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

QUESTION: Do the Bucs have a plan at QB for the future? What’s the plan in case Baker Mayfield regresses to his prior playing level that turned him into a QB nomad?

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

ANSWER: This is one of the big What If? scenarios that is on the mind of Bucs fans right now. And I might do a feature on exploring what might happen if Baker Mayfield does regress this season for a new installment of my What If? summer series. But I actually believe Mayfield will thrive this year in Liam Coen’s offense, which plays to his strengths. And keep in mind that Mayfield already has a rapport with Tampa Bay’s primary weapons after a year of throwing to the likes of Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Cade Otton, Rachaad White and Trey Palmer.

Yet it is acceptable to point out that Mayfield does not have back-to-back good years in his first six seasons in the NFL. His best years have been in 2023 with Tampa Bay and 2020 with Cleveland. Mayfield got injured in 2021 while with the Browns and it remains to be seen if he can achieve sustainable success with the Bucs. We’ll find out soon enough.

But to answer your question, the team’s plan at quarterback is very short-term. It’s really one more year of Kyle Trask as the primary backup. He’s an unknown commodity as a potential starting-caliber quarterback because neither Tom Brady nor Mayfield has missed a start at quarterback since Trask was drafted in the second round of 2021. So Tampa Bay truly doesn’t know if Trask is a potential starter down the road or just a career backup.

I suspect if Mayfield really struggled in 2024 and Trask came in and didn’t succeed that the Bucs would certainly look into bolstering the QB position in 2025 – possibly with another high draft pick to challenge Mayfield. And if Trask didn’t perform well in relief of Mayfield this season, he likely wouldn’t be re-signed.

Right now the future is Mayfield, which is why the Bucs signed him to a three-year deal. After seeing Brady play at a high level until the age of 45, the hope is that Mayfield plays well until at least the age of 35 and earns another contract extension with Tampa Bay in three years when he turns 32.

QUESTION: In the grand scheme of things, is this Bucs team going to enjoy team success due to its offense or defense?

Bucs HC Todd Bowles and RBs coach Skip Peete – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

ANSWER: This is a fantastic question. Ideally, Todd Bowles wants his team to play complementary football. That means the offense doing its job to help the defense by scoring points and maintaining time of possession, which can limit the other team’s ability to score. And it means the defense doing its job by keeping the other team out of the end zone and getting the ball back to the offense quickly with three-and-outs and takeaways.

That’s exactly what happened in Tampa Bay’s best game last year – a 32-9 home playoff win over Philadelphia. Bowles’ defense shut down Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense and even recorded a safety. In the same game, Dave Canales’ offense came to life with three touchdown passes from Baker Mayfield as the Bucs got their 10th win of the season and advanced to the NFC Divisional playoffs.

The Bucs offense and defense took turns being the primary reason for success in different games during the regular season. But in a few instances, such as the 34-20 win at Green Bay, both sides of the ball came together for a truly collaborative win.

I’m sure since Bowles is the head coach, he’s expecting his defense to carry the day and be the reason for Tampa Bay’s success. But Bowles also wants more points scored from the Bucs offense as he knows there will be some games where he and his unit have trouble stopping the opposition. The good news for the Bucs is that the roster does seem balanced. There is ample talent on both sides of the ball. As a result, I would expect a few more complete games that result in wins, such as the victories over the Packers and the Eagles last year.

QUESTION: Are the Bucs actually interested in Connor Williams? Feels like a no-brainer to take the line up a notch, but that doesn’t mean Jason Licht feels that way. Money, injury, fit, or maybe they really do believe in Sua Opeta?

Free agent Center Connor Williams – Photo by: USA Today

ANSWER: For those of you that don’t know, Connor Williams was a center for the Miami Dolphins who tore his ACL against Tennessee last year on December 11. He became a free agent, but didn’t really talk to teams about signing in March due to the uncertainty of when he’ll be able to return to action. He is making some progress in his rehab and recovering, but apparently the knee injury was quite severe and there are some concerns he might miss the 2024 season, according to the Miami Herald.

Would the Bucs have been interested in Williams had he been healthy at the start of free agency and not sustained a knee injury? Yes, although as one of the league’s top-rated centers, Williams would have commanded a hefty contract from the Dolphins and other teams. Williams was regarded as the league’s second-best center behind Detroit’s Frank Ragnow.

Given the unknown status about Williams’ recovery, and the fact that the Bucs dealt with Ryan Jensen’s failed rehab over two seasons from his devastating knee injury in July of 2022, I don’t think Jason Licht would be interested in anything other than a cheap, one-year prove-it deal. Considering Williams’ agent is Drew Rosenhaus, that’s not going to happen. Williams and Rosenhaus would rather wait until he makes a full recovery and then cash in on a much more lucrative deal.

Williams does have some experience at guard, but the Bucs seem set there with newcomers Sua Opeta and Ben Bredeson battling rookie Elijah Klein and others for the right to start. And with the Bucs drafting Graham Barton in the first round and still having Robert Hainsey, who is entering a pivotal contract year, as an experienced backup, I doubt the team would be interested in a rehabbing Williams as a center right now.

QUESTION: Should the Bucs consider signing some free agents that can help the team?

Bucs assistant GM John Spytek – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

ANSWER: I think Tampa Bay might take a wait-and-see approach to its roster and see how training camp progresses before making any possible major moves with remaining available free agents. The Bucs seem to like their 2024 roster, and I do too. I think the team is more talented and deeper than it was a year ago as a 9-8 division winner.

The biggest thing the Bucs are concerned about is major injuries in training camp and the preseason. Tampa Bay was rather fortunate last year that the only two season-long injured reserve players were wide receiver Russell Gage, who had underwhelmed as a free agent signing in 2021, and center Ryan Jensen, who was trying to make an improbable return from what was in fact a career-ending knee injury during the 2021 training camp.

So if there would be a significant injury suffered in camp, such as Gage’s torn ACL last August, that would prompt the team to immediately go to its short list of free agents and add one at that time. Otherwise, the Bucs’ signing of veteran wide receiver Sterling Shepard may be the last “big name” addition the team makes for the foreseeable future.

QUESTION: Would the Bucs be interested in signing safety Lewis Cine if the Vikings cut him? Or would Tampa Bay even consider trading for him?

Georgia S Lewis Cine – Photo by: USA Today

ANSWER: The Bucs were very high on safety Lewis Cine in the 2022 NFL Draft. The team was strongly considering drafting him with the top pick in the second round after Tampa Bay traded out of the first round. But Minnesota traded up to the No. 32 pick and selected Cine, much to Tampa Bay’s chagrin. That prompted the Bucs to draft defensive tackle Logan Hall with the No. 33 overall pick instead.

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles really liked Cine’s football I.Q., his range, and has physicality coming out of Georgia. Cine struggled as a rookie with the Vikings, and then suffered a compound fracture of his leg in the fourth game of the season. He returned to action last year, but only played in seven games and mostly on special teams.

Pro Football Talk has a report that suggests that Cine might not make the Vikings’ 53-man roster this year as he’s currently running with the third team. I think the Bucs would be interested in bringing him in for a workout and possibly signing him to a cheap one-year, prove-it deal if he was released. Tampa Bay could always use another talented safety for depth, especially if third-round pick Tykee Smith winds up as the starting nickelback in the slot.

But I do not think that Jason Licht would have any interest in trading for Cine. There has to be a reason why he can’t at least be a No. 2 safety on the depth chart. Has his broken leg robbed Cine of his speed or physicality? Without knowing the answer to that question firsthand, it would be foolish to give up draft pick compensation – even a Day 3 pick – to trade for Cine.