Bucs Begin Offseason With Win After Win

After making a flurry of moves to cut some cap, Tampa Bay started its week by retaining No. 2 cornerback Jamel Dean, signing him to a four-year deal that averages $13 million per year. That’s less than Carlton Davis III received last year at just under $15 million per season. Things slowed down a bit on Tuesday, but Wednesday became a pretty big day for the Bucs.

First, the Bucs re-signed outside linebacker Anthony Nelson, a key rotational piece in their defense, to a two-year contract. The money might feel a bit rich to some, but it’s clear the team prioritized its 2019 fourth-round pick. Having a solid, proven presence behind Shaq Barrett – who is recovering from a torn Achilles – and Joe Tryon Shoyinka – who is in search of some consistent production in year three – is valuable.

Then, Tampa Bay inked former No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield to a one-year deal. He’ll be the veteran presence they were looking for as they hold an open quarterback competition to fill Brady’s spot. Mayfield, who is looking for a career revival, will battle it out with 2021 second-round pick Kyle Trask for the right to start in Tampa Bay as Brady’s successor.

And to top things off on Wednesday afternoon, reports emerged that longtime captain and perennial Top 5 off-ball linebacker Lavonte David is coming back for another season. And the Bucs got him for $7 million (with incentives that could push the deal to $8 million), which is well below his projected market value of $12-$13 million per season.

Not to mention, keeping him is a big cultural win, as his leadership and stature as a Buccaneer legend is important to the locker room and the fans.

That’s a pretty good few days for a team trying to do its best to remain competitive while facing some of the ramifications that come with going all-in on a three-year Super Bowl window.

Bucs Still Have Plenty Of Work To Do – This Team Isn’t Finished Yet

While it’s been a good week so far for the Bucs, their work is far from finished. Yes, they’ve retained their top two defensive free agents and another one who probably ranks inside the Top 5 of that category, plus they’ve added a high-upside signal-caller to compete with Trask. But the roster is far from a completed project.

Tampa Bay still has some vacancies at safety. There are a number of openings on the defensive line. There are big questions with how the offensive line will shape up. There’s little depth at wide receiver, and the running back and tight end rooms could use some depth as well.

The Bucs will surely continue to manipulate the cap as best as they can to create enough room for some more value signings at these positions. Then, it’s Licht, Spytek and the scouting department’s time to shine. The 2023 NFL Draft is one of the more important ones in recent Bucs history, as some starting-caliber talent will need to be acquired throughout the last weekend in April.

Do the last three days mean the Bucs are slam-dunk favorites to win a wide-open NFC South? Not exactly.

How they fill the rest of their roster out and what comes of the Trask/Mayfield battle will determine that. How the other three teams in the division continue to go about their business will also be a factor. Everything will play out on the field, of course.

But the front office is clearly on its way to giving the team a fighting chance. That’s all you can really ask for.

So, yeah, given the circumstances, it’s been a pretty great week for the Bucs so far.