Still A Young Team
September 2nd, 2022
Breakout year?
This is good news for the hopes that Tom Brady returns at age 46 (!), or the Bucs possibly lure another starting quarterback to Tampa Bay.
(Sorry, unless Kyle Trask makes significant progress between now and the end of the season working behind the scenes in closed practices for Bucs eyes only, Trask will not be your starter in 2023. He still has steps to take to beat out Blaine Gabbert.)
Not only do the Bucs have a core of stars under contract for 2023 (Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Playoff Lenny, Ryan Jensen, Tristan Wirfs, Antoine Winfield, Carlton Davis, Devin White, Vita Vea, Donovan Smith, etc.) the Bucs have one of the best collections of players 25-and-under.
That’s what Scott Spratt of Football Outsiders, tying for BSPN, has determined.
10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2021 ranking: 8 | 2020 ranking: 20Blue-chip players: Tristan Wirfs, OT; Devin White, LB; Antoine Winfield Jr., FS
Notable graduated players: Carlton Davis III, CB; Sean Murphy-Bunting, CB; Jamel Dean, CB; Jordan Whitehead, S; Ronald Jones, RB… the team has had an incredible knack for filling its few holes with blue-chip prospects. For the Bucs’ title team, that player was Wirfs, who was an immediate positional leader with a 1.6% blown block rate in his rookie season. Wirfs played even better in 2021 and earned first-team All-Pro honors with a 1.2% blown block rate.
Last year, it was Winfield. As his secondary teammates Davis, Murphy-Bunting and Richard Sherman took turns on injured reserve, free safety Winfield dramatically improved his coverage skills. He finished fourth at his position with a 69% coverage success rate and made his first Pro Bowl. This year, possible breakouts include tight end Cade Otton or edge rushers Joe Tryon-Shoyinka or Logan Hall, the 32nd and 33rd picks in the past two drafts. Otton should have an unusual opportunity for rookie playing time after Rob Gronkowski retired this offseason. And while Tryon-Shoyinka found the field for less than half of the Bucs’ defensive plays in his rookie season, he did produce 23 hurries, which had him on pace for a top-10 total with a full season of snaps.
Boy, Joe would sure love to see Joe Tryon-Shoyinka blow up this year. Joe thinks Bucs defense is highly overlooked. If JTS can get to 10 sacks, this defense has a chance to just smother offenses.
And Joe will once again say this about rookie tight end Cade Otton: He will start next year and perhaps by the end of this year. He seemed to get better and better with each summer practice.
So yeah, if the Bucs have to go quarterback shopping, they once again will be an attractive landing spot — core stars surrounded by solid saplings.
September 2nd, 2022 at 1:15 pm
Does graduated player mean they went to another team?
(Whitehead, Rojo)
September 2nd, 2022 at 1:15 pm
[No need to hijack a thread with something like this. smh — Joe]
September 2nd, 2022 at 1:22 pm
Just wanted to chime in before the goat head starts bitchin about how bad a coach Todd is. Get over goat we lost that game move on
September 2nd, 2022 at 1:26 pm
Brady is coming for another 2 years now.
September 2nd, 2022 at 1:29 pm
List, that was uncalled for. I’m guessing. I have no idea what you wrote 😉
Hoping to see great progress from JTS. Hoping also that Hall comes along well. No one expects him to dominate from the gun. I’ll take an underrated defense that produces.
September 2nd, 2022 at 1:47 pm
Joe…and Listnfrmafar’s a Patriot’s fan too!
September 2nd, 2022 at 1:49 pm
I liked seeing JTS getting reps on both ends of the DL against the Titans, looks a little bulkier than he did last year and his motor has been full-go in the time he’s gotten to play. I get sacks being the ultimate stat for a pass rusher, but I’m expecting more tackles, hurries, TFLs and a few batted passes this season with JTS getting a bump up in playing time.
September 2nd, 2022 at 1:59 pm
I can’t understand why people think Trask is no good. He’s playing behind the GOAT. Do you really expect him to be better than TB12 at this point in his career? Do you really think ANY 2nd (or 3rd) year guy would be starting over TB12 if he was in the same position? He wouldn’t. Herbert, Burrow, Fields, Hurts, Jones, Wilson, Lawrence, Tags, Lance, would ALL be sitting behind the GOAT waiting their turn. I love the fact that he’s being groomed under TB12, and because of that I think he will be in great shape to take over when his time comes. And as far as Gabbert goes, he’s a good #2 right now because of his experience and knowledge of the offense, so don’t even go there. He has the best coaching staff and leadership behind him. They have faith in him, and so do I because of it.
September 2nd, 2022 at 2:06 pm
If Gisele wants to be a pain with him about playing still then let her because if she forces him to retire & then he knows he can still play he’s gonna resent her forever whereas if she just lets him play she can just let him decide when he wants to retire & then this way it’ll be left up to him. Then he won’t resent her & she won’t have anything to feel guilty about by forcing him to retire. If she’s gonna be like that then maybe he’s better off just leaving. It’s not like he’s not capable of playing anymore he definitely is. She really should just let him play & then let him decide when he wants to retire.
September 2nd, 2022 at 2:09 pm
Just gotta get the OL healthy enough for him though.
September 2nd, 2022 at 2:10 pm
Red beard,
Nobody is comparing Trask to Brady. I think where a lot of people, myself included, are getting frustrated, is that he can’t beat out Gabbert for the 2 spot. Gabbert is garbage, and really can’t understand how he is still around. That’s where I think people are getting frustrated! Gabbert makes Americas QB look like Steve Young!
September 2nd, 2022 at 2:11 pm
Boy, Joe would sure love to see Joe Tryon-Shoyinka blow up this year. Joe thinks Bucs defense is highly overlooked. If JTS can get to 10 sacks, this defense has a chance to just smother offenses
You should be more kind to yourself Joe.
September 2nd, 2022 at 2:11 pm
If they keep suffering more injuries they’re gonna have to go look for some fat guy at the buffet or in the stands at the game.
September 2nd, 2022 at 2:13 pm
Living an hour away from Seattle I watched these UW Husky boys play and it’s so fun to have my personal ‘hometown boys’ on our squad. Vita Vea, JTS, and Cade Otton (who’s from a football family) make it much easier to get over Austin Seferiareyoujokingme?.
I was ecstatic when his name was called on draft night. “LFG!”
September 2nd, 2022 at 2:14 pm
^Otton that is.
September 2nd, 2022 at 2:16 pm
Sacks are great fun, but not necessarily the best indicator of team success. Bucs last season sacked opposing QBs 47 times out of 727 passing attempts; that’s 1 sack every 15.5 passing attempts. However, Bucs also had 127 QB hits in those 727 passing attempts, for 1 QB hit every 5.7 pass attempts. Tells me that we had excellent ‘pressure’ (sacks + QB hits) on 174 opposition pass attempts, or roughly 1 ‘pressure’ for every 4 passing attempts.
Problem for the Bucs too many times has been those OTHER 3 passing attempts (of every 4) when we DON’T get good pressure on the QB. Those seem to be the ones we get burned on (hard to get burned by a QB who’s laying on the ground wondering what freight train he just got run over by). THAT’S when the ILBs & Secondary earn their keep.
With everyone healthy, Bucs have an excellent chance to excel in BOTH position groups; we’ve got excellent starting back-end talent this season. And especially if our DLine can generate pressure WITHOUT having to send as much help from the LBs & DBs. With the changes in defensive personnel, have this gut feel that we’ll be seeing some significant changes in our defensive strategies & tactics this season. Still, no matter how you cut it, it all starts with the effectiveness of our DLine. HOPEFULLY they all stay healthy all season long.
September 2nd, 2022 at 2:20 pm
Overall–oldest roster the the NFL.
September 2nd, 2022 at 2:25 pm
I think they’ll stick with Trask. I think that’s the plan all along. If they don’t, a top tier QB will be a cap killer and many names that make this team attractive will be elsewhere by financial requirement.
September 2nd, 2022 at 2:27 pm
Might respect his opinion a bit if he actually knew that Jordan Whitehead and Ronald Jones were no longer Buccaneers.
September 2nd, 2022 at 2:31 pm
Next year’s quarterback will be Lamar Jackson.
September 2nd, 2022 at 2:37 pm
What about the Super Bowl?
September 2nd, 2022 at 2:48 pm
That crossed Ira’s mind.
September 2nd, 2022 at 2:52 pm
Not worried about next year right now. Have not even started this one yet. But, I do think that the right blend of young and old seems to be the best formula for winning. Strategically placed veterans interspersed with stud youngsters is a good formula for success.
September 2nd, 2022 at 2:53 pm
Gonna have a Monster year!
September 2nd, 2022 at 2:55 pm
Need to sign offensive lineman
September 2nd, 2022 at 3:26 pm
Can’t wait to see how things go!! Speaking of go…LFG!!
September 2nd, 2022 at 3:43 pm
Do you know who’s really young? Tyler Smith, the new starting left tackle for Dallas, and the defense needs to make an example out of this young man. No sacks against the Dallas offense line would be considered a travesty.
September 2nd, 2022 at 4:19 pm
I will never forget how pumped the entire draft room was as soon as they got JTS. They all saw something really great in him and he is beginning to show it. IDK what Listn said to invoke Joe’s wrath, but every time he says “could of” instead of “could’ve” he makes my teeth grind. Enjoyed your comments, DR.
September 2nd, 2022 at 4:48 pm
Joe! Why are you hating? Everyone from Bowles to Leftwich to Arians to players say that Kyle Trask is playing great buy yet you keep talking about finding a new QB. Is it the Florida State in you? Accept it!! Trask will be our next starting QB. If you don’t think so, put your money where your ink is!
September 2nd, 2022 at 4:55 pm
Joe Says:
September 2nd, 2022 at 2:48 pm
Next year’s quarterback will be Lamar Jackson.
That crossed Ira’s mind.
Hell yes!
September 2nd, 2022 at 5:03 pm
Without a QB this team is 5-12
This is a QB league now.
Either you have one(we do now) or you don’t(next year we do not).
September 2nd, 2022 at 5:18 pm
Lamar isn’t coming to Tampa. It’s just like the talk of Watson signing here. The Ravens aren’t letting go of Jackson, and there is no way the Glazers are giving Lamar a fully guaranteed contract. It will be Gabbert and Trask in a legit competition. The team believes in Gabbert, and he has respect of his teammates.
September 2nd, 2022 at 6:26 pm
Joe is the man !! Love how you handled the fake bandwagon fan Listnfrmafar by shooting him down yet keeping his name there to shame him from saying whatever nonsense that usually comes out of his mouth.
Anyway, I sure hope our Bucs front office is making the right call by not signing or trading for a LG/ C or both ! Brady can’t face these D line’s coming up without some veterans to at LEAST back up the the players that they feel are good enough. Brady goes down , and ALL those ‘Best WRs to ever take a field ‘ are out the window cuz our season and dreams will be crushed and that would be more devastating than the Playoff loss last year. Go Bucs and go Joe
September 2nd, 2022 at 7:16 pm
Cannot wait to see how the D-Line performs!!
September 2nd, 2022 at 7:26 pm
Let me see if I’ve got this right Joe. Baltimore has Lamar Jackson under contract for this year (at only $23 mil) and has literally built their offense around him. They’ve got plenty of CAP space for 2023 ($42.4 mil salary CAP space using the Top-51 criteria). Jackson has a presumed Market Value of $43.8 mil, so Ravens could afford him if they want him. Really have trouble seeing them letting him get away.
Bucs on the other hand will almost surely lose our starting QB after this season, and will need a new one. Bucs have a grand total of MINUS $49.7 salary CAP space for 2023 (using the Top-51 criteria) … but that’s with ONLY 37 players under contract for 2023 as of right now. And oh ya, as of now we’ll ALSO have 26 UFAs to deal with, many of them starters. Again, Jackson would cost in the neighborhood of $43.8 mil (plus inflation probably).
Probably better tell me again how in the world we’d fit Jackson’s huge salary into our negative salary CAP situation. Better get used to Trask starting, because it might be hit-or-miss as to whether we’ll even be able to afford him. And oh ya, for those who haven’t taken notice, Tom Brady will cost us a $35.1 mil CAP Hit next year … without ever even suiting up. Call it the cost of creative CAP management. And oh ya, add to that roughly another $18 mil CAP Hit for LVD, Hicks, Julio & Will Gholston for their cans being kicked down the street too. Gotta love the new math, until it gives you answers you really don’t want to hear that is.
September 2nd, 2022 at 8:51 pm
I have no problem with the Bucs going all in while Brady is here.
But let’s be realistic…the team is going to suck when he retires.
Suck huge. Licht will be exposed again.
September 2nd, 2022 at 9:07 pm
News flash! Brady was out ten days because his bitch wife tried to cut his balls off. He now wears a metal cup when sleeping. No wonder he looked depressed the first day back! Luckily he is safer now that she left town. Haha.
September 2nd, 2022 at 9:11 pm
TREX, they are not really going all-in for Tom Brady. He’s been given the team that OneBuc says is it, take it or leave it, not the one Brady would ideally have in his swan song.
The roster is the same as last season’s version (that struggled), minus many important components that haven’t been replaced, some positions clearly worse, plus a handful of hopeful but wait-and-see (Hicks, Julio, Logan Ryan, Keanu). That’s not all-in. That’s not top of the NFL at every position.
Take away Brady and it’s a middle-of-road team with borderline veterans, a lot of in-house development that is a year or more away from ready.
At some point, they will have to do what Seahawks are doing now, and what Bengals did a few seasons ago: embrace the suck, stockpile high draft picks and rebuild right.
September 2nd, 2022 at 9:19 pm
Trask isn’t the next starting QB. Not enough pocket awareness, holds the ball too low, too much wind up in his throw, so on and so forth. If the next QB isn’t a super bowl caliber QB with this high quality roster we have then it is a waste of time. The window for this team is small and we need a better QB than Trask for the next few years. Brady should play till 50. Who cares what gizzle says
September 2nd, 2022 at 9:19 pm
All last season there was no way to know how good or bad Trask was. So this year he looked way better than Gabby. Too bad they didn’t give him more face time last season. For my money he went from #4 to #2 this preseason. He should be ready next year especially if he gets some playing time with the first team this season. 4th quarter with a big lead give Brady some rest and give Trask some real time experience. If he shines great. If not then be in the hunt for a dam good vet free agent or trade.
September 2nd, 2022 at 10:55 pm
There was an article on The Ringer that scored teams draft value (by something like wins above value) for the past 5 years. Bucs were 5th overall! One of the most underrated aspects of the front office since they brought in BA and crew. We draft amazingly well!
Of course the point of the article was that LAs strategy of trading away all their pics was a worthwhile strategy. But ignore that part…lol.
September 3rd, 2022 at 9:33 am
The top teams get the leftovers in the draft. The Bucs have done a very good job of finding lesser known but high quality players from Division 2 schools who have gotten little press. Give Licht and Bucs scouts for a job well done. Add to that the vets who are eager to jump on the Bucs bandwagon because of Bradys presence.
September 3rd, 2022 at 1:45 pm
Lamar Jackson right hes not coming here. Who are the bucs going to lure to Tampa, more like Sam Donald. If Trask is not the answer they need to draft one. Tom Bradys don’t come along very often not only his talent he played at half the cost of other QBs. Someone like Jackson is going to cost 50 mil a year.