Bucs DL Logan Hall.

The pads come on today!

Yes, today is August 1 and the pads are on! We are creeping ever so slowly toward Week 1. We’ll get there, folks!

The Bucs haven’t been in pads since they hosted the Rams in that kick-to-the-groin loss to end the 2021 season. Nothing gets Joe worked up like the sounds of shoulder pads popping!

Of course, Jason Pierre-Paul and Ndamukong Suh are gone, two critical cogs in the Bucs’ Super Bowl two seasons ago. Both, Joe will add, are unemployed. That’s a bad sign for two dudes well over 30.

Bryan Knowles, typing in the Football Outsiders 2022 Almanac, believes while it may hurt to think of the Bucs without JPP and Suh, it’s very likely a smart move by Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht.

Why is that? Relying on younger guys (Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and Logan Hall) means the Bucs will have more gas when they need it the most, Knowles believes. In short, by waving goodbye to JPP and Suh, the Bucs are building a team made to play in February.

… … addition by subtraction. While their leadership and experience in the system were valuable, both are well over 30 and saw their play sharply drop off last season. Pierre-Paul’s 22 pressures and 6.5% pressure rate were both career lows, while Suh’s 70% run stop rate was the worst since he arrived in Tampa Bay. Of the two, Suh still has more value and could still be brought back; he shouldn’t be an every-down player anymore but could still be a valuable part of a rotation. Moving on from both is more valuable to the Bucs in the long term, however. The Bucs had the fourth-oldest defense in the league last season with a snap-weighted age of 27.1. Because Tampa Bay has been built for the short term of Brady’s contract, that hasn’t been a huge deal, but replacing moderately effective thirtysomethings with younger players should help the Bucs more down the line.

Come January, Hall will no longer be a rookie for all intents and purposes. A young guy like Hall in a rotation with Vita Vea and Akiem Hicks the Bucs should have more stamina than with a guy in his mid-30s, though Hicks will be 33 in November.

Joe is looking forward to see Hall get his first shot at hitting today, and Joe also is eager to see what Joe Tryon-Shoyinka brings to the table after he remade his body and went camping at a pass-rushing clinic.