Chris Braswell’s Big Chance
October 26th, 2025
Three months ago, beloved and heralded Bucs rookie edge rusher David Walker was lost for the season with a knee injury.
On Monday, free agent Bucs edge rusher Hasson Reddick, endured knee and ankle injuries and will not play today.
This spells opportunity for Bucs edge rusher Chris Braswell, last year’s second-round draft pick. He has not played a ton and Joe isn’t sure if that’s because Braswell simply hasn’t been good enough.
The Bucs’ offseason actions showed little faith in Braswell, so it seems the Bucs are down on him. But still, Braswell has a very small body of work.
Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht predicted Braswell would have “a coming out party” this season.
This week, Todd Bowles talked about Braswell’s ability. “From a mental standpoint, I think when he just pins his ears back and lets it go, he looks like the ‘Bras’ that we know,” Bowles said.
Joe hasn’t given up on Braswell, but he has to take advantage of today’s grand opportunity with Reddick on the bench. Joe hopes Braswell feels like today is his personal Super Bowl and plays with his hair on fire against the slimy Saints.
The NFL is filled with starters that seized opportunity when players went down ahead of them and never let it go.
On a side note, Joe is intrigued by the guy who played ahead of Braswell last season, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, averaging only four defensive snaps per game for the Browns. And Tryon-Shoyinka allegedly is on the trade block.
Joe’s rooting for Braswell today. Unseating Anthony Nelson and Reddick is there for the taking if Braswell can raise his game. No, Joe doesn’t expect it to happen.
October 26th, 2025 at 9:53 am
I expect Braswell to do the same as Reddick. Take snaps but that’s it
October 26th, 2025 at 9:54 am
Dude’s a bust. Reaching a pick. Licht knows o lineman. Oddly, he knows nothing about pass rushers. He needs some help.
October 26th, 2025 at 9:57 am
>>> he looks like the ‘Bras’ that we know,” <<<
So Braswell basically supports boobs. Seems about his speed.
October 26th, 2025 at 10:02 am
braswell needs to step up today. only get so many chances, if any. he needs to take advantage of it any show he belongs in the nfl. so far he has not.
October 26th, 2025 at 10:06 am
Bust…in a long line of Licht picking bust pass rushers
October 26th, 2025 at 10:11 am
Has this guy been invisible this year or what? I can only remember him on a play or two
October 26th, 2025 at 10:12 am
Who’s that?
October 26th, 2025 at 10:14 am
Unseating Hassan? Very possible.
Unseating Nelly? I’m a little dubious on that.
Hassan is not having a good season for a guy who’s on a one-year prove-it deal.
A solid performance by Braz could swing the tide in his favor over Hassan, or at least open the door to more playing time that would’ve gone to Hassan.
Nelly? I believe the Bucs drafted him didn’t they. 🙂
Given the Bucs commitment to building the team through the draft, and the fact Nelly is a solid rotational player who know the Bowles defense, that’s a steeper hill to climb.
The X-Factor in all of this is Todd Bowles not believing in the importance of an edge rush. How much of a chance will Braz have to show what he can really do?
Regardless, I hope Braz has a heck of a game today, and Jason Licht can look at us all tomorrow and say, “told ya this guy was good!”
October 26th, 2025 at 10:14 am
Scott — If you remember Braswell on a play or two then you have a fantastic memory.
October 26th, 2025 at 10:22 am
Some guys are dogs, Braswell meows.
October 26th, 2025 at 10:31 am
Read Braswell’s scouting report coming out of Alabama. He was rated as an early 2nd rounder. Playing behind Will Anderson at Alabama he didn’t get many reps until his senior year.
HIs biggest negative seems to be average hip flexibility. Other than that he was rated as Top 10 at his position, and a best hit in a Hybrid system like our 3-4. What he seems to lack is just game reps. Getting 2-8% of the snaps won’t get you that.
So this is his opportunity. And if you see him drop into coverage a few times, that’s called a “zone blitz”. Not unique to Todd Bowles. It’s a feature of the 3-4 defense. It’s why the position is called OLB – outside linebacker.
Good Luck Chris – we really need you to step up now!
October 26th, 2025 at 10:32 am
Stoked to see this guys finally get a chance for consistent snaps. Hes got it, just needs playtime to get up to NfL speed
October 26th, 2025 at 10:38 am
Walker was supposed to be the edge rusher we’ve been waiting for. The hype train was the same for him as it’s been for Braswell, Reddick, YaYa, Dennis, shall I go on? When I see Walker sacking QBs for the Bucs I’ll believe it. Right now he’s on IR.
October 26th, 2025 at 10:38 am
So pin his ears back, and get his nose out of the coverage playbook
October 26th, 2025 at 10:44 am
Waiting for Gpdot = Waiting for Braswell = Waiting for the Bucs to draft a good edge rusher.
October 26th, 2025 at 10:47 am
Like JTS, White, and Hall, he won’t get a 2nd contract
October 26th, 2025 at 10:51 am
Jugheadfla1 Says:
October 26th, 2025 at 10:06 am
Bust…in a long line of Licht picking bust pass rushers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Licht has his pick of all the top pass rushers and misses then I might agree with you, most (not all) guys that fall to the late first or beyond don’t become all pros.
October 26th, 2025 at 11:02 am
I really thought Braswell was going to break out this year but one thing I will say is he doesn’t get many opportunities an maybe with Reddick out for couple weeks he will hey a shot LFG
October 26th, 2025 at 11:05 am
Todd is right, he looks like he is thinking too much and the hesitation makes him slow
October 26th, 2025 at 11:07 am
@Anyhony, sorry, that is not correct. A repost of mine from a couple of days ago:
Senor Harry in Costa Rica Says:
October 25th, 2025 at 6:28 pm
Your NFl 2025 Sack leaders (NOT almost sacks):
Brian Burns, 2025 9 sacks, drafted 2019, 16th pick
Byron Young, 9 sacks, drafted 2023, 77th pick
Nik Bonitto, 8 sacks, drafted 2022, 64th pick
Jonathon Cooper, 6.0 sacks, drafted 2021, 7th, pick
Tuli Tuipulotu, 6 sacks, drafted 2023, 54th pick
So this BS that the Bucs do not pick high enough to get a sack artist is a myth. If you include Burns in a trade (the Bucs chose Diva White with the 5th pick), the Bucs could have picked 4 out of 5 of this years sack masters. But I don’t necessarily put this on Licht. He has done an extraordinary job of finding talent and has already invested heavily with draft capital in OLBs.
No, this is Todd. OLBs don’t fit his system. Todd wants pressure up the middle and the ends are to contain. That is my theory anyway. In fairness to Todd, he is very, very good at developing the talent Licht sends his way. OLBs are to contain, NOT rush the passer
October 26th, 2025 at 11:08 am
I said it all along about him, too! I didn’t want him from the beginning because I didn’t think he was gonna turn into much of anything for them & it’s looking that way. He looks like he’s gonna be Tryon all over again. They should consider moving Kancey to DE. Get him to drop like 10 or 15 lbs. & consider moving him to DE. Then you’ll have it as Kancey, Yaya, Roberts & Vita. I would let Reddick walk after this year. He’s another one I would’ve passed on.
October 26th, 2025 at 11:13 am
Braswell heading into the Noah Spence, Kyle Less Is Moore ( Sackless according to a Joe ) and for the longer in the tooth fans like myself Keith McCan’ts “bucket”. Licht did well when acquiring JPP…he may need to acquire one ( Trade4Trey ) vs trying to draft one.
October 26th, 2025 at 11:14 am
At some point, one of these edge guys are going to cook! Probably Yaya! Get it going today!!
October 26th, 2025 at 11:16 am
Prepare to be shocked!!
October 26th, 2025 at 11:17 am
He’s an upgrade from Reddick at the very least.
This fanbase gives up on young players far too quickly. They never account for player development. The team has many players the fanbase has given up on.
Even Mike Evans was given up on after his drops in his second season.
Reddick was a pressure signing. Licht knew the chances of him working out were low… that’s why ha only offered him a 1 year deal. He was high risk, but it was hoped he would surprise. He hasn’t. At least he won’t affect next year’s cap.
Chris Braswell’s future is in his hands. He doesn’t have to be steller out of the gate..lhe just needs to unseat Reddick. That shouldn’t be hard to do.
October 26th, 2025 at 11:20 am
The 4th is coming up soon, not saying break the bank, but get a young dependable edge rusher, off one of those teams that’s going nowhere, he’ll have two weeks to get familiar with the D playbook, and schemes, just let him hunt the QB, AND WE WILL BE OK, that and a receiver, on the cheap, if not imho is dereliction of duty, by our General Manager Mr Jason Licht!
October 26th, 2025 at 11:21 am
🤣
If he could’ve he would’ve
October 26th, 2025 at 11:22 am
I will say this: Licht wasn’t going to sign Reddick without starting him.
So holding Chris Braswell’s lack of playing time against him isn’t really wise. A player doesn’t get better without snaps.
October 26th, 2025 at 11:25 am
I’m against trading…unless it is to acquire picks or dump salary. While I do believe we can make a run if healthy…there is no JPP out there. There is no Barret out there. Trey is NOT the answer.
October 26th, 2025 at 11:28 am
Five guys since 2019 is NOT making the point you think you are. Go back and tell me how many guys in that range were average or below, and pick 16 is not “late” first round that is still pretty high.
October 26th, 2025 at 11:30 am
In 7 games Braswell has a total of only 97 def snaps (average of 14 per game). He’s been fairly consistent though in terms of snaps distribution: 16, 8, 15, 18, 11, 14, 15. Dig deeper and he’s gotten 0 sacks, 0 QB Hits, 0 PDs, 1 TFL and 14 tackles (9 solo). He’s only missed 1 tackle to date.
Gets me wondering though, is Chris Braswell being inserted mostly on running downs? Might help explain why he has zero sacks & zero QB hits. It’d be helpful to know what the opponent did on those 97 def snaps that he got. MAYBE he’s being unfairly chastised for being a non-existent pass rusher. Or MAYBE our opponents WERE passing on every down he was out there and he’s just really bad at pass rushing.
Point being: Can’t tell from the available information just how good (or bad) a pass rusher he is. I do get the impression though, from his stats, that’s he’s a pretty good tackler. That we can build on.
October 26th, 2025 at 11:32 am
The return of plan 9….?
October 26th, 2025 at 11:39 am
Plan 9!
Good one…..
October 26th, 2025 at 11:40 am
Stop it
October 26th, 2025 at 11:40 am
They said Braswell was a game-changer — they just didn’t say for which team. Seriously though his playbook must be written in invisible ink, because nobody’s seen it work yet!
October 26th, 2025 at 11:45 am
At the risk of a frivolous lawsuit…I disagree with a poster not to be named ( unless in a lawsuit? ). Shaq Barret was a free agent signing ( who this poster was against )…in fact this poster referred to Lavonte David as a bust…speaking of giving up on a player early ( although Lavonta has been solid and ascending form the drop ).
The Super Bowl window is wide open with Baker on a “team friendly” contract.
No harm in giving up a 2nd to upgrade ( as ironically Noah Spence & Braswell were 2nd rounders ).
October 26th, 2025 at 11:46 am
Sorry, but another bust pick
October 26th, 2025 at 11:57 am
@Senor Harry: You forgot to add YaYa Diaby to your list.
Drafted (by Licht) 82nd overall, 2023, had 7.5 sacks better than two guys on your list. I get your point, but when we draft there is always more pressing needs at that time. Bowles always creates pressure with what he has witch makes drafting other positions more important. If Licht were drafting in the top ten and hunting for a top edge / OLB he would get a good one.
October 26th, 2025 at 12:00 pm
2019, 20 & 21 Shaq was killing it. JPP was not too shabby as well. Other than that our edge rushers have been below average to horrible since Simeon. Stylez White was alright, and Adrian Claiborne had a decent season. The funny thing is our best edge rushers have been FAs and dudes we traded for. We have never drafted a stud ER since Lee Roy. So we have drafted average to awful DE’s the last 50 years.
October 26th, 2025 at 12:00 pm
Todd Bowles talked about Braswell’s ability. “From a mental standpoint, I think when he just pins his ears back and lets it go, he looks like the ‘Bras’ that we know,” Bowles said.
Where is my hammer? I need to bash my head again. Todd. Let him pin his ears back and stop dropping him into coverage 75% of the time with variable zone assignments. If someone is thinking too much they have too much to think about.
Give him one job, and play the run on the way. That’s it. That’s all.
October 26th, 2025 at 12:11 pm
Bucs have not drafted a competent edge rusher since Lee Roy. 50 years folks
October 26th, 2025 at 12:14 pm
What arw the 3 biggest factors for the bucs the rest of this season?
1. Staying healthy
2. Staying healthy
3. Pass rush disruption
October 26th, 2025 at 12:20 pm
What are the 4 biggest factors for the Bucs the rest of this season?
1. Staying healthy
2. Staying healthy
3.Staying healthy
4. Pass rush disruption
Couldn’t resist, @Yeahmetoo. 😂
October 26th, 2025 at 12:23 pm
Same story as JTS. I can’t think of anyone not liking him for any reason other than not producing. Get a couple sacks today and watch the love come out.
October 26th, 2025 at 12:23 pm
For the record, Jason Licht is NOT in the Ring of Honor….. yet. I assume that Joe is associating his name with the Ring to suggest his body of work warrants being inducted when the time comes. I think an argument can be made that his draft picks on the defensive side, especially edge, needs to improve before that becomes a forgone conclusion.
October 26th, 2025 at 12:56 pm
Great opportunity today for Braswell. Hopeful he will make the most of things.
October 26th, 2025 at 1:02 pm
Licht sucks at draft pass rushers .. amazing at WR, Oline
October 26th, 2025 at 1:04 pm
To be fair to Jason, I’m guessing the hit rate on edge draftees is about 25%, the same as quarterbacks
October 26th, 2025 at 1:28 pm
The talent is there on defense. It’s all about the coaching, and lack thereof, and misuse of talent. Hammer meet head.
October 26th, 2025 at 1:31 pm
Alabama runs a 4-2-5 defense. Braswell was an EDGE(DE). Now he is an OLB in a 3-4. He has more responsibilitys. He is still overthinking.
He has only played 24 games. Let’s at least give him the rest of the year.
Starting today…
October 26th, 2025 at 1:35 pm
Like SV posted…If he coulda he woulda. BUST.
October 26th, 2025 at 1:36 pm
He just seems disinterested. Just like Joggin’ Joe Tryon.
Carolina is playing some inspired D, Atlanta too. Guess we’ll see about NO shortly
October 26th, 2025 at 1:38 pm
Good goys
October 26th, 2025 at 1:42 pm
I’ve been a Braswell guy since before the draft. This is probably the first time we will see enough to make a judgement. I’m pulling for Chris, hope I’ve been right about him.
Go Bucs
October 26th, 2025 at 2:26 pm
Let’s go Bras…. Head down and keep working bro 👍🏼
October 26th, 2025 at 2:26 pm
Braswell is listed as behind Diablo on the depth chart. Nelson is behind Reddick so he will start today. Braswell could get more snaps in the rotation today. Let’s see if we see what Bowles and Licht have seen in practices.
Go Bucs!!
October 26th, 2025 at 2:54 pm
Hope he can get something done today, but he has been a JTS V2. The guy has been horrible. Not smart and not physical. Another Jason failure. Yeah plan 9 from outer space… world’s worst movie. lol.
October 26th, 2025 at 3:05 pm
On a side note, Joe is intrigued by the guy who played ahead of Braswell last season, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, averaging only four defensive snaps per game for the Browns. And Tryon-Shoyinka allegedly is on the trade block.
———–
I have no idea who would trade for JTS, but as for playing time, it is worth noting the Browns are the best defense in football, so not getting the starting role there isn’t a surprise.
October 26th, 2025 at 3:10 pm
I’ve got him down for 1/2 a tackle today. So a big day ahead for Christopher!
October 26th, 2025 at 3:19 pm
Rooting for Braswell and the Bucs!
October 26th, 2025 at 3:50 pm
I dont understand why Licht wont spend a 2nd round pick on a trade for pass rush help. Reason… He sucks wth 2nd round picks anyway, maybe winfield is his only notable pick. Sooner or later the Glazers will get tired of the conservative approach to buying the groceries and find someone like Howie Roseman…
October 26th, 2025 at 3:53 pm
I don’t know if he’s activated for today’s game, but I want to see what Mohammed Kamara can do. He, unlike Braswell, put up some numbers in college. 13 sacks in his final college season.
October 26th, 2025 at 3:56 pm
Jimmy Says:
October 26th, 2025 at 9:57 am
>>> he looks like the ‘Bras’ that we know,” <<<
.
.
Surely, I would rather look like a bruh or a bro, than look like a bra. LOL
October 26th, 2025 at 4:54 pm
anthony nelson. im tired of us going with everyone except the one guy that makes plays. look at his interception. the guy is good. these other guys are all measurables and not playmakers
October 26th, 2025 at 7:22 pm
Braswell did nothing as far as I could see on the first watch. Lets move on next draft please.
October 26th, 2025 at 10:17 pm
Turned out to be Anthony Nelson’s big chance, and he made the most of it.
I’ve been pointing out for years that his per-snap sack numbers are usually tops among our team’s edge rushers. I don’t know why it took so long for him to get an opportunity for more snaps.