While the Bucs aren’t expected to go crazy in free agency this season, they will be looking to upgrade a number of positions. PewterReport.com takes a look at each unit over the next week, showcasing which players Tampa Bay could lose, and which players might replace them, including our Bucs’ Best Bets.

Inside Linebacker:
2019 Bucs Free Agents: Kwon Alexander, Kevin Minter, Adarius Taylor
The Bucs enter the 2019 offseason in a possible transitional period at the inside linebacker position. At this point last year it felt as if the position was solidified, with a franchise cornerstone in Alexander in addition to healthy depth across the board. Unfortunately, season-ending injuries to Alexander, Jack Cichy and Kevin Minter, and the fact that Kendell Beckwith missed the entire 2018 campaign, left the Bucs scrambling to put a healthy unit on the field at times last year.

Now with Alexander, Minter and Taylor hitting the free agent market, their future in Tampa Bay is in question. That, coupled with the fact that Beckwith’s injury seems worse than initially intended, makes it seem that the Bucs could be drafting Devin White out of LSU to fill that void. With the Bucs transitioning to a 3-4 defense under new defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, getting more talent and able bodies at the linebacker position is a must.

Should Alexander’s asking price be out of the Bucs’ range, Tampa Bay will have to turn to free agency to address the inside linebacker position prior to the draft.

Top NFL Free Agent Inside Linebackers Available:
1. C.J. Mosley – Ravens
2. Kwon Alexander – Buccaneers
3. Mark Barron – Rams 
4. Jordan Hicks – Eagles
5. Preston Brown – Bengals

Others: Kevin Minter (Buccaneers) Jake Ryan (Packers), Cory Littleton (Rams), Josh Bynes (Cardinals), Gerald Hodges (Cardinals), Antonio Morrison (Packers), L.J. Fort (Steelers)

Outlook: It’s going to be a weird sight when free agency hits and a longtime veteran like C.J. Mosley signs a contract that put him in a different jersey than the world has become so accustomed to seeing them in. Mosley, Alexander, Barron and Hicks will highlight the free agent class while the next tier of players like Brown and Ryan can still enter a locker room help a team that doesn’t intend on throwing the bank at their new free agent signing.

Denzel Perryman helped set the free agent market for inside linebackers this week, so to speak, as he signed a two-year, $12 million extension with the Chargers after the former second round pick missed the 2018 season with a knee injury.

Bucs’ Best Bet: Kevin Minter
The Bucs are holding out hope that they can re-sign Alexander, but will let him enter free agency without a deal, as PewterReport.com reported on Sunday. Tampa Bay will let Alexander gauge his market value in free agency and is expected to have a chance to match that offer. Alexander, who is coming off a torn ACL, has been seeking a deal north of $10 million annually.

Regardless of whether or not Alexander can be re-signed or not by Tampa Bay, the Bucs are expected to re-sign Minter, a former second-round pick in Arizona in 2013. Minter spent his first two years playing in Todd Bowles’ defense with the Cardinals and then spent the 2018 training camp with Bowles in New York before signing with Tampa Bay at midseason after Alexander suffered his knee injury. Minter had eight tackles, three special teams tackles and one sack before a calf injury sidelined him for the rest of the season in December.