How Seriously Will The Bucs Take Their Punter Need?
February 11th, 2025
Yeah, the Bucs burned through three punters last season and Joe doesn’t expect any of them to be wearing pewter and red in 2025.
What happened? It’s a mystery. Their 2022 fourth-round pick, Jake Camarda, had a hell of a rookie season and was never the same.
Head coach Todd Bowles benched Camarda for two games last season in hopes he’d work out whatever was dragging him down. Was it personal or technical? Joe doesn’t know. But Joe has no knowledge of the Bucs bringing in a punting guru to work with Camarda.
Strange.
No team picked up Camarda in the regular season, which was telling. The Bills added him to their 2025 offseason roster.
Trenton Gill replaced Camarda, and then Jack Browning finished the season. They weren’t special. Maybe Joe’s being harsh on Browning, who is 23 years old with limited experience. He didn’t wilt in the playoffs, but overall the Bucs’ punting was poor.
So Joe’s wondering how seriously the Bucs will take the punter position this offseason. Good punters can be found.
Look at the Chiefs. They signed the famous “Punt God,” Matt Araiza, before last season and he was excellent. He even set a Super Bowl record. They even let stud undrafted punter Tommy Townsend, a guy with two Chiefs rings, walk in free agency a year ago. He had an excellent season for the Texans on a modest two-year deal.
When you’ve got an elite offense like the Bucs had last season, a great punter is less important. But a punter still represents critical hidden yardage.
Unless rookie offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard can match the extraordinary output of his predecessor, the Bucs are going to need a legit punting upgrade.
February 11th, 2025 at 5:48 pm
The one they signed from the cfl seems to have great potential….hate that word but my fingers are crossed
February 11th, 2025 at 5:49 pm
I’ll bet the defense wishes they had a punter like Ray Guy. 14 years in the league!
February 11th, 2025 at 5:55 pm
Bucs have a lot of needs on defense and might need a guard and/or WR on offense so I hope Jason does not use a draft pick on a punter. Drafting punters and kickers has not turned out well for the Bucs. Just sign a punter via free agency or have an open competition after the draft. There is talent out there but last year Camarda getting the yips happened after all the decent punters were locked down on other rosters. Heck, maybe the Bucs should do an unconventional search such as looking at dudes who boom the ball in Australian Rules football. USF actually brought a guy in from OZ on their signing day if I recall right for the second year in a row. Kid was kicking in the AFL minor leagues…
February 11th, 2025 at 6:06 pm
Go get one of the Aussies in college
February 11th, 2025 at 6:07 pm
James Rendell at Notre Dame
February 11th, 2025 at 6:08 pm
I hope they do.
Camarda, in his rookie season, was a force for our special teams.
February 11th, 2025 at 6:24 pm
I agree with unbelievable. Camarda was a true weapon his rookie season!
Is there something in the water here? First DW45 just wilts and then Camarda.
BOTH were incredibly effective during their short Buc careers.
How much better would the Bucs have been with DW45’s speed and sideline to sideline skill set in that huge defensive void the Bucs had last year? Camarda would have helped dramatically with field position.
Oh well water under the bridge. Having said that DW45 is only 26 years old!!!
What has he been up to? What’s happening in his personal life. I haven’t kept up, I’m pretty sure that someone here will know.
With the incredible speed if DW45 could get his brain washed clean and return to his rookie state of mind he’d make a GREAT reclamation project for the Bucs.
Perhaps by now he’s fired the delusional agent who started his downward spiral.
Imagine if the Bucs replaced Britt with DW45 and Trask with Fameis. Be a tremendous talent upgrade but at what cost financially and culturally. Be a quick solution though.
February 11th, 2025 at 6:45 pm
Todd Bowles is in the water. Many players regress or simply don’t develop under his coaching. Fact.
February 11th, 2025 at 6:49 pm
@st. pete – re: something in the water, I think it’s been clear that an org like the Bucs needs really strong locker room leadership… Otherwise there’s just too many distractions with the leisurely lifestyle of Florida, IMO.
As for Devin White, the problem is all that speed was no good in coverage b/c he was always out of position. He was fantastic at rushing the passer though. I don’t think we’ll ever see him in Tampa though, he burned his bridges.
Camarda is a big mystery, though I’ve heard rumblings that he simply didn’t have the passion for football anymore.
February 11th, 2025 at 6:54 pm
I think they snagged a guy killing it in the CFL. Can’t be worse.
February 11th, 2025 at 6:56 pm
Marquette King was a good punter in the NFL & he’s with one of CFL teams now, too! They should look into him.
February 11th, 2025 at 6:59 pm
We’re gonna bring Brady back & sign him to be the next punter. That’s part of why he took this year off this way he can work on kicking the football. 👣 🏈 He’s gonna lead the NFL in punting next year.
February 11th, 2025 at 6:59 pm
Jake Julien … the record setting punter from the CFL is a Buc. Signed EOY.
Average Punt Distance
NFL: 47 yards
NFL Best: 47.9
Jake Julien: 50
We’ve got our guy
February 11th, 2025 at 7:04 pm
@SlyPirate
I still like the Tom Brady idea better. Bring him in to be the punter. He’d beat him out. There’s not much else he needs to do. He’s already gonna go down as one of the best players in sports overall SO WHY NOT LET HIM PUNT THE BALL!👍
February 11th, 2025 at 7:05 pm
Joe , I get what your saying . I really do . But answer this question for me . How important was the commandos punter in our playoff game against them this year ? What was his net yards ? Did he pin the bucs deep inside the 5 yard line ? If our coaches start playing to win & stop playing to not lose , we can get by with an average punter who just does his job . Plain & simple
February 11th, 2025 at 7:16 pm
Hey St. Pete. You’re remembering their talent but forgetting their egos. Both those guy’s inflated opinions of themselves cost us many games. On top of that, they both priced themselves out of the market and settled for cheap prove it deals. 45 may be out of the league and Jameis is still unable to figure out which team to throw to. Culture here now does not need those two head cases. Good riddance.
February 11th, 2025 at 7:44 pm
@Tony
Goats can kick. Let’s do it.
February 11th, 2025 at 7:45 pm
Celine Dion loving GM Jason Leight will trade up and draft a punter in the 1st round. Mark my words Joe-Joe! Maybe you won’t delete my post this time.
February 11th, 2025 at 7:56 pm
Yep why not. There really wasn’t much he couldn’t do. He just didn’t run that much just like Peyton. Peyton was the same way. Wasn’t really much he couldn’t do either. Never saw either one of them run that much either. They always say about having a HIDDEN TALENT.😃
February 11th, 2025 at 8:17 pm
I’d say they are taking it seriously enough that they signed the punter from the CFL right after the season. Not that that’s a slam-dunk, but I think it demonstrates they’re serious about addressing it. I would not be opposed to drafting another. Camarda was worth it until he got his head all filled with jeezus and his priorities changed.
February 11th, 2025 at 8:32 pm
Bring in an UFA to compete with the CFL guy in pre-season.
February 11th, 2025 at 8:40 pm
That’s right Hail2daBucs. We just need a guy who won’t make mistakes, he doesn’t have to have a booming leg. Hopefully the CFL guy is both. I’m in Canada but you probably couldn’t pay me to watch CFL so never seen this punter.
As Joe mentioned in the article, the offense was so good we didn’t really have to notice the poor punting situation. We weren’t getting fields flipped on us very often. Same reason I had to double check Mayfields turnover stats… didn’t seem like he put the ball on the ground much but it’s because most turnovers happened in enemy territory.
Yeah sucks they may have taken points off the board for us but they didn’t immediately turn into points for the other team … until the worst possible moment
February 11th, 2025 at 8:44 pm
Too bad about Camarda… that running to the sideline left legged punt was a special teams play of the year.
Now is certainly not the time to be drafting another P.
February 11th, 2025 at 8:59 pm
Aqualung not tru that Bowles can’t develop players. Edge rusher yes ill give you that one but look at the no name players coming out of college that got developed and helped us win a SB Edwards , Dean , Davis, whitehead, bunting, and white. All of them were drafted when Bowles was our DC and they all played more than dam well to go thru Bree’s rogders and mahomes to win it all. Get your facts straight hater
February 11th, 2025 at 9:28 pm
Dean, Davis, Whitehead, Diva White, and possibly even Winfield have all regressed. Vita hasn’t really gotten better, he’s very good but has the talent to be a hall of fame player. Diaby and Kancey regressed from last year. JTS, Braswell, have regressed. Ramirez, Britt – LOL. That’s just a sample of the ones we see. Maybe Logan Hall is improving when he’s not injuring teammates.
Bowles is a leader of men, a great human, has the players’ backs. They’ll run through a wall for him. When it comes to improving at their craft, not so much.
February 11th, 2025 at 9:57 pm
Jake Julien punted 107 times last season, with an average of 54 and a longest 87. All-CFL special-teamer. Granted, the field is bigger, so probably some fortuitous rolls.
February 11th, 2025 at 10:06 pm
Hopefully Jake Julien is the answer. If not, then the Bucs should pick up either Corliss Waitman or Cam Johnston from the Steelers. Both are under contract for 2025. So it might not take much to grab one of them if Julien isn’t working out.
Johnston was their starting punter until he injured his knee Week 1. In his previous 7 seasons, he averaged 47.3 yards/punt and 40.9% of his punts inside the 20.
Waitman was signed afterwards. Averaged 46.4 yards per punt last year. Put over 40% of his punts inside the 20. Held on kicks for Chris Boswell (Pro Bowl kicker in 2024) too.
February 11th, 2025 at 10:20 pm
You people here that think 45 was a great player are just NUTS…He has great athletic ability but it ends there…he is not a good football player, period!!!
February 12th, 2025 at 12:02 am
The Camarda situation WAS strange – the way it went down and nobody said a word about what happened.
How about using your inside sources Joe – and find out what exactly happened with our 4th rd punter…
Dude was a serious weapon his 1st year. What the hell happened???
February 12th, 2025 at 2:34 am
As much as the punting was dangerously bad, thanks to the great offense it wasn’t a determinant attribute to losing. The pass defense on the other hand was a dumpster fire and quite determinant in losing. I’m more interested in what will be done to fix that. I’m not holding my breath to learn what that might be, as our dual role guy who reports to himself will tell himself that they just have to do what they’re doing harder. Coach it harder.
And everything will be fine.
February 12th, 2025 at 4:35 am
Did Camarda offend one of the Glazers? Witness protection? Cement shoes?
What?
CFL is a different thing. Alot more to NFL punting than most folks think. Not just about how far can he kick it. CFL stats do not match the NFL game. But by all means take a shot. We got Zilch for a punter. Can he field the snap?
I would also look at the punter from Florida, Jeremy Crawshaw. A late rounder would not bother me.
Go Bucs!
February 12th, 2025 at 6:28 am
…and there you have it, Chiefs letting Townsend walk and picking up another punter is the same thing we did with Pinion, thinking we could find an easy enough replacement, and we burned a valuable 4th round pick on Camarda. It’s amazing after all these years, Licht is taught a lesson that he won’t duplicate for next time.