Plenty Of Edge Rushers To Choose From
February 12th, 2025
“C’mon Todd, you remember how fun it was when you had an edge rusher or two!”
You know it. Joe knows it. The trick is, do the Bucs know it?
Joe firmly, truly, honestly, passionately believes the Bucs are a consistent edge rusher from having a dominant pass rush, which would fuel the team to make a run at the Super Bowl.
Fans want one, so do other members of the media. If you don’t know that Joe wants one, then you haven’t read this here corner of the interwebs in years.
What Joe doesn’t know is if the Bucs want one enough to make a deal.
By Joe’s count, there are seven productive edge rushers either linked to trade rumors or who will be free agents (if they are not re-signed) in exactly four weeks — when the free agency dinner bell rings following two days of legal tampering and two weeks of illegal tampering beginning in earnest at the combine at the end of the month.
Myles Garrett, Trey Hendrickson, DeMarcus Lawrence, Khalil Mack, Micah Parsons, Haason Reddick and Josh Sweat all have had double-digit sacks to their names in recent years and may become available:
And that’s not counting any other edge rusher who a team may have on the trade block.
By adding a legit, consistent edge rusher, my goodness, how much better would that guy help make Calijah Kancey, Vita Vea and YaYa Diaby?
In the coming weeks, maybe only three of those guys will be available Doesn’t mean the Bucs should hide in the corner and cry. Just means they need to be even more aggressive.
Joe has a confession. Of the seven aforementioned edge rushers, Joe has no idea (nor does he give a spit) if any of them can cover Drake London.
February 12th, 2025 at 7:07 am
I think realistically we have to sign a free agent or trade for one that’s been productive but stuck behind quality starters in a rotation. Then draft another and hope you get lucky.
February 12th, 2025 at 7:10 am
myles will cost an arm and a leg in draft capital,
we should swing for mack or parsons
February 12th, 2025 at 7:22 am
Dallas won’t let Parsons go. Reddick’s attitude and lack of production last year take him out of the conversation. I can’t see Licht going all in for Garrett. Maybe Hendrickson, Lawrence or Sweat.
February 12th, 2025 at 7:39 am
Nick Wize has it going! His player cut choices on the Bucs were interesting.
Parsons, Garrett, or Crosby would be great however not sure if Licht will go for it.
February 12th, 2025 at 7:53 am
At the end of the day Myles garrent probably stays in cleveland. If he leaves then the browns will take a 30 million dollar cap hit unless they can get him extended which seems highly unlikely. They are already 30 million over the cap so another 30 and its 60 million over the cap.
Would rather try and get Hendrickson or Crosby or even TJ watt in a trade. Josh Sweat in FA would also be nice.
February 12th, 2025 at 7:55 am
What Bobby M said.
February 12th, 2025 at 7:56 am
What’s the point using the pick or two on unproven rookies if you can give the pick/s and a proven productive edge rusher?
February 12th, 2025 at 7:58 am
Bucs defense needs more then an edge rusher. We need at least one, more likely two ILBs. We need a starting corner not named Dean, and a safety to pair with Winfield, fingers crossed he stays healthy. Edge rusher is but one of many defensive needs.
February 12th, 2025 at 8:09 am
I hope there not going to count on Braswell. He could very well make the jump but I’d rather get an established free agent and hope that Braswell blows up as well.
February 12th, 2025 at 8:12 am
Maybe somehow someway our defensive guru genius Todd will realize that if you have four guys that can get off on a pass rush, you don’t need to do all the other crap he does in the back end with blitzes and everything else in lineman covering wide receivers. Let the lightbulb go off and spend the money and get a couplepass rushers. Then we’ll have a Super Bowl team.
February 12th, 2025 at 8:25 am
Eagles didn’t blitz one time in the Superbowl. Heard someone say. Sweat was dominate. Go Bowles!
February 12th, 2025 at 8:31 am
Garrett and Parsons are probably out of our price range this year, unfortunately.
Mack is still a force to be reckoned with, but some have questioned his age. I wonder about it too.
Reddick would also be an immediate boost, but my concern is how well his personality would fit in our locker room, and the work the front office has done to create the kind of culture we have.
Hendrickson, Sweat and Russell would be my top choices.
Of course the first challenge is convincing Jason Licht to work out a trade or be willing to give up a draft pick or two.
What Bobby M. said seems to be the most likely scenario.
February 12th, 2025 at 8:44 am
Bucs won’t make a deal. Bowles likes what he has in house. JTS could breakout at any moment!
February 12th, 2025 at 8:48 am
Sweat probably stays in Philly for a chance to repeat.
February 12th, 2025 at 8:51 am
They know they need one Joe. The problem was the salary cap the team was in. Nowthat the front office have successfully navigated thru it, with a competitive team no less, the super bowl window starts to open back up. As fans we thought it shut when Brady retired, never to be open again. Well Jason Licht closed it some to weather that salary cap storm and left it cracked open so we could see some playoff appearances slide thru. Now, that window starts to open back up, or close, depending on the moves Licht makes in FA and the draft. A pass rusher would help open up that window pretty quickly.
February 12th, 2025 at 8:51 am
Crosby would be my choice if he’s available. Great production and he’s I believe the youngest at 27. 2 years younger than Garrett. 7 years younger than Mack. And since we have a bit of a raider connection now…
February 12th, 2025 at 9:08 am
Don’t care what it takes, this is a Tom Brady type decision if the Bucs want to get back to the SB. The Bucs need to go all in on a proven veteran Edge rusher , probably two. Bucs can’t expect to get all their sacks from the interior of the line. They need real DEs not our current OLBs that can’t put pressure on the QB or even cover.
February 12th, 2025 at 9:26 am
Lots of holes on d, can’t fill em all with rookies.
CB
ILB
DE.
Offense has some problems too that will cost money.
O-Line
WR
Gonna have to be an interesting mix of draft and free agency. Hopefully they find a way to keep Godwin and
February 12th, 2025 at 9:26 am
Joey Bosa and Bradley Chubb are cut candidates with $30+ cap hits
February 12th, 2025 at 10:15 am
I would rule out Myles. There is bad blood between him and Baker. Even if you get one of thide listed still draft the best available verge rusher. My sense is Jack Sawyer will be undervalued in the same way Cooper Dejean was undervalued for non football reasons.
February 12th, 2025 at 10:17 am
Ohio state is edge rusher U. The Bosas are over the hill. Get Sawyer.
February 12th, 2025 at 10:21 am
Who is Russell Vanessa?
February 12th, 2025 at 10:55 am
Ideally an edge rusher in free agency then corner with the one and middle linebacker at two at three a wide receiver .
February 12th, 2025 at 11:12 am
Let’s not assume that the Bucs FO won’t try to re-up JTS at a reasonable dollar amount. Bowles seems to trust him…& maybe he’s capable of doing several peripheral OLB responsibilities but not so much finish pass rush opportunities.
With that in mind & some likelihood that the FO wants to retain Godwin on a short deal…Neither will help open the cap space needed for a proven Rush Specialist with a $15-20m/yr price tag (or more).
To me, that screams the FO will (again) focus efforts to identify a low dollar reclamation project FA & then target a Day 1-2 OLB to lock in on rookie contract dollars.
February 12th, 2025 at 11:12 am
On a previous post I said let’s go all in and I am still kinda thinking that way but Pickgrin (I think) had a great post about the cap situation and how we should wait until next season when all the dead cap is done from Brady years.
I’m very torn on this. My opinion is skewed by the fact that I want to give Lavonte one last shot at the SB and our other core vets aren’t getting any younger.
I trust JL and Greenberg to make the right moves, walk the line between putting us in cap hell and making moves to win now. They have been doing it for years, it’s how we have a SB and 4 straight div champs (weak division helps).
I hope we push some money down the road to afford us Godwin and an edge rusher at the very least, hopefully while keeping draft capital and being able to add some young juice on D.
What’s the deal with Lawrence? He’s older and was hurt all year but seldom see him mentioned, was it an injury that he’s not really expected to have anymore gas at his age?
February 12th, 2025 at 11:26 am
It would be a perfect Bowles’ play to keep JTS. It boggles my mind that they can’t find their way to let that guy go. Wasted roster slot.
February 12th, 2025 at 11:38 am
Taking Zabel in the first makes the OL easy top five, perhaps arguably the best in the league for several years.
The draft is loaded with day one starters at ILB in the 2nd and 3rd.
Potential young and inexpensive FA starters or rotation depth at edge might include Koonce and Browning.
We’re overlooking the potential breakout of Braswell in his second season. He did play well in limited opportunity, as expected for a rookie edge.
February 12th, 2025 at 11:47 am
catcard202 … ‘Let’s not assume that the Bucs FO won’t try to re-up JTS at a reasonable dollar amount.’
Actually Catcard I assume that Bucs WILL try to re-sign JTS. Right now they only have Diaby & Braswell under contract; JTS, Nelson & Shaq are UFAs (plus Watts, Ramirez & Grezniak).
JTS had his worst year in terms of stats: 2 sacks, 11 pressures, 3 TFLs in 15 games (with 539 def snaps). The fact that Bowles had him on the field for over 50% of the def snaps tells me that TB likes/trusts him and was using him situationally (probably more run packages than anything else). He did blitz 56 times last year, but that’s only 10% of the snaps he was on the field.
For the right price, gut feel is that the Bucs will re-sign him.
February 12th, 2025 at 11:49 am
I hope the BUCS are of the same option as me , the way to have a Edge Rusher cover Drake London is if our pass rush disrupts the Qb & knocks him on his Arse!!!!
February 12th, 2025 at 11:50 am
someone in a 4-3 who’s dedicated to rushing the passer is not going to like the goofy 3-4 sets and schemes that Bowles does… they may come here, but they won’t stay happy.
February 12th, 2025 at 12:11 pm
If the secondary can’t cover, we’ll get picked apart no matter who’s rushing the QB.
February 12th, 2025 at 12:13 pm
We all know our Bucs will not go after Myles Garrett. But they will do their usual and go Dumpster Diving looking for a bargain. I don’t think we find a great pass rusher at the 99 cents store this year.
February 12th, 2025 at 1:33 pm
DEF Rules…I was reminding the board that JTS is very likely in Bowles/Bucs plan for 2025. Just at a $$$ # we can stomach vs the 5th yr option that the FO turned down…We are actually aligned in that thought pattern. (His less than stellar 2024 production weakens his market rate, which is good for Bucs cap.)
WTS, I would still throw some coin at Anthony Nelson to keep him in TB on a short 2y deal – dude is dependable if not spectacular…And I would 100% target K’Lavon Chaisson (LVR UFA) as a moldable piece that’s not scratched the surface of his full potential yet. Spotrac $3.5M/yr market value projection…So, 2yrs/$7.5-8M deal seems fair to bring him in Tampa – for his age 26-27 seasons.
IMO, JAX stunted his growth by having his hand in the dirt full time as a 4-3 DE for his 1st 3yrs in the league. He only started reaching a fraction of his pass rush potential after getting released by CAR & landing with the LVR in 2024 & learning from Maxx Crosby…A full time move to OLB in a 3-4 could fully unlock rush his potential….6’3″ 245 w/ good arm length/big hands & 4.65 40 is not the best body type for 4-3 hand in dirt DE, but meshes well with 3-4 OLB objectives.
JTS / Braswell / Chaisson / Ramirez / insert 2025 draft OLB here, all learning from Shaq Barrett for 2025 off-season/camp could elevate Bowles’ weekly Blitz package chess match dramatically in 2025.
Would not expect anyone to jump out with 10+ sack season, but getting an avg of 5-7 from across the board would bode well for Bucs pressure/pass rush success rate given the strength of IDL & sneaky production from the likes of Vea/Kancey/Diaby/Hall in 2024 – 24.5 sacks/40 TFL as a group.
Again, IMO, Bucs need to generate 55 sacks minimum / triple that # in QB pressures/QB hits to get back to being a formidable DEF…w/ a front 7 that helps the DB’s vs a front 7 that leaves them carved up in Bowles soft zone looks. Adding to the OLB core is a must…As well as retooling the ILB core beyond resigning David for 2025.
February 12th, 2025 at 1:40 pm
They need to find a way to draft James Pearce in the 1st.
February 12th, 2025 at 4:36 pm
STOP with the JTS re-sign drivel. JTS is one of Jason Lichts MOST underachieving draft picks ever(other than the kickers). Even were JTS to sign at vet minimum , he ain’t worth a spit.
On the other hand you have a HOF’er in Khalil Mack that has averaged over 10 sack s a year for the past 3 seasons. Mack wants one more decent contract and a SB ring-Mack can achieve both goals her. Mack would also provide strong veteran leadership as well as being a game changer on the field.
February 12th, 2025 at 4:51 pm
in jason we trust. expect a successful edge sign or trade this year imo.
February 12th, 2025 at 5:23 pm
Pierce will be long gone by the time the Bucs come up to pick. Jack more realistic.
The 6-foot-5 defender has been one of the Buckeyes’ best defensive players for multiple seasons, racking up a career-high nine sacks in 2024-25. He could also find himself slip into the late first round of the upcoming 2025 NFL draft. Monday marks the final college football game of Sawyer’s career. A steal just like Dejean.
February 12th, 2025 at 5:55 pm
Algo sacks another one. Just trying to agree with many above.
February 12th, 2025 at 6:58 pm
If we re-sign JTS is that not the same thing as picking up his 5th year option? (Which is $13 million)
February 12th, 2025 at 7:48 pm
I don’t know why everyone is wanting get a pass rusher . That’s not the Bucs dire need. They need good corners and line backer to play opposite of Lavonte. The Bucs lost games because their back up corners could not defend, they bend and broke. They can’t cover man to man so other teams pick them apart. Now you wonder why there’s less sacks. There’s no ball by the time they get to the quarterback. Short passes killed them. You can put Miles Garrett or parsons can get double teamed and slow them down . Remember the Lions game in Detroit. They had so many sacks but they lost. Baker had a day with their corners . When TB 12 came. We had a good group of secondary. Dean , C Davis, Edwards, Bunting , Whitehead, Winfield we had good backups then. QBs don’t like INTs so they tend to hold the ball longer for fear of Int’s. The extra second can let our rushers get to QB , if these corners can get int from other game. The next QB and OC May start to think twice about throwing. Also we have our shares of FA in the past, remember the ALvin Harper’s, the Darryl Revis, the 2 WR from Atlanta.. they were all bust. Hopefully Jason will think of what the team really needs. The secondary has been a problem for a while now. There’s a lot of ways you can block or contain a Rusher and a sack won’t score 6-7. A bad secondary can cost you a game. We need good secondary and linebacker more than pass rusher.
February 12th, 2025 at 10:45 pm
Myles Garrett. Khalil Mack. Hassan Reddit. Micah Parsons. Can you imagine? Geese those are dreams worth having.
February 13th, 2025 at 11:55 am
It is clear that the sack numbers we had we misleading because we had to commit so many men to get the sacks we had little for coverage and needed to be tricky. When you have a good pass rush you can have more guys in coverage. When we had leroy selmon we coukd run a 3 -8 scheme cause selmon was like two pass rushers.
February 13th, 2025 at 3:31 pm
Beeej Says:
February 12th, 2025 at 6:58 pm
If we re-sign JTS is that not the same thing as picking up his 5th year option? (Which is $13 million)
NO…The FO rejected his 5th yr option making JTS’s 1st rd contract only 4yrs in length. He’s a UFA heading into 2025. If the FO resigns JTS, it will be for MUCH less than the 5th yr option #….Likely in the $2.5-3.5M range vs $13M.
February 13th, 2025 at 3:50 pm
Parsons would have the biggest impact and fill the biggest need
February 13th, 2025 at 5:35 pm
If I were JL I would be calling my good friend Spytek and see if they can work on a “bro deal” to land Crosby in Tampa.
I am sure John owes Jason a few favors
February 13th, 2025 at 10:50 pm
Garrett is stuck where he is. There will be no trade because of salary cap impact to Cleveland.