The Bucs have made plenty of moves to keep them in a position to do damage in the NFC South last season. In a division where Tampa Bay remains in the driver’s seat going into 2025, they have not let off the gas this offseason.

While re-signing wide receiver Chris Godwin caught plenty of national acclaim, the rest of the moves general manager Jason Licht has orchestrated – so far – are seen in a similar light.

Bucs Had One Of The Best Free Agent Hauls In The NFL

The blueprint for the Bucs in recent seasons is not letting any talent walk out the door. By keeping the best players around for the long haul, they have had big hauls – even if they are not flashy new additions.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and WR Chris Godwin – Photo by: USA Today

Still, with plenty of players having to find new homes during every free agent period, Tampa Bay has managed to do some of the best work during this period by prioritizing keeping players who have been in the building and signing them for excellent value in the process.

ESPN’s Ben Solak placed the Bucs fifth in his list of teams who are most improved over the last few weeks. Solak particularly mentioned how he has loved the continuity with the signings made.

You won’t find the Buccaneers on many winners/losers lists, but they grade very highly for me given how well they spent their money. In retaining Bredeson, they got a starting guard for $[7.33] million per year — a huge discount relative to the market for Will Fries and Aaron Banks. In retaining Godwin, they got a high-end WR2 for $22 million per year — an impossible discount relative to what other teams would have spent on him as a low-end WR1.

The best news? The Buccaneers know how Godwin and Bredeson work in their system, so a lot of the uncertainty inherent to free agency is avoided. All 11 starters from their offense last season are back on the roster. That’s great business.

Rather than chasing pricey free agents without knowing how they would fit within the organization, the Bucs continuously pay the guys they know. It has paid off with five consecutive playoff berths, but there is still another level to unearth with the roster.

Just how much has the squad improved?

Just How Much Have The Bucs Improved This Offseason?

After the Bucs overcame another mid-season slump last year to make the postseason, the hope is that they can more convincingly make a run toward the Lombardi Trophy. There are enough building blocks in place to believe they are not too far away, but they are still a couple missing pieces away from the promised land. Looking at the offseason in its entirety, keeping the top talent in-house while supplementing some of the roster’s biggest needs has seen them climb from No. 16 to No. 14 in ESPN’s latest power rankings.

Bucs OC Josh Grizzard – Photo by: Matt Matera/PR

Not only have the Bucs made player personnel changes, but they also had to navigate the waters of offensive coordinator Liam Coen leaving to become the Jaguars head coach. Josh Grizzard takes his spot with the hope it will only continue the theme of continuity, and keeping Kevin Carberry and promoting him to coordinate the run game is seen as a move that will keep the run game near the top.

Jenna Laine chimed in with her analysis.

The Bucs did the two best things they possibly could to account for the loss of Liam Coen. They promoted pass game coordinator (and “wizard”) Josh Grizzard to offensive coordinator. And the importance of keeping Carberry, their offensive line coach last season, can’t be overstated. He played an integral role in their run game improving from a league-worst 88.8 rushing yards per game in 2023 to fourth-best with 149.2 in 2024.

The Bucs’ 5.3 yards per rush also set a new franchise record and according to Elias Sports, they became the sixth team since the merger to have a 1,000-plus rushing yard improvement in a full season year-over-year.

It is easy to ponder whether the Bucs should be placed higher among the 10 best teams in the league. Despite some issues that have held them back from doing more in recent seasons, they remain a playoff contender thanks to shrewd signings and valuing internal players and coaches to continue building something special.