Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Big mistakes to avoid this offseason
By Rob Leeds
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a very important offseason coming up and they have some big decisions that will have a massive impact on 2020.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have to be extremely careful this upcoming offseason in an attempt to continue on their current path towards success. Tampa Bay showed glimpses of talent in 2019 but overall failed to reach their true potential.
Sights have now turned towards 2020 but this offseason will be pivotal. The front office will have to avoid the following mistakes if they want to be successful down the road.
1. Overpaying Jameis Winston
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The Buccaneers’ best hopes for winning, at least in 2020, rests on Jameis Winston’s shoulders. Many of the veteran free agent choices paired with the available rookies in this class do not inspire more confidence than Jameis Winston staying at the helm for 2020.
Jameis may have his detractors but the offense did work in 2020 despite the turnovers. The best hope for the Buccaneers is that the defense can step up and minimize the negative effects of so many turnovers and Jameis can still maintain the positive sides of his game.
While the Bucs do need to keep Jameis to win now, they have to be careful as to not overpay the inconsistent quarterback. It will be tough to find a middle ground, but the Buccaneers need to make sure that they don’t completely tie their future to unpredictable quarterback play while also keeping Winston on their roster if the price is right.
2. Drafting a running back before round 4
The Buccaneers can’t afford to waste a high round draft pick on a running back when they already have a more than capable player in the form of Ronald Jones.
Tampa Bay has far too many more serious holes on their team that they cannot waste a pick on a running back that isn’t even guaranteed to fix the run game.
The Bucs would do themselves a favor by waiting for a later round to draft a running back and getting more efficiency from their pick. The problem in the run game is the scheme, not the players. This could also be remedied by drafting a talented tackle early on in the draft.
3. Overpaying Ndamukong Suh
Ndamukong Suh was a member of the best run defense in football in 2020. While his role was not the biggest, it is undeniable that the Bucs would like to keep Suh on the roster.
The Buccaneers will have a difficult cap situation this offseason and keeping Suh at his current price would never work. By continuing to pay him at his current rate Tampa Bay would essentially be shooting themselves in the foot as they have other needs for that money.
If Suh would return to Tampa Bay at half of his current salary that would be perfect, but the Bucs must be wary of overpaying for this player.
4. Neglecting offensive tackle
The Buccaneers have to focus on offensive tackle this offseason. It seems incredibly unlikely that Tampa Bay will find a free agent and therefore they will need to look towards the draft.
Regardless of who the player is, the Bucs have to find a way to allow their offensive line to take the next steps from being a middle of the pack unit to a more dominant one.
The best hope for the Bucs here is to use a high round draft pick on a young tackle that they can keep on the roster for years to come.
5. Unveiling a lackluster new jersey design
The Buccaneers as a whole are hurting for a new jersey design for the 2020 season more than most teams. The team has begun to hint at a new design on the horizon and many fans are waiting with great anticipation.
The Bucs organization would be making a massive mistake to bring out jerseys that the fanbase hates.
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The outlook for 2020 is bright but the team needs to have the full force of the fanbase behind it. Some of the games in Raymond James stadium felt like neutral site games or even worse, away games at times, and the team needs fan support now more than ever. A successful new jersey design may keep fans engaged rather than pushing them away.