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 Twitter account each week in the Bucs Monday Mailbag. Submit your question to the Bucs Monday Mailbag each week via Twitter using the hashtag #PRMailbag. Here are the questions we chose to answer for this week’s edition.

QUESTION: The season hasn’t started yet, but what’s your guess about what position gets targeted with next year’s first-round pick?

ANSWER: That’s a good question. Given the fact that Lavonte David’s contract is up after this season, and he’s 32, I would say inside linebacker is a huge need. I would say that’s the top need given the importance of the position in Todd Bowles’ defense. Even if David is re-signed for a year a high-quality replacement needs to be found. The Bucs hope it’s fifth-round pick K.J. Britt, but they really won’t know until he gets an extended look on defense in training camp and the preseason. Britt isn’t close to being the athlete that David is.

Bucs ILB Lavonte David – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Also worth considering is that Pro Bowl inside linebacker Devin White will also be entering a contract year in 2023. White needs to step up this year and become a more consistent tackler and playmaker. That has to happen in order for the Bucs to justify paying him over $20 million per season.

The inside linebacker position is not very deep or talented in 2023 – at least not now. Clemson’s Trenton Simpson would be an excellent fit in Bowles’ defense. Oregon’s Noah Sowell and Justin Flowe, Alabama’s Henry To’oTo’o and Texas’ DeMarvion Overshown are other options.

If it’s not linebacker the top need in the 2023 NFL Draft might be cornerback. That would be a worst-case scenario because either Sean Murphy-Bunting and/or Jamel Dean failed to live up to expectations in 2022. The Bucs hope to re-sign both of those cornerbacks – or at least one – next offseason. If neither plays well enough to get a second contract, cornerback becomes a pressing need for Tampa Bay.

QUESTION: I still feel the weakest of this team is the defensive backs. Do you agree?

ANSWER: It’s possible. Injuries really affected the defensive backfield in a very negative way last year. No position was hit harder than cornerback where the team was forced to start first-year reserve Dee Delaney for a pair of games and play backup Ross Cockrell a bunch. The Bucs also had to sign Richard Sherman and Pierre Desir off the street. Both players got five starts between them as cornerbacks Carlton Davis III and Sean Murphy-Bunting missed half the season.

Yet I feel encouraged by the additions of veterans Logan Ryan and Keanu Neal. Ryan can play cornerback, slot cornerback and safety, while Neal is an experienced strong safety. He’ll help make up for the loss of Jordan Whitehead and compete with safety Mike Edwards. Murphy-Bunting, Edwards and Jamel Dean are all entering contract years and should be motivated to have great seasons. If cornerback Zyon McCollum can develop and contribute on defense as a rookie that will only bolster the defensive backfield.

Not only do the defensive backs have to stay healthy and play well, they also have to make plays. Davis, Dean and Murphy-Bunting need to step up as playmakers and pick off more passes. The trio only had three combined INTs in 2021. Dean had two, Davis had one and Murphy-Bunting didn’t have a single pick.

QUESTION: Curious if the Bucs would consider using Scotty Miller on choice routes out of the slot? Tom Brady’s had success with two different guys with similar statures and skill sets.

ANSWER: I know Scotty Miller has drawn comparisons to former Patriots receivers Julian Edelman and Wes Welker. All three were short, smallish, white receivers – if we’re being truthful in the descriptions. But New England’s offense differs from Tampa Bay’s. The slot receiver position with the Bucs calls for a bigger, more physical slot receiver. Think Hines Ward in Pittsburgh, Reggie Wayne in Indianapolis and Larry Fitzgerald in Arizona. All were at least 6-foot and over 200 pounds and very physical.

Bucs WR Scotty Miller – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Chris Godwin plays the slot role in Tampa Bay because he fits that criteria. And with Miller at 5-foot-9 around 170 pounds he just doesn’t have that physical makeup. He’s not a physical blocker, and that’s why a player like Tyler Johnson (6-foot-2, 200 pounds) is Godwin’s backup.

That doesn’t mean that Miller won’t occasionally see some action in the slot. But with the slot receiver doing a lot of blocking at the point of attack in the run game, that’s not where Miller can help the team. He’s needed on the outside where he can stretch the field vertically. The Bucs have tried some short wide receiver screens with Miller, but he’s more fast than quick. Miller will need a great camp to make the 53-man roster this year.

QUESTION: With Rob Gronkowski’s retirement, do you think the Bucs will retire No. 87? He only played two years for us, but he is a future Hall of Famer, and played a huge role for us winning another Super Bowl.

ANSWER: There’s no doubt that Rob Gronkowski played a huge role in helping the Bucs win Super Bowl LV in 2020 and win 13 games in the 2021 regular season. But the fact that he didn’t have a Pro Bowl season and didn’t set any records at the tight end position in Tampa Bay means the Bucs won’t be retiring No. 87.

The fact that Gronkowski only played two seasons in Tampa Bay is a big reason. And that will also keep him out of the Bucs Ring of Honor – rightfully so.

Yet it’s different with quarterback Tom Brady, who will play three seasons with the Bucs. He set several franchise records in addition to helping the Bucs win the Super Bowl and will definitely be in the Bucs Ring of Honor. Whether or not the Bucs retire No. 12 is uncertain. But Brady’s Bucs career has certainly been more prominent than that of Gronkowski.

QUESTION: I was wondering about your feelings and the players’ feelings on the 17-week regular season and the extra playoff spot. I know it won’t be changed, but it seems like more chance for injury with no extra pay. And it’s less chance for fringe players to show their skills in game situations. What do you feel the extra week has added, if anything?

ANSWER: Going to 17 weeks in the regular season has had three positive benefits. The first is an extra regular season game for the NFL owners and the TV networks so they can make more money. Preseason games aren’t well attended across the league by fans, and that hurts concession and parking revenue when less fans are in the stands. TV ratings are far more robust for regular season games than preseason games, too.

The second benefit is eliminating a preseason game helps the owners and also the fans. The fans didn’t like having to pay for two preseason home games and having to watch four exhibition games in total.

Bucs CB Carlton Davis – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The third benefit is simply more football. The move to 17 games means more single-season records will fall across the league, and that’s exciting for fans. The extra playoff spot per conference benefits the teams that make that extra playoff spot, their fans and the networks that get an extra game to televise.

I like the move to 17 and ultimately think it will move to an 18-game regular season sooner rather than later. The players don’t like it because it is an extra week of physical grind and punishment without a bigger paycheck. The owners will argue that the salary cap will rise with more television and gate revenue as a result of one more regular season game. The players will ultimately make more on their next contract as a result. There’s some truth to that.

I think the players – and the league – would benefit from an additional bye week, especially if it goes to 18 games. The players need an extra week of rest and recovery from a long season. And I think that will help them recover from injuries and prevent them too. The end result would be more of the league’s star players on the field. And that’s not a bad thing.