There is no question that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers biggest needs this offseason are on the defensive side of the football. Although the Bucs added Al-Quadin Muhammad off the edge, Alex Anzalone at inside linebacker, and A'Shawn Robinson up front, Tampa still lack any sort of star power in the front seven, and, if anything, got worse after Lavonte David recently announced his retirement - a decision that did not come as a surprise to any Bucs fan.
The Buccaneers are surely going to address the defense heavily in the 2026 NFL Draft, and if it isn't just with their first round pick, the Bucs could very well use all their Day One and Day Two picks on defensive standouts to rebuild a unit that totally collapsed under Todd Bowles in the second half of the season.
Tampa Bay have mostly been adding veteran depth pieces to their front seven this offseason. After the main signings of Muhammad, Anzalone, and Robinson, Tampa signed Christian Rozeboom for some more inside linebacker depth, though, with how bad the current Bucs roster is, Rozeboom would actually be a starter.
The Bucs brought in a former Falcons LB
In keeping this NFC South trend going, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reports that on Thursday, former Atlanta Falcons outside linebacker DeAngelo Malone took a trip to One Buc Place to visit with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a possible signing. A former third round pick, Malone is now a free agent, and the Bucs are mostly looking at him as a depth or special teams option.
Right now, the Buccaneers are in the late stage of free agency, and they appear to be putting out feelers for players like Malone who could be cheap veteran backups with that additional special teams value. Safety Miles Killebrew was a recent signing in that vein, though he is a bit more exciting than Malone.
One of the other flavors of the Buccaneers offense has been going after retreads from around the NFC South, which doesn't excite Bucs fans too much. There is no indication that Malone is anything more than a workout, though a visit from a free agent in late March is clear interest in a player.
The hope from Buccaneers fans is that the team seriously addresses both the inside and outside linebacker positions this April. There are a lot of strong options at both positions in the draft, and both Anzalone and Muhammad are not one stop solutions.