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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: With SirVocea Dennis going on injured reserve and K.J. Britt struggling so bad in pass coverage, would the Bucs consider trading for Devin White? He’s been inactive for the Eagles and at least he knows Todd Bowles’ defense.

Falcons TE Kyle Pitts and Bucs ILB Devin White – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

ANSWER: No, absolutely not. I do not see the Bucs trading for former Tampa Bay inside linebacker Devin White, who has been inactive for all four games this season. I wrote about this in a Sunday article talking about K.J. Britt’s shortcomings in pass defense and why the Bucs may resort to going to a dime defense once Antoine Winfield Jr. returns to action. This is what I wrote:

Before you start thinking that a trade for former Bucs inside linebacker Devin White might be a good idea due to his familiarity with Todd Bowles defense, I’ll remind you that he’s not only not starting in Philadelphia, he’s been a healthy scratch on the inactive list for most of the season.

For a reason.

Devin White isn’t a good player right now. The Bucs knew it, which is why they let him go in free agency. And the Eagles know it now, which is why he’s been inactive.

Bucs general manager Jason Licht won’t consider it based on some of White’s antics from a year ago and his declining play since the start of the 2022 season. And Licht certainly won’t part ways with draft capital as he deems it to valuable in team building for the future. Tampa Bay has really hit on some key players in the last three years, especially.

It will only be a matter of time before White starts tweeting – or X posting – about wanting to be back in Tampa Bay. Just like he wanted to play for the Eagles last offseason when he was in a contract dispute with the Bucs. But it won’t happen. I’m not sure why White isn’t the player that he used to be when he starred for the Bucs in 2019 and 2020. It’s shame because he’s a physical talent. But mentally, he just isn’t the same guy – whether it’s due to an inflated ego or something else.

QUESTION: Admittedly we are early in the season, but have we reached a point that we can say unequivocally that Baker Mayfield is a franchise/elite QB?

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

ANSWER: There is no doubt that Baker Mayfield has become the Bucs’ franchise quarterback. Is he elite? Well, that is open to interpretation. What defines elite? Patrick Mahomes is elite. Is Mayfield in Mahomes’ class? I’m not sure he is.

I think Mayfield is a very good quarterback. He has better arm talent and playmaking ability than Brad Johnson had in Tampa Bay in 2002 when he led the Bucs to a Super Bowl XXXVII victory. Mayfield isn’t in Tom Brady’s class – nobody is – but he’s somewhere above Johnson on the Tampa Bay franchise hierarchy and below Brady. He’s probably the second best quarterback behind Brady in terms of talent, but right now Mayfield trails Johnson in terms of accomplishments as a Bucs quarterback.

With 11 touchdowns and two interceptions through five games, Mayfield is on pace to throw for 37 TDs, which would be nine more than his career high from a year ago. That would be the third-most in Tampa Bay history behind Brady’s 2021 season when he threw 43 and his 2020 season when he passed for 40 scores.

To answer the question, I think Mayfield is a franchise quarterback in Tampa Bay and he’s elite in terms of Bucs quarterbacks historically. But when it comes to comparing him to other great present day quarterbacks, Mayfield is making his mark, and if he reaches 35 touchdowns or more this season and the Bucs reach the playoffs again he very well could be considered elite throughout the NFL.

QUESTION: What one player currently out with an injury would be the most impactful returning to action?

Bucs safety Antoine Winfield Jr. – Photo by: USA Today

ANSWER: There’s no doubt that the Bucs miss the play of All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. Tampa Bay struggled in covering the middle of the field on Thursday night as well as tackling. Winfield is one of the best coverage defensive backs in the league, in addition to being Tampa Bay’s best tackler – bar none. Todd Bowles is missing his chess piece on defense. Even if he only contributed half of his splash plays from a year ago and had just three sacks, three forced fumbles and two interceptions that will still be a heck of a season for any NFL safety.

A close second might be inside linebacker SirVocea Dennis, who is on injured reserve with what could be a season-ending shoulder injury. His ability to cover and platoon with K.J. Britt was also sorely missed on Thursday night, especially given the fact that quarterback Kirk Cousins targeted the middle of the field for over 300 of his 509 passing yards.

Tampa Bay also can’t wait to see defensive tackle Calijah Kancey return to action as he’s a great interior pass rusher. But Vita Vea and Logan Hall have combined for five sacks over the past two games, and Hall is actually the Bucs’ leading sacker with three on the year.

And while the Bucs would love to see right tackle Luke Goedeke shake off his concussion systems and return to the starting lineup, Justin Skule has actually been quite solid in his place over the last couple of games. In fact, according to Pro Football Focus, Skule had a 71.4 overall grade against the Eagles and a 73.6 overall grade versus the Falcons. And in the last two games he had 77.2 and 87.5 pass protection grades, respectively.

QUESTION: Regarding the spike at the end of the fourth quarter, was the ref tapping the ball allowed as a spot? I have never seen that. They always seem to pick it up and move it. Also Drake London had just barely set when the ball is snapped. The Bucs blew that game, but it seems like that spike was not legal.

ANSWER: Bucs cornerback Jamel Dean should have laid on top of Falcons wide receiver Drake London for a second or two. Any more and it would have caused a delay of game penalty on Tampa Bay. But the fact that Dean pops up so quickly off London really helped the Falcons be able to spike the ball with one second left to be able to give Younghoe Koo a shot at a 52-yard field goal, which he made to tie the game at 30-30 and send it to overtime where the Falcons won, 36-30.

You can watch that play and the spike of the ball right here by clicking on the video and watching it on YouTube at the 11:00 mark.

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles also indicated that Dean blew it by getting up too quickly and allowing London to get up and set the ball down for play.

“We should’ve laid on them more,” Bowles said. “We kind of got up and let that second tick off and we should’ve laid on them.”

As to the ref tapping the ball, yes, that seemed very odd and suspicious. After catching the ball and getting up, London hands the ball to Falcons center Ryan Neuzil, who places it on the ground. Then an official comes in and pats the ball, I guess signaling it for play. I thought all balls had to placed ready for play by officials?

There is no doubt that the Bucs got screwed by the officials at the end of that game, whether it was the blown facemask call on Bucky Irving’s run that would have negated Graham Barton’s holding call, or allowing Neuzil to set the ball ready for play by himself. Let’s hope the Bucs get some similar home cooking when the Falcons come to Tampa Bay in a few weeks in the interest of fairness.

QUESTION: Bucs are up by three under two minutes left deep in Atlanta territory. They need a first down or a score. Instead they try to nurse a three-point lead and play super conservatively. What the hell was Todd Bowles thinking? I am weary of the Bucs playing not to lose.

ANSWER: Todd Bowles is very hands off when it comes to the offense and the play calls. He lets his offensive coordinators do their thing and doesn’t like to meddle – whether it’s someone with experience like Byron Leftwich in 2022, or rookie play-callers like Dave Canales last year or Liam Coen this year. Bowles used to be a defensive coordinator – and is still the defensive play-caller – so he understands and appreciates the autonomy of calling plays without having a head coach looking over his shoulder.

I did a Pewter Pulse video on Coen’s last offensive series in Atlanta and the lessons that he’s hopefully learned from watching the Bucs go backwards and out of field goal range. This video speaks for itself and I encourage all Bucs fans to watch it.