In a Thursday column on PewterReport.com, two Pewter Reporters will debate a Bucs topic with different viewpoints. Which Pewter Reporter wins the debate? You get to decide in the comments section below.

This week’s topic: Which Position Have Bucs Upgraded The Most?

Point: Bucs Inside Linebacker Room Injected With Much-Needed Stability And Upside

By Adam Slivon

Heading into the offseason, fruitful debates were had when discussing the Bucs’ biggest roster needs. There was no doubt the team needed to upgrade the front seven, whether it be at inside linebacker or outside linebacker. When it comes to which area was addressed the most through free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft, inside linebacker deserves to lead the conversation.

It has been crystal clear the past couple of seasons that it was a growing area of weakness as Lavonte David gracefully aged with no suitable sidekick to make up for it. So, what was Tampa Bay’s offseason approach, even before David decided to hang them up in late March? They sought stability and then added upside.

Bucs ILB Alex Anzalone – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Kirthman F. Dozier

Alex Anzalone will attempt to fill the void and checks a lot of boxes as a reliable, do-it-all linebacker. For as much as David meant to the organization throughout his career, Anzalone will be a talent upgrade heading into this season. He is a sure tackler, posting 8.6% and 6.9% missed tackle rates in 2025 and 2026, compared to 15.9% and 15.6% marks posted by David over the same stretch.

At 31 years old, Anzalone is spry in passing coverage taking on opposing tight ends and running backs and will be a disruptive presence at the line of scrimmage. He is a fit for what head coach Todd Bowles asks from the Mo linebacker position, and pairing next to him will likely be the team’s 2026 second-round pick – Josiah Trotter.

Trotter has received criticism upon being drafted for his lack of polish, particularly in pass coverage. The Bucs do not seem to care about that narrative, as the newly turned 21-year-old does a lot of things Bowles will covet. With Tampa Bay’s defense ranking near the top of the league when it comes to blitzing, he serves as a downhill thumping Mike linebacker that will get home and be stout against the run. He does not need to be elite in coverage, for as long as Anzalone is healthy, he can focus on affecting the game with splash plays.

Bucs ILB Josiah Trotter – Photo courtesy of Missouri Athletics

As Pewter Report’s Josh Queipo recently opined, Trotter fits as an type of linebacker the defense has lacked since Devin White’s peak in 2020-2021, which coincidentally was when Bowles was in his bag the most dialing up his scheme. He was the best fit at 46th overall for what the unit wants to be, which is an imposing defense with attitude and physicality.

Outside of the Anzalone-Trotter duo being an on-paper upgrade over the David-SirVocea Dennis tandem last year, the depth at the position is notably improved. Gone are Deion Jones and Anthony Walker Jr., two veteran linebackers who were past their prime and provided little on-field production. Replacing them are Christian Rozeboom and Dennis, rounding out the room with more youth and a better floor.

Rozeboom has started 26 games the past two seasons with the Rams and Panthers, recording 257 tackles, three sacks, and two interceptions during that time. There are reasons why he is only seen as a depth piece, but he is a capable spot starter should the need arise. The same can be said for the team’s 2023 fifth-round pick, as he failed to truly lock down a starting role. Still, Dennis improved down the stretch last season, especially as an extra blitzer and run defender.

No one is going to confuse the Bucs for having the best inside linebacker room in the NFL. From where they were in 2025, there is a lot to like about how they built it out for 2026. The position has gotten younger from top to bottom, led by a solid veteran and promising rookie. If it all clicks, it will be the best linebacker room the team has had in almost half a decade.

Counterpoint: Tampa Bay’s Outside Linebacker Looks Remarkably Improved

By Scott Reynolds

Adam Slivon isn’t necessarily wrong when pointing to the potential improvements made on paper at the Bucs’ inside linebacker position. I think Lavonte David made the right move to retire after 14 illustrious seasons in Tampa Bay. Players don’t get better and stay healthier in their 30s. In fact, the opposite is true and we saw David’s skills decline over his last two years in red and pewter.

Do you know what else has been on the decline in Tampa Bay over the last two years? Sack numbers in Todd Bowles’ defense, going from 48 in 2023 to 46 in 2024 and finally all the way down to 37 last season.

That’s the fewest amount of sacks for Bowles’ defense since he began to call the Bucs defense in 2019. Bowles primarily counts on his edge rushers to lead the way in terms of sack production, but Tampa Bay hasn’t had a double-digit sacker since former outside linebacker Shaq Barrett had 10 during his Pro Bowl season in 2021.

Bucs OLB Rueben Bain Jr. – Photo courtesy of: The University of Miami – JC Ridley

Yaya Diaby led the team with seven sacks last year after Haason Reddick proved to be a free agent bust with just 2.5 sacks. Outside linebacker was just as much of a pressing need this year heading into the 2026 offseason as inside linebacker was. The Bucs were able to land Lions edge rusher Al-Quadin Muhammad in free agency and then selected Miami edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr. in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft.

Bain will start opposite Diaby in no time and give Bowles the dangerous one-two punch he’s been missing on the outside since the heyday of Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul – although it may not be that dynamic at first. But what I like even better is the pass rush potential of Tampa Bay’s second-string unit of Muhammad, who had 11 sacks for the Lions last year, and David Walker, the Buccaneers’ fourth-round pick from a year ago.

Bucs OLB David Walker and TE Payne Durham – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Last year Bowles’ second line of edge rushers consisted of Anthony Nelson, who is more of an edge setter in the run game, and Chris Braswell, who looks like a second-round bust. When Diaby was out of the game there was virtually no chance that Nelson and Braswell were going to pressure the QB – let alone sack him. Now with Muhammad and Walker, who will serve as a bonus draft pick this season after missing his rookie year with a torn ACL, I feel like the Bucs actually have four outside linebackers that can get to the quarterback.

The Bucs have a stated goal of getting to 50 sacks each year and the team has always comes up a few sacks short. Last year Tampa Bay’s defense missed that mark by a whopping 13 sacks. Yet with the addition of Bain and Muhammad, Walker’s return, and the fact that Diaby should be motivated to have a huge season in his contract year, I feel much better about the Bucs’ chances of pressuring – and sacking – the quaerterback. I think Tampa Bay has improved the outside linebacker position by leaps and bounds this offseason.