Bucs Defense Got The Attitude Adjustment It Needed

INTRO: Free agency isn’t over yet – be sure to get all of the rumors, inside scoop and transactions in Pewter Report’s Bucs Free Agency Tracker – but most of Tampa Bay’s moves have been made. I’ll examine how the Buccaneers got better defensively in this SR’s FAB 5 column, and what’s next in free agency for the Bucs. Enjoy!

FAB 1. Bucs Defense Got The Attitude Adjustment It Needed

As expected, the Bucs didn’t make a big splash in free agency.

Sure, general manager Jason Licht inquired about Raiders Pro Bowl edge rusher Maxx Crosby, but wasn’t going to give up two first-round picks for a soon-to-be 29-year old coming off a meniscus repair – Crosby’s eighth surgery in seven NFL seasons. And even if he did, it would not have been enough as the Ravens held the 14th pick in the draft while the Bucs pick at No. 15.

And Licht and Tampa Bay made a short-term offer to Bengals Pro Bowl edge rusher Trey Hendrickson. But given the fact that he turns 32 this year and is coming off hip and pelvic surgery that cost him 10 games last year, the team wasn’t prepared to sign him to a four-year deal with $60 million in guaranteed money.

Like it or not, the last thing the Bucs wanted to do was to potentially waste money on another aging edge rusher like they did last year on 31-year old Haason Reddick, who wound up being cooked and produced just 2.5 sacks for $14 million. Had Hendrickson agreed to a shorter-term deal he could very well be in red and pewter today, but that didn’t happen.

As I outlined in last week’s SR’s FAB 5 Bucs Free Agency Insider column the forecast was for more value signings outside of taking a big swing – and ultimately a miss – at trying to re-sign future Hall of Fame wide receiver Mike Evans. And that’s exactly how it played out in the end.

To me, the first true week of the 2026 offseason started off as a disaster. On the heels of the Glazers somehow deciding to keep a mediocre head coach and defensive coordinator in Todd Bowles, who is incredibly unpopular with the fan base, the team lost an icon wide receiver, who can still make plays entering his 13th season in the league.

That was an absolute gut punch to Bucs fans. Only landing a big-time edge rusher through a splash signing or a big trade could make fans feel better.

Instead Tampa Bay re-signed tight end Cade Otton and running back Sean Tucker, and added running back Kenneth Gainwell, inside linebacker Alex Anzalone, defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson, backup quarterback Jake Browning, special teams ace Miles Killebrew and edge rusher Al-Quadin Muhammad.

A very underwhelming free agent class on the surface due to the lack of big names, but every new addition is actually an upgrade, and I’ll explain why throughout this SR’s FAB 5.

But you know me. I’m a defensive-minded guy, so let’s talk about Anzalone, Robinson and Muhammad first, as fixing the defense is the top priority this offseason.

Over the last two years, Bowles’ defense has gotten soft.

It’s a fact, and it’s something that Licht and the front office recognized and were intent on changing this offseason.

That’s probably the worst thing you can say about a defense. You can tell an NFL defender he sucks – but don’t say he’s soft.

Soft is the dirtiest word in football, especially when talking about defense.

But it’s true in Tampa Bay. Outside of nose tackle Vita Vea – when his motor is humming and he’s on top of his game – there really isn’t anyone on Bowles’ defense who strikes fear in the minds of opposing offensive coordinators.

The Bucs can’t consistently rush the passer and can get pushed around in the run game.

Bowles’ unit needed a serious attitude adjustment this offseason. The edge that fiery players like Jason Pierre-Paul and Ndamukong Suh brought that helped spark a Super Bowl run in 2020 has been long gone.

Simply put – too many nice guys on defense, not enough ass-kickers, especially up front.

Don’t get it twisted. Robinson should not be confused with Suh, and Muhammad is nowhere near the caliber of player that Pierre-Paul was in his prime.

But Robinson and Muhammad will bring an edge to Tampa Bay. They play extremely hard and with bad intentions.

One Bucs source told me, “You wanted mean guys? These are mean guys.”

From a mentality standpoint, they are exactly what the Bucs defense needs.

From an on-the-field play standpoint, Robinson is an upgrade over Logan Hall from a size, physicality and statistical standpoint, and Muhammad, who had 11 sacks last year in Detroit and has a much higher motor, is an upgrade over Reddick along the defensive line.

The 31-year old Anzalone, who is a coverage specialist at inside linebacker, is an upgrade over the 36-year Lavonte David, whose play slipped last year, and SirVocea Dennis, who is coming off his first season as a starter at middle linebacker.

That’s what free agency is supposed to be all about – upgrading your roster. These new additions are incremental improvements. Don’t expect any of them to sniff a Pro Bowl in Tampa Bay this season, but this is a step in the right direction for a defense that needs to get back to respectability – and maybe even being feared around the league.

Expect another defensive-laden draft as the team continues to add edge rushers, inside linebackers, defensive tackles and maybe another defensive back.

While the Bucs offense took a step back with Evans’ departure, the defense actually improved during the first week of free agency. Not by a lot from a talent standpoint, but by a little.

The biggest improvement that occurred is from a mentality standpoint. Football, especially on defense, is a game played with emotion and intensity.

That’s an area that has been sorely lacking for some time now. And that was a big area that was addressed in free agency.

FAB 2. Alex Anzalone Is A Fire-Starter On Defense

Technically speaking, new Buccaneer Alex Anzalone is one of the better coverage linebackers in the NFL and the stats back that up.

As Lavonte David has gotten older, an area that was once his strength has turned into a weakness over time at the weakside Moneybacker position in Todd Bowles’ defense. From a coverage standpoint, SirVocea Dennis was an upgrade over K.J. Britt last year.

Britt was awful in coverage, but Dennis had his share of coverage busts as well, as he took too many bad angles when covering running backs in the flat. And Dennis just doesn’t have the speed to run and catch the NFL’s elite backs down the sidelines.

Anzalone should help in that area, and the Bucs like the fact that he could replace David as the Mo’ ‘backer or Dennis at middle linebacker.

“We’ll see,” Anzalone said when I asked him which linebacker spot he would play in Tampa Bay. “The most exciting thing, just talking to Coach Bowles, in years past my role has been a lot – you know, from need – in coverage. I’m excited, in talking to him, about my ability to blitz, my ability to play in the run game and not necessarily be out of the box all the time or man-to-man on the tight end. It’s going to be excited to do something different than in the past.”

The area where I think he helps the Bucs defense the most is bringing energy to the unit. David was a great leader in his way, which was often with a lead-by-example style rather than a fiery demeanor.

Anzalone is a fire-starter and the energy he brings to the defenses he’s played with in New Orleans and Detroit is contagious.

“For sure, yeah I feel like if you’re not having fun and flying around and doing your thing, you lose the passion,” Anzalone said. “Especially on the defensive side of the ball, that’s what you have to play with, in my opinion.

“That’s what separates a lot of great defenses from subpar ones. You need to have that energy and passion when you play, especially on defense. If you have the ability to play with high energy and fly around and make plays, that’s what takes a good defense to a great defense.”

The Bucs defense has been subpar over the last two years for sure. And it has lacked passion, energy and a nasty edge. That’s where Anzalone can help.

Anzalone, a 6-foot-3, 234-pound linebacker, not only walks the walk, but he talks the talk. A very effective communicator with a high football I.Q., Anzalone is a vocal leader who quickly became a captain on Detroit’s hard-nosed defense.

“I feel like I’ve been a captain in this league,” Anzalone said. “I don’t know exactly what I have in store here, but at the same time, I just try to do my best to be a great teammate, lead by example and just play the game with respect and play the right way. I feel like that’s how you garner the respect your teammates. And you know that that rubs off on other teammates, too. That’s really how I go about my business and just being a pro, and it’s got me this far – so far.

“Following and watching film of Coach Bowles’ defense from afar, and in talking to teammates that have played here under him, coaches that coached with him, and just seeing how I fit, and how I’d be used is honestly really exciting as a player. So I feel like I’ll fit like a glove here.”

FAB 3. A’Shawn Robinson Brings A Fighter’s Mentality To Bucs Defense

Too many times last year the Bucs defense lacked enough fight.

Whether it was surrendering 218 total yards and two touchdowns to Jahmyr Gibbs in Detroit on a loss on Monday Night Football, or 147 rushing yards and two touchdowns to Treyveon Henderson in a loss to New England, or six total touchdowns from Buffalo’s Josh Allen, or the Rams torching the Bucs for 34 points in a lopsided primetime loss in L.A. – too often Todd Bowles’ unit got punched in the face and simply didn’t punch back.

That mentality should change with the arrival of defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson, a 10-year veteran. Not only will Robinson help shore up the Bucs run defense, he’ll also be the first to step into the ring and throw fists.

“I’m here to hurt people’s hearts,” Robinson said in an interview with the Panthers. “To hurt people’s feelings. I like fighting. I like that. On the defensive line you are hitting every play, so it’s like a fight every play.”

The 6-foot-3, 320-pound Robinson replaces not only 6-foot-6, 283-pound Logan Hall as a starting 4i defensive end in Bowles’ 3-4 base defense, but he also replaces Greg Gaines, an undersized reserve nose tackle, as Vita Vea’s primary backup, too. Tampa Bay plays nickel defense around 70% of the time, so Robinson, who turns 31 on March 21, will see plenty of time in both roles.

Robinson is a massive man who is coming off his two best seasons in the NFL in Carolina. In 2024 he recorded 80 tackles, eight tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks – all career highs – in 16 games. Last season, Robinson notched 65 tackles, three tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks and a fumble recovery with Derrick Brown’s return to action, as well as a heated, post-game altercation with Bills offensive lineman Dion Dawkins.

“My whole mindset is to fuck shit up,” Robinson said.

I’m penciling in a training camp fight between Robinson and either feisty right tackle Luke Goedeke or ginger bad ass Cody Mauch – maybe both – on the first day of pads. Maybe even before that.

Let’s get ready to rumble – with Robinson leading the way.

FAB 4. Al-Quadin Muhammad Brings Relentless Energy – And Hopefully Sacks

Most of you had no idea who Detroit edge rusher Al-Quadin Muhammad was before he was signed by Tampa Bay yesterday.

Pewter Report had mentioned him this week as a potential Bucs target in our Pewter Report Podcasts before we broke the news that he was signing with Tampa Bay during Thursday’s podcast.

Muhammad is a chiseled 6-foot-3, 250-pound journeyman edge rusher that erupted for 11 sacks last year for the Lions starting opposite Aidan Hutchinson. Was last season a sack outlier for Muhammad – a fluke?

Or is it a sign of things to come from a late bloomer who turns 31 on March 28?

Either way, it’s a safe bet that he’ll generate more sacks and show more effort than Haason Reddick did last year in Tampa Bay when the Bucs doled out $14 million to an edge rusher that had lost a step. And on a one-year, $4 million deal with $2 million in incentives that can push his total earnings to $6 million, Muhammad is a bargain worth taking a chance on.

The Bucs love his relentless style and the high energy, high motor he plays with. He’s already teamed up with new inside linebacker Alex Anzalone twice before in New Orleans and Detroit, and both were at One Buc Place again yesterday joining forces again in Tampa Bay.

Muhammad, who had 2.5 sacks against Baltimore last year and three sacks against Dallas, plays with a big chip on his shoulder and has a nasty demeanor. He trains incredibly hard. Clean food. Clean living. Tireless worker in the weight room.

NFL writer Tyler Dunne did an incredible piece on Muhammad that is simply a must-read. Here are some passages from that story, in which Muhammad was interviewed.

“In my mind,” Muhammad continues, “I’m saying to myself, ‘The only way you could bring a motherfucker in that could take my job if he’s training as hard as me. I don’t drink. I don’t smoke. I don’t do drugs at all. So for me personally, I’m saying to myself, ‘This motherfucker has got to be…’”

Speaking fast, his words trail off. He says he’s constantly evaluating everything and everyone around him.

“You might be better than me Day 1, Day 2, Day 3. But after a while, your body starts saying this or that. So mentally, physically you’ve got to be where I’m at.”

His face stretches into a sinister smile, essentially begging anyone to try him.

He’s always been the same competitor.

“I’m a sick fuck.”

When Muhammad arrived in Detroit in 2024 he started on the practice squad, after playing for the Saints, Colts and Bears during his first six seasons in the NFL, which were largely uneventful outside of six sacks as a starter in Indianapolis in 2021.

Dunne told Muhammad’s story about how he earned respect from Lions All-Pro tackle Penei Sewell in practice – and almost came to blows with him.

Muhammad studied the roster and his eyes widened. He relished the opportunity to face one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. He looked at the positives of life on the p-squad. I still get to do 1 on 1’s, he told himself. I still get to practice with the team.

And then, his position coach served as a virtual bull fighter waving a muleta. Terrell Williams instructed Muhammad to practice like he’s trying to take somebody’s spot. Muhammad was much obliged. The pads came on and he took aim at the baddest man in the whole damn town: Penei Sewell.

This was the player Campbell declared the best player on the entire team.

Muhammad lined up across from No. 58 as much as possible and treated each scout-team rep as if it was third and 12 in the Super Bowl.

“That is my game. That was my interview,” Muhammad says. “I’m going 100 miles per hour.”
Sewell was not pleased.

Sewell, let’s remember, is a 6-foot-5, 335-pounder from the island of Malaeimi who escaped tsunamis as a child, mowed his family’s lawn with a handheld machete, tackled trees at age 7 for fun and — once he made it stateside? — concussed one poor sap in a game of “sharks and minnows” on the football field.

Sewell looked us dead in the eye to insist (multiple times) that he’d die on a football field. In sum, he’s in the 99th percentile of pro athletes you do not irritate. Yet on what’s affectionately known as “Fast Friday” around the NFL, the typically tranquil final practice day, Muhammad went HAM.

The two nearly threw punches. Teammates stepped in.

“It came close. Came close,” Muhammad repeats. “There were some words. We stopped practice. He understands. He gets it. And that’s my boy. But that’s what you want! When I came here, I said this is the perfect situation.”

The Bucs hope that Muhammad has found another perfect situation in Tampa Bay.

FAB 5. SR’s Buc Shots

• The signings of Alex Anzalone, A’Shawn Robinson and Al-Quadin Muhammad – all age 31 or close to it – will not prevent the Bucs from drafting an inside linebacker, a defensive tackle or an edge rusher. Expect Tampa Bay to draft all three positions in April – likely with premium draft picks in the first four rounds of the draft.

So these free agents are stop-gap players, but hopefully players that can change the attitude on defense and show the team’s younger players and rookies how to play hard, physical football with an edge. And all three newcomers on defense are actual upgrades over the players they are replacing.

• I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Bucs sign a veteran cornerback for depth. Maybe a player with size like Rasul Douglas or Martin Emerson after the Kindle Vildor debacle last year. Both Douglas and Emerson are 6-foot-2, and big cornerbacks are hard to find.

Douglas, 30, is kind of a feast or famine cornerback who had a down year in Buffalo in 2024, but three solid seasons before that in Green Bay, as well as a rebound year in Miami in 2025. He’s started 93 games in nine years with 92 pass breakups and 21 interceptions in his career. Douglas had five interceptions in 2021, four the next year and then five in 2023 between the Packers and the Bills. He had two picks and 13 pass breakups for the Dolphins last year.

Emerson, 25  was a player that I really liked coming out of Mississippi State in 2022 when he was drafted in the third round by Cleveland. He had his ups and downs with the Browns while recording 34 pass breakups in three years with a four-interception season before he tore his Achilles in training camp, which caused him to miss all of the 2025 campaign.

• The Bucs are very excited about the signing of a pair of Pittsburgh Steelers in Kenneth Gainwell and safety Miles Killebrew, a special teams stud. Gainwell calls himself “a threat” on offense as a runner and receiver that totaled over 1,000 yards and scored eight total touchdowns in his lone season in Pittsburgh. He can also return kicks for new special teams coordinator Danny Smith, who coached him last year.

Killebrew brings needed size and speed at 6-foot-2, 222 pounds to special teams. He is a two-time special teams Pro Bowler and will not only help Tampa Bay’s coverage units, but he’ll set the tone for what Smith wants to accomplish with the Bucs having played for him for years on special teams in Pittsburgh.

• The Bucs need some depth along the interior offensive line and won’t rule out re-signing guard Dan Feeney, who fit in well with the O-line room last year. If he’s back, Feeney would get a cheap one-year deal. Don’t be surprised if reserve tight end Ko Kieft returns on a cheap one-year deal, too. The Bucs like his physicality as a blocker and he’s a core special teamer, too.

If the price is right, look for veteran wide receiver Sterling Shepard to also return, especially with Mike Evans’ departure. Shepard is a great leader and mentor to the team’s young wide receivers and has a rapport with Baker Mayfield dating back to their college days. His experience proved to be invaluable last year at times when the receiver position was hit hard with injuries.