It’s NFL team preview time, and today we’re looking at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Each Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from July 25 through Sept. 8, we will take an in-depth look at each team in the NFL with a 7- to 10-minute video going through impactful additions and departures, last year’s rankings and strength of schedule in 2023.
analyst Jim Derry will then make a prediction on the team’s record this season and where they will finish in their respective division, along with the over/under win total, as posted by our partners at Caesars Sportsbook.
These stories are a brief summary of the accompanied preview videos – powered by the (which will review each division every Friday until the season begins). The schedule for when each team will run is listed below with a link to each story and video that already has run.
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
Coach: Todd Bowles (2nd season)
2022 record: 8-9, 1st in NFC South; lost to Dallas Cowboys, 31-10, in wild-card round.
Last season in a nutshell: The finale for Tom Brady, and it was not his – or the Tampa Bay Bucs’ – best. Sure, they won a terrible division with an 8-9 record, but they were super lucky to do it, and then they were blasted by three touchdowns in the first round of the playoffs.
After a 3-2 start and a near miss against the eventual Super Bowl champions in Week 4, a three-game losing streak ensued and sort of gave a preview of what was to come the remaining 3 months. That included an embarrassing 21-3 loss at Carolina, which was later followed in Week 14 by a 35-7 loss at San Francisco.
Where they succeeded was winning the games they absolutely had to, including going 4-2 against division rivals, and one of those losses came in the regular-season finale at Atlanta when they had the NFC South sewn up.
Their rankings from last season say they should have been better than 8-9, finishing 15th in offense and ninth in defense, but they could never string together a winning streak longer than two. They also had major trouble running the football – they were dead last – which prompted major changes in their backfield (including Brady’s retirement).
2023 bye week: 5
2023 Draft: 1 (19th overall) DL Calijah Kancey, Pittsburgh; 2 (48) G Cody Mauch, North Dakota State; 3 (82) DL Ya’Ya Diaby, Louisville; 5 (153) LB SirVocea Dennis, Pittsburgh; 5 (171) TE Payne Durham, Purdue; 6 (181) CB Josh Hayes, Kansas State; 6 (191) WR Trey Palmer, Nebraska; 6 (196) DL Jose Ramirez, Eastern Michigan.
Free-agent signings: QB Baker Mayfield (from LA Rams), 1 year, $4M; DT Greg Gaines (from LA Rams), 1 year, $3.5M; G Matt Feller (from LA Chargers), 1 year, $2.5M; S Ryan Neal (from Seattle), 1 year, $1.23M; RB Chase Edmonds (from Indianapolis), 1 year, $1.13M; QB John Wolford (from LA Rams – cut and signed to practice squad), 1 year, $1.01M.
What needs to go right: Well, just about everything. This division will not have records like it has last year, and 8-9 won’t be good enough to win it. (Not that we think the Bucs will be 8-9 this year. You’ll have to watch the video to find that out.)
Even to be that good, they’ll have to click on offense under Mayfield or switch very quickly to Trask and make that work. One big question I have is: If the quarterback play is as bad as some think it could be, how hard will guys like Mike Evans and Chris Godwin be willing to go all out on a potentially last-place team?
Also, on defense, the Bucs will have to be even better than they were last year, and they were in the top 10 in the league. Because they likely will score fewer points than in 2022, they will have to hold off teams that – even in the division – have become much better.
The two inside linebackers in Devin White and Lavonte David and Shaq Barrett on the outside are among the best in the NFL, but even though we like CB Jamel Dean and S Antoine Winfield, do we trust S Ryan Neal, whom the team signed for the league minimum from Seattle and now will man a starting role?
Trying not to give away our prediction, but will Coach Todd Bowles survive the season?
Key moments in video:
0:00 Tampa Bay Bucs preview
1:01 Tom Brady is gone, and he’s not coming back
2:22 From Tom Brady to Baker Mayfield
3:20 How are vets like Evans, Godwin coping?
5:05 Can defense carry Bucs?
5:58 Dissecting toughest sked in NFC South
8:35 Predictions, best bet
PREVIEW SCHEDULE / LINKS
AFC SOUTH
July 25:
July 26:
July 27:
Sept. 1:
NFC SOUTH
Sept. 5:
Sept. 6: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Sept. 7: Carolina Panthers
Sept. 8: New Orleans Saints