While the offseason provides an opportunity for poorly performing teams from the previous year to rebuild, it provides other teams that found some success the chance to retool while keeping the core intact.
The Bucs fall in the latter category, and based on how much talent they have kept in Tampa Bay, there is an unwavering confidence they have the group they believe can bring them postseason glory.
Bucs Returning 6th-Most Of Roster From 2024
OverTheCap’s Jason Fitzgerald recently came out with a story analyzing the roster turnover of each NFL team compared to the previous year. Coming in sixth were the Bucs, and it should be no surprise that the other teams ahead of them (outside of the Bengals) made the playoffs last year.
What particularly jumps out looking at Tampa Bay is how the offense will look strikingly similar from a personnel standpoint this season.
Bucs OC Josh Grizzard and QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
They are returning a league-tying high of 86.2% of the offense, including all 11 starters from a unit that averaged 29.5 points per game in 2024. First-year offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard along with his coaching staff have spoken extensively about how that continuity will help the unit pick up right where it left off. Another year of a similar style offense should allow quarterback Baker Mayfield to build even more confidence. Having been in the building working as the pass game coordinator, Grizzard knows which pieces to utilize more within the offense than his predecessor Liam Coen did the year before.
While the offense is returning all 11 starters, the offensive line room was decimated a bit after losing veteran backup swing tackle Justin Skule and center Robert Hainsey in free agency. The Bucs signed Charlie Heck to fill Skule’s spot and hope either Elijah Klein or an undrafted free agent center (Jake Majors or Ben Scott) takes hold of the role Hainsey held. Otherwise, it is a lot of the same talent from top to bottom on the offense, with extra pieces like wide receivers Emeka Egbuka and Tez Johnson added in to make life easier on that side of the football.
The defense is a slightly different story than the offense, as head coach Todd Bowles’ unit will be returning 71.9% of its defensive players. That mark is actually the lowest of the top eight teams on the list, signaling how the Bucs approached this season looking to infuse more talent there.
Bucs OLBs coach Larry Foote, ILB Lavonte David, DB Tykee Smith and HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
Gone are underwhelming 2024 starters in outside linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and inside linebacker K.J. Britt. Taking Tryon-Shoyinka and Britt’s respective spots are free agent additions in outside linebacker Haason Reddick and inside linebacker Anthony Walker Jr.
Tampa Bay then used two-thirds of its draft picks on defense to also turnover some defensive depth, bolstering the secondary further with cornerbacks Benjamin Morrison and Jacob Parrish as well as the pass rush with outside linebacker David Walker and defensive tackle Elijah Roberts.
It will remain to be seen just how all of the pieces fit, but adding new players, making several coaching changes, and having better health could spark enough of a defensive turnaround to make the Bucs a Super Bowl contender this season.