3 new Buccaneers starters who will have a huge impact this season

Greg Gaines, DT

Another potential sleeper signing for Jason Licht was bringing Greg Gaines from the Los Angeles Rams. The Bucs didn’t have a ton of money to spend this offseason but the not only spent wisely to reinforce positions of need but did so by adding young talent.

Gaines is only 27 years old, but is already a Super Bowl champion and comes from a bruising Rams defense that has been forced to keep pace with some of the best offenses in the league. During that 2021 Super Bowl run, the Rams went through Tom Brady (as we know), Kyle Shanahan, and Joe Burrow to win a title. Los Angeles was an offensive juggernaut that season but also owned a Top 15 defensive unit, which Gaines was quietly an important part of.

While he had a bit of a down year last season, Gaines didn’t post a PFF grade lower than 65.0 in any of his first three seasons. He displayed an ability to be a dual threat in stopping the run but also being a force in the pass rush. What should help him is playing next to Vita Vea, which could open up some opportunities for him to shine.

Teams will do what they can to stop Vea, but doing so will likely be a priority for offensive line coaches. That might create an opening for Gaines to be a wrecking ball and make up for where Vea might get stuffed up a bit. Take into consideration that Calijah Kancey is looking every bit like a stud addition to the line, and all of a sudden the Buccaneers front looks like a menace to gameplan against.