It Is Overhaul Time For The Tampa Bay Buccaneers
What a difference a few years make.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are coming off an 8-9 showing. That was good enough to win a division title in 2022 because the Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons finished with 7-10 records. If you include the club’s 31-14 home loss to the Dallas Cowboys in the wild card round, the NFC South produced four teams that each lost 10 games.
Now the attention turns towards 2023. Offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich was fired. Legendary quarterback Tom Brady has retired for the second time, this after three seasons with this organization. He helped the Bucs reach the playoffs each of these past three years, guiding them to a Super Bowl title as a wild card team in 2020 (LV) and then winning back-to-back NFC South titles in 2021 and ’22. He earned MVP honors in the club’s 31-9 Super Bowl LV victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Brady And A Bunch More
He’s not the only Buccaneers’ standout who won’t be returning to the team this fall (at least for now). The franchise has parted ways with running back Leonard Fournette, tight end Cameron Brate and left tackle Donovan Smith.
Along with Brady, Fournette and Smith were also starters in the team’s Super Sunday victory over the Chiefs. The versatile running back touched the ball 20 times vs. Kansas City, gained 135 total yards from scrimmage and scored a touchdown. Smith was part of an offensive line that paved the way for the Bucs to rush for 145 yards while allowing only one sack.
On the other hand (via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times), the franchise has restructured the contract of five-year pro and 2021 Pro Bowl defensive tackle Vita Vea. He comes off a season in which he totaled a career-best 6.5 sacks. According to Spotrac, the Bucs also reworked the contracts of wide receiver Chris Godwin, center Ryan Jensen and cornerback Carlton Davis as they inched closer to getting under the cap.
The Buccaneers have 24 potential unrestricted free agents (via Spotrac) – including veteran defenders Lavonte David and William Gholston – and their salary cap situation is currently the worst in the league.
Is there a lesson here? In today’s National Football League, long-term success has become much more difficult. Free agency and a salary cap have evened the field in many instances. This isn’t breaking news, but it’s fascinating to see what is going on with the Buccaneers at the moment. As well as the Super Bowl LVI champion Los Angeles Rams.
What a difference a few years make.
