The 2022 season wasn’t that bad for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It was their first year under Head Coach Todd Bowles. He led the team to qualify for the playoffs for the third time in a row but that didn’t do much as they proceeded to make the quickest exit losing to the Dallas Cowboys. They did, however, finish first in the NFC South with an embarrassing 8-9 record. As great as it may seem, it didn’t do them any good not even as much as a higher draft pick. Even the great Tom Brady, returning for just one final season, couldn’t help the team improve the situation. They weren’t a good team to begin with and it just got a lot worse as time passed by.
With Tom Brady now officially retired and a very tough schedule in the upcoming season, the Buccaneers needed the offseason to rebuild and prepare for all kinds of difficulties that they have to face this year. It is going to be a very difficult run for the team.
The team had quite a few surprises in store for free agency. They decided to re-sign cornerback Jamel Dean who was one of the top players in most rankings. Also making a return this year was linebacker Lavonte David, who has certainly earned his righteous place on the roster over the years. With Tom Brady’s position now empty, the team brought in former Rams quarterback Baker Mayfield. He has quite the record and will compete for the starting role. The team also lost a few players to free agency including Julio Jones and Sean Murphy-Bunting but it was nothing they couldn’t recover from.
In the 2023 NFL Draft, the team went for a few bold moves including drafting interior defender Calijah Kancey in just Round 1. As undersized as he may be, his skill is one of a kind and is worth a place on the defensive line. This may have been one of their best moves as Kancey has all the potential to come out on top as one of the elite. Round 2 was also a good one as they managed to draft rookie offensive tackle Cody Mauch. He may even get the chance to start at right guard which is a huge opportunity for the man. The team took as much as advantage as they could from the offseason to change up their roster for the better.
As much talent as the roster is now filled with, all eyes are on the quarterback position now that the star is gone. Fans are excited to see who will be taking his position. Will it be the new addition with great skill and experience, Mayfield, or Brady’s understudy playing since 2021, Kyle Trask. Either way it is a battle for a long term decision no one wants to miss.With the 2023 season coming up, one can only hope it goes better than the last for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The roster has all the potential to emerge successful as long as all players are fully on board and bring their best to the field.
Online sportsbooks have the Bucs as bottom of the barrel with +15000 (150/1) odds to win the Super Bowl. You can pretty much bet that this team will not make it to the big game.
