Neutral Bucs
March 17th, 2026
Return key to improvement?
Joe doesn’t know how anyone can objectively look at the Bucs roster before legal tampering began and after a week of free agency claim the team improved.
The Bucs lost a Hall of Fame receiver and their best corner. No team gets better doing that short of signing Tom Brady in free agency.
Re-signing Cade Otton is neither a step forward nor a step back. Signing Kenneth Gainwell was a nice addition, but let’s be real: He’s not entering training camp as a starter. Alex Anzalone is certainly an upgrade from SirVocea Dennis, yes.
Edge rusher Al-Quadin Muhammad could be a home run or could be a strikeout. Even though he had 11 sacks last year, he didn’t start. That is both fantastic and frightening. Why couldn’t he start? His previous season-high for sacks is six, so the jury is still out if Muhammad is a major impact player or a top-end Chris Braswell.
A’shawn Robinson replaces Logan Hall. Maybe the Bucs improved there but that’s a definite maybe.
Does that seem like the Bucs got better to you? Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic thinks, at worst, the Bucs stayed the same and maybe got slightly better.
Tampa Bay has always been good at re-signing its own talent, and did so by extending tight end Cade Otton. It’s an unsexy move, but new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson probably sees a block-and-catch role for Otton similar to Tyler Higbee’s in L.A. Another signing I’m higher on than some is the two-year, $14 million deal for running back Kenny Gainwell, who is fantastic after the catch and should be a nice complement to Bucky Irving as a runner.
The Bucs’ slide through the second half of last season was a bit shocking. But it’s hard to bet on multiple down years for one of the more fundamentally sound front offices in the NFL.
Rodrigue is basing the Bucs’ alleged improvement last week indirectly on Tyler Higbee? No offense to the East Lake High School grad (Bob Hudson’s a cool guy, really) but when was Higbee a game-changer? He’s not Cooper Kupp in his prime and he sure isn’t Puka Nacua and he’s certainly not Davante Adams. Nice player, but one should aspire to greater heights for a tight end than Higbee.
Joe cannot say any Bucs free agent signees were awful. But losing a Hall of Fame receiver and your best corner very much is awful and could torpedo the 2026 season. And no matter how you slice that, it’s not good.
March 17th, 2026 at 4:19 am
Addition through subtraction, both injured ALL the time, guys that care about special teams CARE about football, we are better and the Draft hasn’t even hit yet.
March 17th, 2026 at 4:41 am
There are three types of organizations in the NFL …
Those that go all in every year and are mostly successful. The Rams come to mind.
Those that go all in and make one bad decision after another. The Jets come to mind.
And those who mostly stand still and attempt to build through the draft. The Bucs come to mind.
The first group has very good years, and some bad ones too. But they’re a fun ride because they are willing to take chances.
The next group, usually led by bad ownership, just doesn’t get it. They make moves for moves sake, and never seem to get it right.
The last group seems content to be .500. They’ll sign a free agent here and there, but are always shopping for them at the Dollar Store.The Bucs broke Licht tradition for a couple of years and it won them a Super Bowl.
It may have put them in cap hell, but wasn’t it worth the ride? Being a Bucs fan was fun!
Flash forward to 2026: We now have a Dollar Store coach and many Dollar Store players.
What fun is that?
March 17th, 2026 at 4:57 am
Go back and read the threads as soon as the season was over….
Folks there are only so many draft picks and while they are always enthusiastic and optimistic we need to understand the reality of just what impact a draft class has on a team that was 0-7 going into the last game of the season.
Everyone knows that the team needs defensive HELP… but the offense is not far behind.
The NFL in 2026 is EXPLOSIVE offense, that’s what the league and the rules have designed the games to be.
Until I see differently from Jason and Todd this is a.500 team.
March 17th, 2026 at 5:20 am
Mike wasn’t our best receiver last year Joe, I doubt if he would’ve been this year either.
March 17th, 2026 at 5:22 am
Okay, i just gotta say it. What is the hang up with a pass rush specialist not starting? If you abide with the concept that a player has only so many plays in a season in which they’re effective, then why have a pass rusher in on the first play of a game? All the other questions about Mohammed are valid but starting? Meh.
As far as being neutral from a talent perspective, I’ll take it. How do you measure the motor?
Lastly about ME13, has anyone written about the possibility that Mike knows EE is better than he is now at this moment in time?
March 17th, 2026 at 6:25 am
Perhaps Evans got frustrated, seeing all the new talent the Bucs have at wide receiver and realized the ball is being spread around more and more. Combine that with witnessing an inept defense and maybe he wonders why the Bucs spent a first round pick on someone he has to compete with for catches. Sort of like Rodgers getting fed up with Green Bay drafting Jordon Love instead of a top notch receiver that he desperately wanted.
San Fran really has very little in the way of wide receivers now, so Evans believes he has a better chance of ringing up a couple more thousand yard seasons with the 49ers. The QB is a push, at best, so he clearly didn’t go there for a better QB. As he said, he was just looking for another team that also had a good QB.
March 17th, 2026 at 6:34 am
Why do you keep bringing up Dean. No matter how Dean performed he was going to leave, as it was mutual. You have to assume the Bucs are going to add a DB either through draft, or roster causality from another team, or trade (less likely.)
The special teams were horrid. New coach with a successful past should make that unit better.
Hopefully they add a Guard in the draft.
The downward slide of the team last season had more to do with locker room than talent. If that is not fixed than nothing will help.
March 17th, 2026 at 6:44 am
I don’t believe we got worse either. I think “neutral” is a good word for it. But we still have the draft. Licht needs the draft of his career for us to have a successful season.
March 17th, 2026 at 6:50 am
@JA, great take. I feel the same way.
To be objective, I thought of the Steelers in the same way as the Bucs. Budget minded in FA, picking in the middle of the draft so less chance of getting a star.
Making the playoffs, but always losing in the first round.
Yea, I love how the Rams play fast and loose. F them picks, lol.
March 17th, 2026 at 7:07 am
Evans did not want to be here. Better that he’s gone. Hall was a disappointment. So was Dean. Can’t blame Dean for leaving after the contract cram down last year. Heck was a cadaver. White was a malcontent.
None of those guys contributed last year. Not even Evans.
Additional by subtraction.
March 17th, 2026 at 7:11 am
Joe, you forgot to mention Bowles. He’s still the HC and that’s certainly not an upgrade either.
March 17th, 2026 at 7:12 am
I don’t get you guys sometimes. AQM is a DPR so why would he play 1st downs I.e. why would he start? He’s the guy that’s gonna come in late in the fourth quarter and lay the QB on floor to protect our slim lead and win us the game. Isn’t that what you’ve been calling for all year?