A Nightmarish Start to Free Agency for the Bucs

Could anyone have scripted a worse start to free agency for the Bucs than what we’ve witnessed in the first few days? After finishing last season with seven losses in their final nine games and deciding to retain Todd Bowles as head coach—despite losing the confidence of many players—the Bucs have continued their downward spiral with a less-than-exciting series of transactions.

Bucs’ Head Coach Todd Bowles

In the past five months, the Bucs have gone from a promising 6-2 record to a disappointing 9-8, losing the division championship and missing the playoffs. They’ve let go of a few assistant coaches while keeping the head coach, and now, they’ve lost franchise legend Mike Evans. To top it off, there have been no big-name signings during the initial days of free agency. If you had told me we’d lose Evans, fail to trade for Maxx Crosby, and miss out on signing Trey Hendrickson, I would have asked, “Are we tanking for Arch Manning?”

What is this franchise doing? And please, don’t be the righteous fan who wants to analyze the salary cap and its restrictions. I just wanted one of three things to happen: retaining Evans was my first choice. Losing him, along with his salary, erases any goodwill longtime fans had. In that case, you better make a significant splash elsewhere, like acquiring Crosby or Hendrickson.

Many Bucs fans enjoy playing GM or cap analysts, claiming they can see a player’s skills declining or that fitting players under the salary cap is impossible. But that’s just a way to placate the recent Bucs narratives. This team seems risk-averse to everything. Is it due to orders from ownership? Is Jason Licht overly cautious about making mistakes? Or does the franchise feel it’s in a rebuild? I’m not sure, but I know it’s the wrong approach.

Bucs’ Jason Licht with ownership

We were fortunate to have Tom Brady and his crew restore a winning culture. It’s not an easy task—just look at how many franchises have never made it to a Super Bowl or are perpetually drafting in the top tier. Maintaining a winning team is easier than losing it and trying to rebuild.

We had the chance to solidify that winning culture over the last two years. Everyone always said our championship window had years left, but I’ve argued that every year is different, and the landscape changes. As former Bucs coach Tony Dungy once said, “If you aren’t getting better as a team, you’re getting worse.” We’ve been treading water for too long.

I’ve advocated for investing in one of football’s most critical positions—outside linebacker—while we’re still in our competitive window. Many felt it was merely a luxury and that we had players who would develop, or preferred to scrape the bottom of the barrel to find a player like Haason Reddick. Well, Bucs, you’ve missed your window and are sitting idly again this offseason in a crucial area.

Our draft position this year leaves us just outside the range of selecting an impact player who can produce in their rookie season. The top-tier prospects will be gone, and we’ll likely end up with the third or fourth-best inside or outside linebacker available. Hopefully, that works out, but it’s more likely that the pick benefits the next coach we hire to replace Bowles. If the team kept Bowles in hopes of squeezing out one last run with this version of the Bucs, why not go all-in? Otherwise, this will be a lame-duck season, and Bowles is not the type of coach to lead a rebuild.

I’m at a loss as to what the franchise is trying to accomplish. But I do know that because of their decisions and lack of action, there won’t be much confidence or excitement from the fan base this year. Rebuilding trust is far more challenging than maintaining momentum. Please wake up, Bucs! Don’t be happy with middle of the road. If you are, then all the leaders can go down with the ship.

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