3 offseason needs Buccaneers still need to fill, and veteran free agents who could help
By Josh Hill
While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a successful offseason, the work isn’t done and veteran free agents could still be added at some key positions of need.
It’s been a shockingly positive offseason for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which sounds meaner than intended.
To be fair, no Bucs fan in their right mind looked at the board when the offseason began and expected much to happen. Tom Brady had retired, and with that came a sea change as the team was forced to reckon with its future. The bill for the last three seasons of chasing a Super Bowl had come due and the medicine was difficult to swallow.
Nevertheless, Jason Licht and the Bucs front office put together a masterful offseason in which they navigated treacherous waters and came out on the other side with an impressive haul.
Jamel Dean and Lavonte David were re-signed, Baker Mayfield was signed in free agency to compete with Kyle Trask, and Licht worked his magic with an NFL Draft class that already looks like a winner on paper.
Not everything bounced the Bucs way, though. The price paid for some of the moves made included losing Mike Edwards, Sean Murphy-Bunting, and others to free agency. A reunion with Donovan Smith went out the window as well, and the Bucs needed to cut veterans like Leonard Fournette and Cameron Brate to untangle a $55 million salary cap knot.
There are still salary cap challenges to overcome, as the Bucs have almost no money to spend and an entire rookie class to get under contract. Tampa Bay also has some key positions of need the team should seriously consider addressing as the offseason dust settles and depth charts begin to take shape.