The Bucs are at the midway point of their 2023 schedule, having lost four straight games to fall to 3-5 as mid-November approaches. They’re running out of time to pull it together and make a run for the playoffs. If their current run of form continues, it’s safe to assume they’ll end up with a Top 10 pick and a new coaching staff heading into 2024.

Speaking of which, the halfway point of the 2023 season feels like a good time to evaluate what the Bucs’ needs might be for the 2024 offseason. So, here’s a look at some of Tampa Bay’s positional needs as things stand right now.  We’ll start with the offense. The needs on defense will be addressed on Sunday morning on PewterReport.com.

Quarterback

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

Baker Mayfield is only on a one-year deal, as he’s looking to position himself for a multi-year contract in the upcoming offseason, whether that’s in Tampa Bay or elsewhere. He’s not the biggest reason the team is 3-5 by any stretch, but right now, it’s hard to say Mayfield has 100% done enough to solidify himself as the Bucs’ quarterback of the future.

With the way things are going right now in terms of wins and losses, Todd Bowles, Dave Canales and the rest of the coaching staff are on the hot seat. If a new coaching staff is in place heading into the 2024 offseason, it’s hard to imagine Mayfield being etched in stone as “the guy” going forward. It’s far more likely that a new coach would want to start fresh with one of the many talented quarterback prospects in the upcoming class. 

Outside of Mayfield, the Bucs only have Kyle Trask and John Wolford. It feels pretty evident that Trask won’t be the answer — nor will he even get the chance to prove otherwise. He’s headed into a contract year in 2024, and he has nine regular season pass attempts in his career. So as of now, quarterback is up there near the top of the list of needs for Tampa Bay in the upcoming offseason.

How This Can Change Down the Stretch: Through eight games, Mayfield has completed 64.9% of his passes for 1,865 yards and 12 touchdowns to four interceptions. He’s also added 122 yards on the ground. Those numbers are solid, and if you extrapolate those numbers out over the rest of the year, you’re looking at a quarterback with 3,963 passing yards and 26 touchdowns to nine interceptions.

Those numbers will be hard for the Bucs to ignore as they look at who their quarterback should be in 2024 and beyond. Not to mention, it’s hard to imagine Mayfield nearing 4,000 yards and throwing for that many touchdowns without the team really turning things around down the stretch and making the playoffs.

If Mayfield guides the Bucs to the playoffs, starting quarterback is no longer going to be a need. In that reality, there’s no coaching change and Tampa Bay will have surely found its quarterback in Mayfield. It would then just come down to the numbers on his new deal. But considering Mayfield will be 29 entering next season, Jason Licht may still want to dip into a talented 2024 quarterback draft class when he has the chance.

Running Back

Bucs RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The Bucs badly need to rebuild their backfield this offseason. Rachaad White is under contract for two more years, but Chase Edmonds and Ke’Shawn Vaughn are free agents after this year and neither is really worth bringing back.

Given the contract extensions the team will need to give out, some of the other needs it’ll need to address in free agency and the general league-wide reluctance to pay free agent running backs, this is likely a need that will need to be filled through the draft.

The problem is, Jason Licht has a bad track record with drafting running backs. Charles Sims, Jeremy McNichols, Ronald Jones II and Vaughn all turned out to be misses (maybe outside of Jones’ 2020 season). Even White, who does look like he’ll necessarily be the starter in the backfield going forward, has been outperformed by some of the other backs in his class selected after him — Houston’s Dameon Pierce, Atlanta’s Tyler Allgeier and Kansas City’s Isiah Pacheco.

How This Can Change Down the Stretch: It can’t. White is proving that he’s a good asset to have in the backfield, and he’ll have two years left on his rookie deal. But there isn’t another back on the roster who is worth carrying into 2024.

Tampa Bay needs to find a true No. 1 running back to pair with White, who is developing into an excellent pass-catching threat out of the backfield but doesn’t look like a real workhorse-type of back.

Wide Receiver

Bucs WRs Mike Evans and Chris Godwin – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

This is going to be a need regardless of what happens with Mike Evans. Because even if Evans is back on a new contract like everyone wants him to be, he’ll be 31 next season. Plus, Chris Godwin will be in a contract year, Russell Gage is no lock to be back after he suffered a torn ACL in training camp this year and the likes of Trey Palmer and Deven Thompkins aren’t exactly proven commodities.

The Bucs need to be proactive at the receiver position, as it feels unlikely that they’ll be able to hold on to both Evans and Godwin going forward. If Evans is still around in 2024 on a new deal, Godwin probably ends up elsewhere in 2025 as a result. In the event that Evans isn’t re-signed and Godwin gets a third contract with Tampa Bay, you still only have Godwin at the top of the depth chart in the receiver room.

In any scenario, Tampa Bay needs some young, high-end talent in its receiving corps to serve as the new wave after the years and years of generational production from the duo of Evans and Godwin. It’ll be hard for the Bucs to find another duo like them any time soon, but they may need to spend at least a Day 2 pick on the position next year to help out whoever the quarterback is in 2024 and beyond.

How This Can Change Down the Stretch: This is unlikely to change, as there’s just not a lot of depth at the position for the Bucs. The only way this gets knocked down the list of priorities is if Palmer or maybe even Rakim Jarrett emerge as a viable No. 3 receiver. From what we’ve seen so far, that doesn’t seem like it’ll be the case.

The beginning of the offseason will be fascinating at this position, as decisions will need to be made on both Evans and Gage. What happens there will determine just how pressing of a need receiver will be come time for free agency and the draft.

Left Guard

Bucs LG Matt Feiler – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Matt Feiler was always going to be a stopgap at left guard this season, even if he played at a high level. He was brought in on a one-year deal to fill that role as the Bucs built out the rest of their offensive line. And given the fact that he should (and likely will) remain on the bench in favor of Aaron Stinnie when he recovers from his knee injury, Feiler won’t be back in 2024 — at least not as a starting option.

The good news for Tampa Bay is that the rest of its offensive line is probably set for 2024, with Tristan Wirfs at left tackle, Luke Goedeke at right tackle, Cody Mauch at right guard and Robert Hainsey at center in a contract year.

That means there’s likely to only be one spot on the starting offensive line to fill, although don’t be surprised if the Bucs bring in a new center to challenge Hainsey next year. How the Bucs choose to address that need will be interesting, as they’ve invested a lot in the offensive line through the draft in recent years and could continue to do so.

How This Can Change Down the Stretch: Left guard will be a need no matter what, but what could change over the final nine games is whether or not right guard becomes a need. Mauch could realistically make the move to center in the future, which would open up a hole at his spot. Now, a position change for the rookie may not be in store for this offseason, as Hainsey has one more year on his rookie deal.

But if Hainsey proves to be a below-average center the rest of the way and the team doesn’t feel comfortable entering next year with him as the anchor of its offensive line, maybe there’ll be two needs on the offensive line.

Check back on Sunday for an advance look at Tampa Bay’s defensive needs in 2024.