Reason To Mope
June 16th, 2026
Bucs coach Todd Bowles.
When Bucs fans recognize a name of a free agent and ask Joe if the Bucs might want the guy’s services, Joe often has the same reaction:
If he’s any good, why wasn’t he good enough for his former team?
Of course, there are always outliers, right Lovie? And right Bucs?
So, that’s the sort of thinking Matt Verderame of SI.com is using when he looks at the Bucs signing a pair of Lions defensive veterans Al-Quadin Muhammad and Alex Anzalone.
Verderame seems to think if a playoff contender like the Lions believed the pair were worth investing in, they’d still be in Detroit, as Verderame typed a column giving each team a reason for hope and a reason to mope.
Mope: The defense will be relying on veteran additions, including linebacker Alex Anzalone and defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad. Both are 31 and weren’t deemed important enough by the Lions to bring back after finishing 18th defensively.
Well, Joe sort of understands Verderame’s take. With AQM, it has stuck in Joe’s craw — not craw, CRAW! — how a guy who has 11 sacks in a season couldn’t start one game. Even if AQM is only an edge rushing specialist, wouldn’t you want him on the field when teams throw on first down? I
t’s not like every team in the league runs on every first down.
With Anzalone, maybe he’s no longer the stud he used to be, maybe not. But for him, he badly wanted to move back to Florida as his wife moved back to Pinellas County after he signed with the Bucs. He again said in a media appearance last week that he lives in Pinellas County and loves how he only has to drive across a bridge and he’s at work.
Rather than “mope” about AQM and Anzalone, Joe is more concerned how the Bucs are putting a ton of pressure on three rookies on defense to play like veterans right away. The current defensive coordinator hasn’t been very lucky developing rookies on the first two levels of the defense.
Joe’s typing this story at 10 p.m. Does anyone know where Devin White is?
June 16th, 2026 at 4:52 am
The reason to mope is the picture that accompanys the article.
June 16th, 2026 at 5:14 am
The Bucs are just now getting over the Super Bowl hangover. Years of cap hell as well as future hall of fame players retiring. You don’t have to look like the Jets to be in rebuild mode. It’s hard for a lot of fans on here to admit this team has been rebuilding since the day Brady, Suh and Gronk left. Last year’s progress was stalled by injury and lack of depth. I’d give Licht a huge break because he has done a great job with what he’s had to deal with. A healthy Bucs team will surprise a lot of people this year!
June 16th, 2026 at 5:22 am
Agreed, bucnjim. Would love to see the starters stay healthy all season. We’d be like 12-5. Odds of them all staying healthy are slim though. At least we have more promising backups at O-line than last year. Not in the secondary though and those and D-line are the 3 spots you need a bunch.
June 16th, 2026 at 5:45 am
AQM’s situation reminds me of Shaq. Because he played behind Von Miller, he never started a game unless Miller was injured. In that situation signing a free agent non starter worked out well for us. So, just because a player doesn’t start doesn’t necessarily mean they are not going to play well.
June 16th, 2026 at 6:01 am
We need a new GM…..
June 16th, 2026 at 6:18 am
Other teams have to navigate the salary cap issueu also
June 16th, 2026 at 6:41 am
8-9.
June 16th, 2026 at 6:46 am
Interesting 🧐
June 16th, 2026 at 6:48 am
“Mope” over Anzalone and AQM?
That’s rich.
Detroit lets a veteran walk because of age and cap management, and suddenly he’s washed. Tampa signs him and now it’s a problem.
The “if they were any good, their old team would’ve kept them” argument falls apart the second you realize NFL free agency exists because of this little thing called the salary cap.
Joe, if Anzalone puts up 100+ tackles this season, the same crowd calling him washed today will be writing articles about what a steal he was.
Anzalone left a contender.
AQM has an 11-sack season.
The Bucs got deeper.
That’s a strange reason to mope.
As for Devin White? Last seen overrunning a gap, freelancing out of position, and chasing a highlight instead of making a tackle.
The Bucs replaced splash plays with consistency. That’s called an upgrade.
Wake me up when the doom actually shows up.
Until then…
LFG.
Ring Me.
June 16th, 2026 at 7:26 am
@BucU
That’s what I said. They’ll probably be in that 8 or 9 win area like last year.
June 16th, 2026 at 7:38 am
If Anzalone and Muhammad can help the Bucs to a #18 D ranking, that would be an immprovement.
June 16th, 2026 at 8:30 am
All these negative comments from low iq bucs fans makes me wonder if they know what football is
June 16th, 2026 at 8:42 am
Detroit’s judgments on defense are hardly ones I want to emulate.
And the Patriots didn’t think Tom Brady was worth signing again either.
June 16th, 2026 at 8:42 am
Toad Bowels knows losing. He’s a defensive guru. A certified genius.
June 16th, 2026 at 8:52 am
Joe you are saying what I have been saying. People talk about the Bucs winning 10 games plus. That is a nice thought but not reality at this point. Like I mention the Bucs are rebuilding not reloading. They are depending on Bain, Scott and Trotter to be all pros from day 1, not likely. Yes they have a 31 year old LB at the other LB position, a little eye opening and yes his other team let him go. To make matters worse their is no depth behind them , unless you see Dennis as depth. Then look at Morrison and McColumn, enough said there. Then look who is behind them.
So once you break that down you can see this defense is put together with a ton of hope and not much else. On the bright side I think the rookies may start to come around toward the end of the season. My prediction this year, slow start, maybe 2 and 4 then they begin to improve and end 8-9. anything more than this would be gravy. I would be delighted to see them win 10 games, but with this defense I just don’t see it.
June 16th, 2026 at 8:52 am
When your choice is keeping good players with just a few more years left in there careers vs keeping there young guys who are looking good, teams with the luxury to choose usually choose to keep the younger, cheaper guys even if they still believe in the older, more expensive guys.
Had the Bucs drafted Jihaad Campbell or Schwesinger early in 2025 instead of Egbuka, and/or had they pursued a younger top tier free agent, the Bucs would have the luxury not to need the older Anzalone. But, instead of in a position to make luxury decisions, the Bucs are in a position where they had to do the best they could with what they had available. And, what they did at least looks like significant improvement where they were damn desparate for it.
June 16th, 2026 at 9:19 am
@Toopanca
There were numerous young ILB on the early FA market for reasonable pricing. JL chose to play CYA looking like he was pursuing Evans instead. Settled for Anzalone.
June 16th, 2026 at 9:34 am
AQM and Anzalone will thrive under Twocoach. They’ll play like XYZ and Bologna and have fans thinking they’re professional crickett players. It’s the genis of Todd’s brilliance.
June 16th, 2026 at 10:34 am
You can’t develop trash joe but Yaya ain’t so bad Jason hasn’t drafted a edge defender with the talent that Bain has we will see where the chips fall but I think bain changes everything I know it scares ira but I’m so hyped for Bain.
June 16th, 2026 at 11:04 am
I do not know where Devin White is. But I’ll bet you do, Joe.
June 16th, 2026 at 11:44 am
This guy’s not wrong but two points:
1) they’re better players than we had last year.
2) with the financial and roster situation we are in these were good tier two or tier three additions.
Garrett, Hutchinson were not options for our current status.
June 16th, 2026 at 11:46 am
*Hendrickson
June 16th, 2026 at 12:33 pm
Well, yeah… They’re both getting OLD and expensive, with very little upside. And, the Lions have other more important young players to address first, who are in their primes. These two guys are still better than what WE had last season. Though, I know that’s not saying much. Hell, we couldn’t get any worse.
June 16th, 2026 at 12:41 pm
“maybe 2 and 4 then they begin to improve and end 8-9.”
That is an absolute WORST case scenario. If we are sitting at 2-4, we have to immediately be offloading every available piece with value, at the trade deadline. With the exception of only a handful of young players, who are still under team control, and also fit the current timeline, and trajectory of our future PLAN.
June 16th, 2026 at 1:24 pm
Even if not in there primes they have a lot to teach to the young guns. Get enough pressure on tbe QB and stop the run. Bucs will be just fine if they can do that