The Bucs are firmly in the playoff race. And with a plethora of injuries, they are bandied about in trade rumors throughout the league. Some have connected them to wide receivers since they have been befallen by injuries to several of their top pass catchers. With the recent lower body injuries to Haason Reddick paired with Calijah Kancey’s season-ending pectoral injury has the team connected to pass rushers.

One room that hasn’t been stricken by the injury bug but should still be an area that Jason Licht and his team are looking to upgrade at the trade deadline is the linebacker room. Lavonte David is showing signs of his age. He has been attended to by trainers’ multiple times through the team’s first seven games.

Bucs ILBs Lavonte David and SirVocea Dennis – Photo by: Jeffrey Jones/PR

Next to David SirVocea Dennis has struggled quite a bit this year. According to Next Gen Stats, Dennis has allowed the most yards and expected points allowed in coverage among all linebackers in the NFL this year. Dennis has been abused by running backs out in space on multiple occasions starting with Bijan Robinson in week one and most recently Jahmyr Gibbs this past week.

Tampa Bay can expect multiple receivers and Reddick to return from injury later this year – some as soon as after the bye week – but they can’t expect Dennis to magically become a more fluid athlete or more instinctual in coverage. To get an upgrade at linebacker they will need to look outside the organization.

The problem is finding the right target. This particular exercise requires a very thin needle to thread. Here are all of the elements needed.

• Bad team willing to offload talent.
• Good linebacker that represents an appreciable upgrade worth giving up assets for.
• Expiring contract that’s tradeable
• Culture fit

The middle of that Ven Diagram is extremely small. But let’s give it a shot. I’m exploring four linebackers. Three of them you have heard rumors about. One as far as I know has not been brought up at this point.

Trade Target One – Jordyn Brooks – Miami

Brooks has plus athleticism and has a history of playing well in space. His contract is easily taken on as Miami just restructured his 2025 salary. If the Bucs were to make a move for him, they would take on minimal salary for 2025. Brooks is owed $8,375,000 next year, but none of that money is guaranteed. He would probably fetch a 4th rounder with maybe a late pick swap coming back.

Brooks would absolutely help the Bucs pass defense and would represent a huge upgrade in the defense’s ability to limit backs out of the backfield – an area the Bucs are currently last in the NFL. He has allowed just a 1.7 EPA when targeted this season. Juxtapose that with Dennis who has allowed a 29.0 EPA on just one extra target.

Oct 19, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns running back Quinshon Judkins (10) runs with the ball against Miami Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks (20) during the first quarter at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Brooks is a solid run defender who is in the right spot and plays well sideline to sideline. He can get downhill as a stunter and fitting the run. Of all the plausible trade targets, Brooks is the most complete player and best bet to provide an upgrade on Dennis. I do think there is a strong overlap between his and Lavonte David’s skillsets and roles. There are pros and cons to this as it could offer more interchangeability and would allow Bowles to disguise his schemes even better. But Brooks doesn’t play downhill as well as Dennis. The tradeoff is worth it in my opinion if the Bucs wanted to take a bigger swing to elevate their defense. And on a longer-term horizon Brooks provides a solid building block for 2026 as David is not guaranteed to be back next year.

Trade Target Two – Logan Wilson – Cincinnati

Wilson is looking for a change of scenery as the Bengals are going full bore with a youth movement at linebacker. If the Bucs were to trade for him after this week, they would owe him just over $3.2 million. He’s also under contract through 2028 at salaries of $6.55 million and $7.215 million, respectively. Given that the Bengals have essentially benched him the odds are he wouldn’t play out that contract and would be released following this season. A 7th round pick is the most reasonable trade compensation for Wilson.

The obvious connection is Indy here, but low key Tampa would make a lot of sense https://t.co/oLAjnk8bA8

— JP Acosta (@acosta32_jp) October 24, 2025

Wilson’s a seasoned linebacker with solid feel for routes developing around him. His eyes are consistently in the right place. He has had some solid reps in coverage this year, specifically his first game of the season against the Browns. But I have two worries with Wilson. The first comes to his overall athletic ability in space. If he doesn’t see the play develop before it actually transpires, he struggles to get to his spot on time. Wilson’s movement skills in space don’t look like they are any better than Dennis’.

Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson (55) tackles Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs (8) on Sunday, October 12, 2025, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis.Green Bay defeated Cincinnati 27-18.
Wm. Glasheen USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

According to NFL Pro Wilson has allowed 0.97 yards per coverage rep and a 123.8 quarterback rating when targeted. He gets targeted at a high rate (13.3%).

That brings me to concern #2. With only a slight upgrade in coverage, the trade-off is for a considerable drop off in run defense. For all of Dennis’ faults as coverage backer, he fits the run well. He blows up pullers and breaks downhill with authority. Pro Football Focus has him with an average depth of tackle of 2.1 yards and a run stop rate of 14.3%. Those marks rank tied for 5th and 1st overall among qualifying linebackers.

Trade Target Three – Devin Bush – Cleveland

On the field Bush would be a fantastic fit for the Bucs. He is a physical downhill player who can help create pass rushing opportunities for defensive linemen in Bowles’ stunt-heavy scheme. He takes on blockers with strength and aggression and rarely misses a tackle (5.9% missed tackle rate per PFF). Bush is strong in coverage sifting through bunches to get to his landmarks in zone and staying on his assignment in man coverage. Some of this is a departure from where he was as a player in the past. His eye discipline used to be frenetic and unreliable. But the game seems to be slowing down for the former Steeler, and he has been playing at a strong level this year.

And crucially, he has proven reliable covering running backs out of the backfield where he has only allowed six catches for nine yards and 4.8 yards after catch per reception. Compare that with Dennis who has allowed 15 catches for 241 yards with 232 coming after the catch.

Browns LB Devin Bush – Photo by: USA Today

In terms of cost to acquire, Bush’s contract is extremely tradeable as he is owed just under $800k for the rest of the season and is a free agent at the end of the season. With his strong play this year Bush could net the Browns a 6th round selection in return.

Now, for the full disclosure. Earlier I noted that any linebacker, or any player at all really, that the Bucs would look to acquire has to meet their culture-fit standards. When I started this search, I was wholly unaware of Bush as anything other than a football player. Which led to this.

Found my under the radar trade target for the #Bucs!

— Josh Queipo (@JoshQueipo_NFL) October 23, 2025

As I looked into him, the consensus seems to be that he is not a Bucs fit in terms of locker room/culture. Then I found out about his May arrest for domestic violence and harassment. The case is still proceeding with a trial date currently set for December 2nd. Based on this I wouldn’t advocate for him at all, and it is unlikely he would be a target for the Bucs.

Trade Target Four – Tyrel Dodson – Miami

Dodson isn’t as sexy as his running mate Jordyn Brooks. But man, if he wouldn’t be a scheme fit who can limit backfield damage more than SirVocea Dennis. Dodson plays the Mike in Miami’s system. He plays downhill like Dennis does in run defense with 23 tackles for loss over 758 run defense snaps since 2023. That’s a slightly lower rate than Voss has posted since last year, but still a strong showing. He’s a more reliable tackler and has better athleticism and has maintained a defensive stop rate over 10% this year.

Dolphins LB Tyrel Dodson – Photo by: USA Today

That increased athleticism helps him cover running backs better. And honestly, that’s the one area I’d like to see as the most important part of any potential upgrade. This year Dodson has allowed just six catches for 43 yards on eight targets to backs in primary coverage.

Great linebackers are nearly impossible to find in the trade or free agent market. Good linebackers are difficult to acquire outside the draft. But serviceable is available and Dodson is just that. The Bucs don’t need a panacea in that spot. They just need a player who isn’t going to give a drive a game away like Dennis has done for much of this season. Dodson fills that void at a low cost of acquisition. He’s owed just under $1 million for the rest of this year and should only cost a 6th round pick. Additionally, Dodson is under contract for 2026 for just $3 million giving the Bucs a capable starter for next year regardless if Lavonte David comes back or not.

Dodson raises the floor and would be the guy I am calling about.