Bucs RB Bucky Irving – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

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Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds answers your questions from the @PewterReport X account this week in the Bucs Mailbag. Submit your question to the Bucs Mailbag each week via X using the hashtag #PRMailbag.  Here are the Bucs questions we chose to answer for this week’s edition.

QUESTION: You have said that running backs are a dime a dozen.  If he had another strong season, would you feel though that Bucky Irving is a difference-maker and worth a bigger contract? How far below the top tier of current NFL starters would you rank him?

ANSWER: It’s too early to really tell what Bucs running back Bucky Irving will be worth when it comes to his next contract. Irving had a great debut in Tampa Bay, winning the starting job by the second half of the season and rushing for 1,122 yards and eight touchdowns while averaging 5.6 yards per carry. But former Bucs two-time Pro Bowler Doug Martin also had a sensational debut season in 2012 with 1,454 yards and 11 touchdowns while averaging 4.6 yards per carry. After two down, injury-filled seasons, Martin rebounded with 1,402 yards and six touchdowns while averaging a career-high 4.9 yards per carry during his contract year.

That led to Martin signing a five-year, $35.75 million extension back in 2016. Unfortunately, substance abuse problems derailed Martin’s career in Tampa Bay and he had two more years with the Bucs in which he ran for less than 500 yards before being released. I bring this up because who knows what the future holds for Irving?

Bucs RB Bucky Irving – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Irving certainly takes football very seriously and he’s the first player through the doors each morning at the team’s headquarters. There’s nothing to suggest that he would go down a similar spiral to what Martin succumbed to, but injuries can always be an X factor for NFL players. And there’s no telling how injured or healthy Irving will be over the next three seasons in red and pewter.

Irving is a special player, though. From his work ethic to his production to his team-oriented demeanor to his make-you-miss running style. If I had to guess right now he would be a player that the Bucs would want to invest in for the long-term. It just depends on how steady his production is and how healthy he stays between now and 2027.

Philadelphia’s Saquon Barkley is the league’s highest-paid running back at $20.6 million per season, followed by San Francisco’s Christian McCaffrey at $19 million per year. I could see a path where Irving makes it into the Top 10 in terms of highest-paid backs. Currently, New England’s Rhamondre Stevenson is No. 10 at $9 million per year, while Detroit’s David Montgomery is ninth with $9.125 million, and Arizona’s James Conner is eighth at $9.5 million. I could see Irving possibly getting into that range if everything goes smoothly over the next three seasons.

QUESTION: Who stood out during the rookie mini-camp?

ANSWER: Several Bucs rookies stood out to me during the team’s two-day rookie mini-camp. Rookie cornerback Jacob Parrish had a pair of pick-sixes, which undoubtedly pleased head coach Todd Bowles, who is looking for ballhawks. Parrish had the Bucs’ first interception on Friday and delivered another one during Saturday’s practice. The Kansas State star was closely guarding wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, the team’s first-round pick and jumped the route during Friday’s interception.

Fellow rookie cornerback Benjamin Morrison stood out for simply practicing during individual drills, which was a great sign. Morrison is just about recovered from his hip surgery and now only needs to get into football shape. While he was held out of team drills during the rookie mini-camp he was seen doing some straight line sprints with the team training staff. Morrison will be fully cleared for training camp and could even be a full participant in the mandatory mini-camp in June or even some OTAs in late May.

Bucs OLB David Walker – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

While Parrish was one of the top performers in the rookie mini-camp, outside linebacker David Walker, the team’s fourth-round pick, was the best player on the field. Even Bowles said that on Friday. Walker dazzled with his explosive get-off, twitchiness, and ability to bend and pursue the quarterback. He had a pressure on Parrish’s first interception. The team is very excited about Walker’s ability and feel like Tampa Bay got a steal in the fourth round.

The other two standouts were undrafted free agents – defensive tackle Desmond Watson and safety Shilo Sanders. Watson stood out for obvious reasons. He’s gargantuan at 6-foot-6, 437 pounds, but he’s also very endearing and likeable. He’s worth rooting for and if he loses enough weight to be more effective, he could very well earn a spot on the practice squad.

Sanders came across as one part humble and one part gregarious. He started his media session by shaking hands with every reporter and introducing himself, which made a great first impression. Sanders has a boisterous, larger-than-life personality, but is also humble enough that he wants to be the “snack guy” and fetch the right food for the veteran DBs. He’s loud and vocal on the practice field, which Bowles appreciates and mentioned during Friday’s press conference. Communication is key in the secondary, and Sanders has the right volume and knowledge to check the box in that area.

Rookie tryout linebacker Nick Jackson also apparently made enough of an impression to sign a contract on Sunday. Jackson starred at Iowa and Virginia and is another inside linebacker added to the mix in OTAs and training camp.

QUESTION: What is the Bucs’ position with the least amount of depth? I thinking its safety or tight end.

ANSWER: You are probably correct. The team didn’t add a tight end in free agency or the draft, so the Bucs likely feel okay with their depth right now. Cade Otton is the unquestioned starter after taking a big leap as a receiver and a blocker last year. Payne Durham also improved and is solidified as TE2 on the depth chart. Devin Culp showed promise as a receiving tight end with the speed to stretch defenses. Ko Kieft remains a special teams ace and Tanner Taula has been on the practice squad for several years. Tight end is thin after Otton, but the team feels it can get by with what it has.

Safety might be the real answer here. It wasn’t a great draft for safeties, so the team didn’t reach for one, which was a good thing.

Bucs SS Tykee Smith and FS Antoine Winfield Jr. – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Antoine Winfield Jr. and Tykee Smith are the two starting safeties with a pair of former undrafted free agents, Christian Izien and Kaevon Merriweather, as the top reserves. After that quartet it’s a pair of undrafted free agents who were on the practice squad last year in Rashad Wisdom and Marcus Banks, followed by two undrafted free agent safeties this year in J.J. Roberts and Shilo Sanders.

The Bucs have a bunch of good players at safety, but not a lot of great talent outside of Winfield and Smith. We’ll see how this position shakes out in training camp and if Wisdom, Banks, Roberts or Sanders can either unseat Merriweather or Izien for a primary backup role, or stick on the 53-man roster as a fifth safety.

QUESTION: What do you think the floor is for this team this year assuming they stay relatively healthy?

ANSWER: If the Bucs stay relatively healthy in 2025 I have to think the floor for this team is 10 wins. That mean’s a 10-7 record, which would be identical to last year’s mark. Ten wins should be enough to win the NFC South division again, with the Falcons still Falconing, and the Saints without a quarterback since Derek Carr retired. The Panthers will make some progress this year, but will still be a year or two away from truly challenging the Bucs for the division lead.

I don’t make record predictions until after training camp and the preseason. I like to see how all the pieces of the puzzle fit, and if the team suffers any catastrophic injuries prior to the start of the season.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles and GM Jason Licht – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Todd Bowles’ squad has gone from eight wins in 2022 to nine wins in 2023 to 10 wins last season, and I think the 2025 roster is the most talented one yet. Getting to 11 wins and an 11-6 record shouldn’t be far-fetched. But football games can be decided due to the ball bouncing the other way and injuries popping up at inopportune times, hence my declaration of 10 wins being the floor.

If everything goes right for Tampa Bay this year I could see the team reaching 12 wins or perhaps even matching the all-time franchise record of 13. That’s not out of the question.

QUESTION: I used to love getting Pewter Report magazine in the mail back in the day. With the 50th season would you guys consider making a one-time only 50th season collectors edition mag covering the highs and lows of the Bucs 50-year history?

ANSWER: We’ve talked about it internally, but my enthusiasm for doing another printed publication of Pewter Report just isn’t there. I worked on Buccaneer Magazine and Pewter Report magazine for the first 15 years of my career from 1995-2009. It was a labor of love, but also incredibly hard to do with layout design and the editorial text that comprised the magazine. For many years I did the lion’s share of both layout and editorial, which was extremely taxing for me. Thankfully I was younger then and had the energy to do it.

Pewter Report Magazine

I appreciate the desire from fans like yourself to get one more issue of Buccaneer Magazine/Pewter Report, but I’m not sure the vast audience is there for another publication – even a one-off commemorative issue for the 50th year anniversary of the Bucs. Print is a dying medium, and it pains me to say that because I grew reading Sports Illustrated magazine as a child, but it’s true. Sports Illustrated is what spurned my interest in sports journalism, but even that is only printed monthly now instead of weekly.

We’re in a much different time and place in 2025, and we’ve seen tremendous growth with PewterReport.com, our Pewter Report social media channels, and our popular Pewter Report Podcasts, which are on our PewterReportTV YouTube channel. I’d rather keep investing time and energy in new media than rewinding the clock and doing another print issue.

But do I appreciate all of our former print subscribers and Buccaneer Magazine/Pewter Report enthusiasts very much. After all, that’s where my 30-year career covering the Bucs began.