With Super Bowl LIX behind us we’ve officially reached the offseason, however the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been in that mindset for a while. Losing in the Wild Card round ended the Bucs’ season earlier than anyone would have liked and the offseason got off to about as dramatic a start as possible.
The Liam Coen drama kicked up plenty of dust but all of that seems to have settled. Instead of focusing energy on blocking coaches as a form of flipping Coen the bird, Tampa Bay seems to be shifting toward figuring out ways to improve the roster in order to make a run at the Super Bowl next year.
It’s a dream that’s closer to reality than the power rankings might make you believe. Baker Mayfield had the best season of his career last year, the offense is in a tremendous spot, and the arrow is point straight up on Tampa Bay’s stock in 2025.
One area that will need to be addressed, though, is defense. Injuries ransacked the roster and depleted depth, but even without that hurdle things were rougher than we would have liked. Specifically the pass rush was an issue and it’s an area that will get some much-needed attention.
Tampa Bay’s need for elite pass rush help combined with the trade request from Myles Garrett has some folks connecting some very exciting offseason dots.
Former NFL GM thinks Buccaneers might be tempted to trade for Myles Garrett
In a recent interview on WDAE, former NFL general manager Thomas Dimitrioff weighed in on the idea of the Buccaneers trading for Myles Garrett and said all of the right things. He didn’t have any inside information, but his gut is telling him things that fans in Tampa Bay will like hearing.
“I think Jason Licht has a really good understanding of the trenches,” Dimitroff said. “And I have a great deal of respect for him. And I think he goes in there and he knows that this would be a legit type of move that would set that team up for years to come.”
There’s no question that Garrett instantly makes the Bucs not only better but legitimate Super Bowl contenders in 2025. He fixes the pass rush, adds another future Hall of Famer to the roster, and landing him would be a clear signal that Tampa Bay is once again pushing its chips to the center of te table to try and bring him another Lombardi Trophy.
It’s a formula that works; the Bucs have taken big swings in the past and we just watched the Eagles win a title with a strong defensive front. Tampa Bay is no stranger to this as they literally wrote the book on beating the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, so running that back makes a ton of sense.
Landing Garrett is easier said than done, though.
Nobody will doubt the logic behind the Bucs trading for him but the cost of doing business is were things get tricky. Earlier this offseason it was reported that Garrett could fetch multiple first round picks, a price that Tampa Bay has only paid on very rare occasions in the past.
Jason Licht loves his draft picks, and rightfully so. One of the major reasons the Bucs are in the position they are now is because the team was able to draft so wisely to replenish its depth during a period where spending in free agency was out of the question. One thing that could tip the scales, though, is the fact that the main man behind that talent development is gone.
John Spytek was a key figure in identifying the young talent Tampa Bay has found over the year, but he’s the general manager in Las Vegas now. There’s a deep bench of talent in the front office, but perhaps Licht is tempted to take a big swing with his draft picks knowing that it’s the first year without Spytek.
Then again, Licht has been responsible for the roster’s construction as well which means Spytek being gone doesn’t mean things will fall apart. The stars do seem to be aligning for the Bucs to take a big swing, though, and landing Garrett would be just as good as whatever Tampa Bay might land with the picks it would give up.
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