Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Three veterans that could be replaced
By Rob Leeds
Safety has been a tough position to follow for the Buccaneers this offseason, mainly because the Bucs have around five players to choose from for their starting duo.
Jordan Whitehead and Andrew Adams were the two starters last season, and due to COVID, the Bucs could stick with this pairing depending on how the offseason looks. Given that the rookies may not have as much time to acclimate to the NFL, it may be hard for players like Antoine Winfield Jr. to earn a starting job as quickly as initially believed.
On the other hand, the Bucs are very excited about what they see in Winfield, and even the biggest wrenches in the game plan would struggle to slow him down.
Adams may know the system and be the reliable option, but Winfield showed that he was a starting-caliber player through his college tape and the combine. The Bucs could see that they have a better starter in Winfield, but that could still take time.
If the rookies can get enough reps in during a shorter training camp, expect Winfield to earn the job eventually. If Adams is one of the only free safeties to gets reps during camp or if the staff can’t see enough from Winfield, expect few changes with the starting rotation.