Buccaneers free agent is already being labeled a potential bust before training camp

Training camp is set to start in just a few days, but it’s already been an offseason of hand wringing for experts around the league doubting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

It’s not quite to the degree it was this time last year, but Bucs are still being slept on — or worse — despite all of the progress the team made last season. Tampa Bay was predicted to earn a top draft pick last year, yet the Bucs finished their season in the NFC Divisional Round.

None of that seems to matter, though, so it should come as no surprise that the roster is already being picked over when it comes to identifying potential busts.

Ben Bredeson is already being predicted to bust with the Buccaneers this season

Take it with a grain of salt, but Bleacher Report went to work listing off players on each team who will potentially be busts this season.  For Tampa Bay's selection, Kenyon went a different route with a lack of experience at one of the most important positions in football.

"Really, the choice is the position. Ben Bredeson is competing with Sua Opeta at left guard, and both are concerning," Kenyon said. "They already traded spots as the first stringer in OTAs, and that shuffle is a real possibility in the fall because neither one has been a regular NFL starter."

While it may be a tough pill to swallow, Bredeson nor Opeta are standout offensive linemen, and were bargain-bin free-agent signings by Tampa Bay for a reason. Bredeson, to his credit, was a lone bright sapot on New York's atrocious offensive line, but still allowed four holding penalties and earned a 42.1 PFF grade in 16 games, both career-worsts.

Meanwhile, Opeta did make a career-high six starts for the Eagles, but was often used only in place of Cam Jurgens and Landon Dickerson, who missed considerable time with injury. Through his first four seasons in the NFL, Opeta has played in 38 games, ten of which were starts.

Even so, both Bredeson and Opeta are clear upgrades over Aaron Stinnie and Matt Feiler, and both are considerably younger. With Bredeson and Opeta entering their age-26 and 27-year seasons, both will help progress the Bucs' offensive line from last season, even if neither has experience as a true starter on the line.

Last season, the Buccaneers' offensive line was among the league's worst, allowing quarterback Baker Mayfield to be sacked 40 times and hit a career-worst 35 times.

The returns of star tackles Tristan Wirfs and Luke Goedeke and the addition of 2024 first-round pick Graham Barton will be vital in changing that narrative in 2024, but the debuts of Bredeson and Opeta could be key in giving the Bucs a top-ten offensive line in 2024.

More Tampa Bay Buccaneers news and rumors