Slowly but surely the offseason rumor mill is starting to turn, and the winds are already whispering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ name. The biggest gust has come in the form of Myles Garrett being floated as a potential trade target, although the brakes have already been pumped on that.
Even if Garrett isn’t who the Bucs end up with, there are other edge rushers like Micah Parsons and Max Crosby who could serve as big trade targets the team looks at.
Pass rush help is at the tip of Tampa Bay’s offseason list, but it’s not the only area of the roster that will be addressed. Top line needs will no doubt get the most resources, but lower wattage moves could be made to fortify depth. New offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard is thankfully inheriting a unit that is stacked across the board, but that might not stop his connections to upcoming free agents from adding to the rumor mill’s power.
Former Dolphins running back with ties to Josh Grizzard could be a Buccaneers free agent target
Greg Auman said the quiet part out loud and mentioned the connection between Mostert and Grizzard. The two overlapped during their time in Miami, although Grizzard worked more generally with the offense rather than specifically with the running backs.
Still, it’s a connection that is indeed notable as we head toward free agency.
Bucs have all their 2024 backs returning under contract, but worth mentioning that Mostert and Josh Grizzard overlapped in Miami … https://t.co/lOtwdxdKRO
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) February 14, 2025
While this does make sense from the standpoint that Grizzard has connections to Mostert, that’s where the logic pretty much ends. It’s not that Mostert isn’t a decent player, it’s just that he doesn’t fit the Buccaneers’ plans in any way.
Tampa Bay’s backfield is stacked, with Bucky Irving and Rachaad White leading the way while Sean Tucker is in line to get serious looks as the team’s RB3. Chase Edmonds is a free agent and unlikely to return specifically because of this logjam of talent, which means Mostert would already be struggling for playing time from the jump.
If the roster fit doesn’t make any sense then the financials make it even less likely to happen. The team not retaining Edmonds would mean being able to allocate money to other areas of need, and that logic applies to Mostert as well.
Heading into next season with the trio of Bucky, White, and Tucker feels right and the team can add a fourth running back in the draft or find a budget free agent to fill the gap. Perhaps that indeed ends up being Mostert, but he made $4.1 million last year which is a pretty penny for a team already set at running back to pay.
Not for nothing, but if we’re using ties to Grizzard as reasoning for Mostert’s fit in Tampa Bay then the same logic applies to Edmonds who has already worked in the offensive scheme.
It’s not a bad idea, and will certainly be something worth exploring at the right price, but the Bucs spending money on any running back — not just Mostert — feels pretty low priority no mater the connections.
More Tampa Bay Buccaneers news and rumors