4 big name free agents Buccaneers should sign before mandatory minicamp
By Josh Hill
Yannick Ngakoue, EDGE
One of the key areas on defense the Buccaneers didn't fully address this offseason was edge rusher. Steps were taken to try and fill out the depth chart but it's such an important piece of the puzzle that the Bucs would be wise to dip back into the pool.
Yannick Ngakoue is still looking for work and might fit perfectly into an edge rush rotation in Tampa Bay. The Bucs signed Randy Gregory and drafted Chris Braswell but there's still some depth questions behind Calijah Kancey that could be helped by adding Ngakoue.
Adding Ngakoue at the right price not only adds another potential sleeper free agent alongside Gregory but adds competition for Joe Tryon-Shoyinka. He seems to be in a prove-it year with the Bucs but much like the situation with Baker Mayfield the team can't afford to not have a plan in place in case things go off the rails.
Tryon-Shoyinka has just Anthony Nelson behind him as a legitimate replacement, but Ngakoue could move back into that linebacker/edge role and take some pressure off. At the very least it adds a player who is a year removed from posting 9.5 sacks and racked up 10 sacks with the Raiders back in 2021. Last season was the only one Ngakoue finished with fewer than eight sacks, which seems like perfect upside to gamble on if it means potentially upgrading the edge rush situation.