the Bucs will need him to step up after the injury of Jason Pierre-Paul and lack of depth off the edge.