FAB 3. McDonald Embracing Role As Bucs’ Super Sub

One of the big changes in Mike Smith’s defensive scheme this year in Tampa Bay is the arrival of big, 320-pound defensive tackle Chris Baker, who will supplant Clinton McDonald as the team’s starting nose tackle next to five-time Pro Bowl three-technique tackle Gerald McCoy. This is all part of Smith’s plan to get bigger up front to help stop the run on early downs.

McDonald, who is one of the most respected players at One Buccaneer Place, and a former team captain in 2015, is as team-first as they come. Instead of starting at nose tackle this year, his role will be to back up not only Baker, but also McCoy as the first defensive tackle off the bench at either nose tackle or three-tech. McDonald, who has done his part by gaining 10 pounds of muscle this offseason and is up over 300 pounds, showed what he could do as a pass rusher last year when he recorded 1.5 sacks against Denver in place of McCoy, who missed the second half of that game with an injury.

Bucs DT Clinton McDonald – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“It’s just me trying to contribute the team the best way I know how,” McDonald said. “Chris Baker coming in doesn’t really affect my snaps from my understanding where we all going to rotate and we all going to rotate throughout the season that way we can go long in the playoffs.”

While Smith doesn’t like to rotate and substitute his cornerbacks during games, he has given the green light to defensive line coach Jay Hayes to substitute freely in order to keep the big guys fresh over four quarters and 16 weeks.

“Clinton is an all-around guy,” Hayes said. “I have a long history with Clinton. I drafted Clinton [in Cincinnati], so I have a lot of respect for his game. Basically, he’s going to play both nose and three-technique for us. His reps will not diminish whatsoever.

“One of the things that Chris mentioned to us was in Washington they never game him a rest. That’s one thing I’ve always tried to do is to roll my guys so they can play and be fresh and go [in the fourth quarter].”

The plan is for McDonald, who had 36 tackles and 3.5 sacks in 12 games last year, to get in a three-man rotation where he is on the field about 30-40 percent of the time on first and second downs, perhaps replacing McCoy a little more than usual on those downs to keep McCoy fresh for third downs because he is part of Tampa Bay’s nickel rush package. Although he is embracing his new role, playing both tackle positions, it’s not like McDonald doesn’t want to still be considered a starter.

“I don’t think you can even ask a guy out here, ‘Would you like to start?’ and they will say, ‘No,’” McDonald said. “But at the same time, it goes to the coaches and what they feel is what’s best for the team. My role here is to add what I bring to the table and help out where every they need me.”

Bucs DT Clinton McDonald – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Because Baker skipped so many voluntary OTA practices this offseason, he’s a bit behind, and the coaches rewarded McDonald for attending all the OTAs by keeping him in the starting lineup for the mandatory mini-camp. While he’s fine being Hayes’ “super sub” this year, he’s not going to relinquish the starting nose tackle job without a fight. That’s fine with head coach Dirk Koetter and Smith, who plan on starting the best 11 defenders.

“I think the biggest thing with Dirk and Mike is the word ‘compete,’” McDonald said. “It’s not just competing with the guy next to you, but just competing with yourself and try to be better each and every day by trying to expanding upon your talent and maximizing your possibilities and capabilities as a football player.”

The old manta in football is that whenever a player is on the field, he’s essentially a starter. So whether McDonald has his name announced in the stadium as he runs out of the tunnel and lines up next to McCoy on the game’s first snap, or whether he doesn’t see action until the second defensive series, he’s going to be ready. McDonald is the ultimate professional.

“That’s how it is and that’s the mentality here no matter what the roster says,” McDonald said. “No matter when you on the field, you are a starter. You have to play to that level and that potential as a player on the field.”

By being more of a rotational player, Hayes hopes to keep McDonald healthier in 2017. McDonald missed three games in his first season with the Bucs in which he recorded a career-high 46 tackles, five sacks and two fumble recoveries in 2014. In 2015, McDonald only played in the first six games of the season before injuries hit again, but he recorded 31 tackles, averaging five stops per game. Last year, a hamstring injury in warm-ups after a rain delay against Denver caused him to miss four games.

Bucs DT Clinton McDonald – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

With a starting-caliber player like McDonald subbing in for McCoy and Baker, there won’t be much drop off in play – if any – when the eighth-year veteran is on the field. McDonald, who spent his first three years in Seattle winning a Super Bowl title prior to coming to the Buccaneers, loves the newfound depth along the defensive line in Tampa Bay.

“The depth is amazing,” McDonald said. “The talent reminds me of when I was younger and I was playing in Seattle and you had a lot of guys contribute a lot of guys where mature, but not too old. It’s the same way over here.

“You’ve got a lot of guys that are very mature – Kwon Alexander is going into his third year, Noah Spence is going into his second year, guys like that who were contributing early in their careers and allowing themselves to be major part of the club. It’s amazing to see everyone working well together, and getting that chemistry that allows team to go deep in to the playoffs and make Super Bowl runs.”

Smith and Hayes will be counting on McDonald to be a super sub as Tampa Bay tries to make a Super Bowl push in 2017.