Buccaneers pull off a shadow trade with Miami Dolphins to add linebacker help

For as much as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have managed to add in free agency, the team has experienced its fair share of roster turnover.

Adding Haason Reddick and Riley Dixon, as well as re-signing Chris Godwin to a $60 million, were big moves that help make the team better. Pass rush was an obvious need to address and the Dixon signing has the potential to be one of the best of the offseason.

We don't need to explain why the Godwin signing is great, because it speaks for itself

There will be familiar faces in new places next year, though. Cap casualties are part of doing business, and deciding to let certain players walk has created space for the additions Tampa Bay has made. Joe Tryon-Shoyinka left to sign with the Browns, Robert Hainsey reunited with Liam Coen in Jacksonville, and Tavierre Thomas was poached by the Vikings.

K.J. Britt is the latest player to leave, although his exit to sign with the Miami Dolphins has a rather interesting caveat. Losing him is a bummer, but it's not a total loss since it worked out that the Bucs were able to replace him almost right away.

Dolphins steal K.J. Britt away from Buccaneers on one-year deal

Britt is gone, but his spot on the linebacker depth chart has already been filled -- by a former Dolphins player, no less.

Adam Schefter pointed out that the two moves amount to the Bucs and Dolphins enacting a shadow trade. Tampa Bay signed former Miami linebacker Anthony Walker to a one-year deal to balance out the loss of Britt.

Both players are swapping places on free agent deals, but the math works out to a trade.

It's not a major loss, but it's notable in that the Bucs continue quietly turning parts of the defensive roster over after a rough season last year. Britt has been all over the place during his time with the Bucs, going from a low-end roster guy to replacing Devin White as the team's starting linebacker to being cast out by fans frustrated with his lack of ability.

That last criticism is a little unfair, as he failed to produce at a time when fans were already worked up about the season getting stuck in first gear. He was a solid piece of depth and a player that Todd Bowles clearly liked, but his struggles last year were magnified by the overall need for the Bucs to find linebacker help.

Lavonte David returning for another season helps, and Tampa Bay will almost certainly be drafting a linebacker next month. Britt would have been fine coming back another year, but he gets a fresh start in Miami while the Bucs get a guy in Walker who started eight games last year while finished with 68 total tackles and a turnover.

That's pretty decent depth to add, and it's proof that the Bucs have seen what hasn't been working and are trying to fix things so that the same problems don't hold the team back again.

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