After the Tampa Bay Buccaneers collapse in the 2025 NFL regular season, it is quite apparent that a lot of work needs to be done in order for the Bucs roster to be at a level where it can consistently compete for Super Bowls again. The Bucs may have teased to the NFL that they were Super Bowl contenders at the start of the season, but they were quickly exposed as being several cuts below the rest of the crop.
Tampa decided to hedge their bets and continue with one of the most under fire head coaches in the league in Todd Bowles, whom the fan base and even some of the players seemed to be fully out on by the end of the season.
And now that the Bucs have made their choice to back Bowles for one more season, they are going to have to back him in free agency and the draft, too. There is no greater need through both avenues of refreshing the roster than an anemic pass rush that was among the most pathetic in the NFL - if not THE worst, considering the star studded offense it held back.
The Bucs need to spend wisely
Many figures place the Buccaneers salary cap space at around 15 million dollars, which means that, for all intents and purposes, the Bucs can sign one marquee free agen this coming spring but only one marquee free agent.
Jacksonville Jaguars All Pro coverage linebacker Devin Lloyd will surely be on that short list if he hits the free agent waters, which is very plausible at this juncture, but if given the choice of just one player in an ideal world, then that player would have to be a pass rusher.
The market for free agent pass rushers is always difficult. Costs are high, stars are rare commodities, and there is a lot of inherent risk. But you can't go far in the NFL these days without having at least one great pass rusher, whether interior or off the edge, and where the Bucs can get it, they have to spend big to sign someone who can supplant YaYa Diaby as their No. 1 pass rusher.
With all due respect to Diaby, who is a fine football player, he is not a star pass rusher or a top guy in this league, and the Bucs need that top guy. Trey Hendrickson, Khalil Mack, Odafe Oweh, Jaelen Phillips, and K'Lavon Chaisson are among the biggest names at the EDGE position in the NFL free agent class this year, and any number of them would be substantial upgrades for the Bucs.