Bucs WR Mike Evans  – Photo by: USA Today

Managing your family’s wealth means more to Amuni Financial than simply allocating your assets. It means legacy planning, brokerage & advisory services, retirement accounts, college savings accounts and insurance services. With 40 years of experience, let Amuni Financial help you plan ahead and stay ahead.

Call Amuni Financial at (800) 868-6864 or visit Amuni.com.

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

QUESTION: Scott, will the Buccaneers look to bring in a bigger WR with Mike Evans out for the regular season? The depth chart seemed noticeably small after Emeka Egbuka tonight and the smaller receivers struggled to bounce off defenders. Possibly Will Sheppard or a pick swap for Allen Lazard?

ANSWER: I agree that the Bucs do lose a lot of size without Mike Evans in the lineup. At 6-foot-5, he’s clearly the tallest receiver on the roster. But the Bucs have won two big games without him already and I suspect they will lean on the existing depth at wide receiver and hope he can make it back by January either for the end of the regular season or the playoffs.

While the Bucs do need to add another wide receiver with some height and catch radius, especially at the X receiver spot (split end), I don’t see that happening until next year in the 2026 NFL Draft. And Tampa Bay will need to see if Evans wants to return next year and continue to play at age 33. Unless he comes back later this year and helps the Bucs win the Super Bowl, I’m not sure Evans will want his Tampa Bay and NFL career to end with a whimper like the 2025 season has been for him.

Bucs WR Mike Evans – Photo by: USA Today

With Tampa Bay drafting two wide receivers last year and still having Chris Godwin Jr. and Jalen McMillan under contract through 2027, I haven’t even begun to look at receiver prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft. A quick glance at Pro Football Focus’ big board shows that there are more than a handful of bigger wide receivers at 6-foot-2 or taller, which is a good sign. I always like when Tampa Bay has at least one big receiver who can go up and high point a pass and come down with a good amount of 50-50 balls.

I don’t think Jason Licht will trade for a receiver, especially with McMillan and Godwin expected back this season – and possibly Evans, too. If Evans returns next year, I don’t see receiver being a glaring priority in the draft. Right now, inside linebacker and defensive tackle have to be more pressing priorities. I don’t see the Bucs re-signing Logan Hall in 2026, and the team needs an upgrade over Greg Gaines. Drafting Elijah Roberts was a good start, but Vita Vea turns 31 next spring and Calijah Kancey is proving to be oft-injured, unfortunately.

QUESTION: After that game I can’t imagine Jason Licht not going to get pass rush help by the trade deadline. Also the Bucs have got to do something about Charlie Heck. Holy Heck!

ANSWER: I don’t think Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht will make a move for an edge rusher before the trade deadline, but I think he needs to. Tampa Bay can’t afford to squander this 5-2 start, which very well could be a 6-2 start at the bye week with a win on Sunday in New Orleans. In my post-game 2-Point Conversion column, I suggested that Licht needs to go against his own personal beliefs and pursue a trade for an outside linebacker – even if it means surrendering a mid-round draft pick.

Haason Reddick suffered a knee and ankle injury after getting rolled up on by Lions All-Pro right tackle Penei Sewell and the guess here is that he’ll miss multiple weeks. Hopefully not the entire season, but he had to be carted to the locker room, which is never a good sign.

Bucs OLBs Haason Reddick and Yaya Diaby – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Yaya Diaby is having a good season and leads the team with four sacks, including another one on Monday night in Detroit. Anthony Nelson will start opposite Diaby in place of Reddick, but he’s really a quality reserve – not a starting-caliber edge rusher. And now the Bucs’ lack of depth at outside linebacker will be exposed with Chris Braswell and Markees Watts on the second line. Neither should scare opposing quarterbacks.

Ultimately, I don’t know which edge rushers will be available at the trade deadline, which is November 4, or what the compensation level will be. But what I do know is that plenty of NFC teams are needing help at that position, including San Francisco, Philadelphia, Dallas and Carolina. The Bucs can’t afford to let other NFC contenders get stronger and bolster their pass rush while Licht stands pat. The quartet of Diaby, Nelson, Braswell and Watts will not get this team to the Super Bowl – or perhaps anywhere near it.

Tampa Bay will feel the loss of David Walker all season long. And with Reddick in a contract year and likely not to be re-signed in 2026, why not make a move to get another pass rusher that can help the Bucs this season and beyond? I’d start with calls about Trey Hendrickson and Maxx Crosby and work my way down to Kayvon Thibodeaux if I were Licht this week.

QUESTION: At what point would it be more beneficial to play dime on passing downs to remove SirVocea Dennis from the field and replace him with say Christian Izien? Also any good news on the horizon with Luke Goedeke, Chris Godwin Jr. or Bucky Irving?

ANSWER: There is no question that things have not gone according to plan with SirVocea Dennis taking over at middle linebacker. Dennis missed a season-high four tackles against the Lions on Monday Night Football despite finishing the game with 12 stops and his first sack of the season. That puts him at nine missed tackles this year, according to Pro Football Focus. Only Lavonte David has more missed tackles this year on defense with 11.

The problem with replacing Dennis and going with a dime defense, which is six defensive backs, is that against physical, run-oriented teams like Detroit that use a lot of 12 personnel (two tight ends), it’s far easier for offenses to play smash mouth due to having more big bodies on the field. Safeties and cornerbacks just don’t have the chance to shed blocks the way that linebackers do.

I did a recent Pewter Pulse video on the team’s issues at inside linebacker and how help could be on the way at that position – either later this year or for sure in the 2026 NFL Draft. It’s worth a watch, so click the video below.

As for the expected return of running back Bucky Irving, right tackle Luke Goedeke and wide receiver Chris Godwin Jr., I don’t have any rock solid news for you. I think it’s a safe bet that all three miss the Saints game on Sunday prior to the bye week and then there is a chance that some or all could be in play for the Patriots game in Week 10. We’ll see.

QUESTION: Thoughts on the officiating tonight? Be honest. I thought it was dog [EXPLETIVE].

ANSWER: Agreed. I too think a lot of the officiating was dog [expletive]. So many missed calls, the tripping call on a play where Baker Mayfield was sacked because he was illegally tripped was clearly missed. Mike Evans had a defender draped all over him before he touched the deep ball on the play when he broke his clavicle. There was a hold on Elijah Roberts at the point of attack on Jahmyr Gibbs’ 78-yard touchdown run. There were plenty of bad calls and no calls.

I’m not a fan of referee John Hussey, who looks like he’s angry all the time. What’s up with that? And why does it seem like NFL officiating is getting worse each year – even with new technology that is emerging to try to help the sport?

QUESTION: Why don’t we use Cade Otton in the offense more? I understand we need tight ends to help block, but it just looks like we have talent there and don’t use it.

ANSWER: Tight end Cade Otton certainly was a big part of the passing game in the second half after Mike Evans went out with his broken clavicle. He finished as the team’s leading receiver with seven catches on nine targets for 65 yards, including a 20-yard gain. That continued a trend of him being more involved in the passing game as a receiving tight end since the return of left tackle Tristan Wirfs to the lineup. Otton had five catches for 51 yards in last week’s win over San Francisco and hauled in four passes for 81 yards at Seattle.

Bucs TE Cade Otton and Lions LB Alex Anzalone – Photo by: USA Today

He’s hauled in 22 catches for 231 yards and could be on track to match his career highs from last year where he caught 59 passes for 600 yards and scored four touchdowns. There’s no doubt that Otton will get more targets in the passing game with Evans out for most – or all – of the season now. He certainly has the trust of quarterback Baker Mayfield.

Otton did have a rough night in Detroit despite the productivity. He was involved in both instant replay calls that went against the Bucs. First, what was ruled a catch when he and Lions defensive back Arthur Maulet simultaneously caught a pass in the second half, was overturned and ruled as an interception after instant replay. Then replay showed that Otton failed to pick up enough yards on fourth down after initially ruling that he did get the necessary yardage.