Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Are playoffs the bare minimum in 2020?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers could not be in a better situation going into 2020, but there will be a fine line to walk between success and disappointment.

No, the Buccaneers are not locks to make it to the Super Bowl in 2020, and no, the season won’t be a waste if they don’t win it all. This is a new team and a young team, and taking a year to build chemistry will come in handy.

Although the expectations should be tempered, there is enough talent here to make some noise during a deeper playoff run.

The Bucs have gone all-in in every way possible. From Bruce Arians to the roster players, Tampa Bay is constructed with the next two seasons as a clear focus.

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Expectations like this can weigh heavily on even the most talented teams. The Buccaneers are drawing many comparisons to the Browns from last season, who were widely considered one of the best teams in the AFC, yet they failed to make the playoffs.

Even though winning the Super Bowl shouldn’t be the end-all-be-all for this team, sneaking into the playoffs by chance is not good enough.

Tampa Bay hasn’t necessarily been a real contender in the playoff race for some time now, but the team from 2019 was better than the final record indicated. The Bucs were able to stay competitive with most of their best competition, and they were able to add some massive pieces to their roster since then.

If just the draft was taken into account, the Bucs were already going to be a better team. The addition of players like Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski in free agency was just a bonus.

The Buccaneers were set up to be dangerous with Jameis Winston at quarterback, but switching for Tom Brady pushes the outlook even further in that direction, regardless of age.

Given all of the roster pieces and the talent from top to bottom, the Buccaneers need to have their sights set above barely making the playoffs. Realism certainly has to remain in play, but this team should have every opportunity to redefine the Buccaneers and their future.