SR’s Fab 5: Bucs Should Have BIG Chips On Their Shoulders

SR’s Fab 5 is a collection of reporting and analysis on the Bucs from yours truly, Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds. Here are four things that caught my attention this week, plus some random tidbits in my Buc Shots section at the end. Enjoy!

SR’s Fab 5 is presented by Age Rejuvenation
“Tampa And Orlando’s Premier Men’s Health And Wellness Clinic”

It’s time to feel healthy, young, sexy and alive – with Age Rejuvenation.

Personal note from SR: I turned 50 last year and began my weight loss and anti-aging regimen with Age Rejuvenation. I’ll keep you posted with my results and encourage you to get a FREE consultation today – AND SAVE $500 off your initial treatment by mentioning Pewter Report.

FAB 1. Bucs Should Enter 2023 With A Big Chip On Their Shoulders

The Bucs suck – again. There’s no way they can win without Tom Brady, right?

ESPN’s latest power rankings have Tampa Bay as the 29th-ranked team in the league. Expect a last-place finish in the NFC South this year, the “experts” say.

Vegas has put the over/under on the number of Bucs wins in 2023 at 6.5. No NFC South team had fewer than seven wins last year.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Not only is head coach Todd Bowles on the hot seat, he’s a dead man walking.

That’s what the outside world is telling the men in red and pewter.

Don’t even bother suiting up for the 2023 season, Buccaneers. It’s futile. It’s over before it’s begun.

What I’m going to tell you – and what Bowles should tell his team at the start of the offseason – is beware of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this year.

No team should have a bigger chip on its shoulder than the Bowles-led Bucs.

If I’m Bowles, I’m collecting every negative social media post, every story, every ranking and every clip from every sports talking head show that bashes the Bucs to make my team aware that there is zero faith in this team outside of its own building. Bowles scoffed at the notion the Bucs can’t win without Brady and defended the talent that Tampa Bay has on the team in 2023 at the NFL Annual Meeting earlier this week.

“I feel very energized,” Bowles said. “I feel very energized because it’s the unknown and we do have very good players on our team. I look forward to those guys stepping up and making a difference.”

Nothing rallies the troops like collective doubt. Nothing emboldens a team like collective faith.

The “us against the world” approach is tried and true in football and in every other sport.

And the truth is, there should be enough leadership, enough talent, enough playoff and championship experience and enough pride on this football team to come together even without Bowles sending that “circle the wagons” message.

Bucs ILB Devin White – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

As much as Brady was beloved by the Tampa Bay players and fans and was the catalyst for a Super Bowl championship and back-to-back division titles, the Bucs would love to prove that they can win without him. Just like Brady was eager to prove he could win a Super Bowl without Bill Belichick when he chose to play in Tampa Bay in 2020.

The Bucs should have plenty of players with chips on their shoulders. There’s already plenty of fuel for Tampa Bay’s fire from last year’s 8-9 season.

Cornerback Carlton Davis III got a huge contract extension last year and missed four games and dropped more interceptions than he made. After signing a lucrative extension where he averages $17 million per season, Shaq Barrett had just three sacks in eight games before getting hurt. At age 30 and coming off a torn Achilles, Barrett needs to return to form this year or risk being cut after the 2023 season.

Linebacker Lavonte David returns to Tampa Bay making $5.5 million less this season after a softer-than-expected market for his services in free agency. Devin White is entering his fifth-year option and wants to be the highest-paid inside linebacker in the league. Safety Antoine Winfield Jr. is also entering a contract year.

The word “bust” is looming for former first-round pass rusher Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and it will stick if he keeps missing sacks and doesn’t approach double-digit sacks in his third year in Tampa Bay. Defensive tackle Logan Hall and offensive lineman Luke Goedeke need to step up in 2023 to avoid the potential “bust” label themselves.

Center Ryan Jensen also got a massive contract extension last offseason and missed the entire regular season due to a knee injury on the second day of training camp. Jensen is eager to come back with a vengeance and make up for lost time.

Bucs WR Mike Evans – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Wide receiver Chris Godwin got paid an average of $20 million per season, but it took him half the year to really start to recover and show some of his old form prior to his knee injury in 2021. While Mike Evans topped 1,000 yards for a ninth straight season, he only had six touchdowns after catching a team-record 14 in 2021 and 13 TDs during the 2020 season.

Russell Gage, a big free agent signing a year ago, was injured most of the season with a torn hamstring and had to take a pay cut from $10 million to $7 million this offseason. He has a chance to make back some of that money by hitting some incentives.

New quarterback Baker Mayfield is on his fourth team in one calendar year and is officially considered a journeyman. This could be his last chance to be viewed as a starting-caliber QB if he doesn’t succeed in Tampa Bay. Perhaps no one will have a bigger chip than Mayfield.

Unless you count Kyle Trask. The former second-round pick has essentially redshirted the last two seasons in Tampa Bay and has already peppered with “bust” and “wasted pick” comments from fans. The addition of Mayfield has already made some write off Trask in a QB competition that hasn’t even started yet.

That’s a lot of players with a lot to prove. Most Buccaneers didn’t play their best football as individuals. And coming off an 8-9 season – 8-10 including the playoff loss to Dallas – Tampa Bay didn’t play its best football as a team. That alone should be enough for a bounce-back season.

The Bucs will be without Brady this year, but the team still has five players on defense who have been to at least one Pro Bowl in Winfield, David, White, Barrett and Vita Vea. All five helped the Bucs win a Super Bowl. On offense, the Bucs return four players with Pro Bowl experience in Evans, Godwin, Jensen and Tristan Wirfs. All four were also key contributors during the Super Bowl LV season.

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“Any time you [lose] a guy like that you think it’s a down thing, but it’s really not,” Bowles said of Brady’s retirement. “You kind of have to look at it like … I’m a big basketball guy. When LeBron [James] went down, the Lakers stepped up. You kind of have to look at them (James and Brady) in the icon category like that. But if you have the right kind of people on your team, you’re going to have to win some games without your star. That’s how I look at it.”

Bucs vice president of player personnel John Spytek spoke for the scouting side of the organization. He echoed Bowles’ sentiments about the Bucs being up for challenge of bouncing back in 2023 and playing better football – even without Brady.

“We’re excited,” Spytek said. “We’re approaching this from a standpoint like we’re excited. This is a chance to redefine ourselves. To do some things different. We have a lot of really good players still.

“Obviously when you lose – in our opinion – the greatest quarterback of all time, things are going to look and feel a lot different. But we’ve got a bunch of young guys that we’ve drafted the last couple of years that have, number one, either proven themselves already, or are chomping at the bit to get more of an opportunity to prove themselves.”

Don’t count out the Bucs. Not yet.

FAB 2. Dave Canales Is Exactly The OC Todd Bowles Wants

Make no mistake. Bucs head coach Todd Bowles wants nothing to do with Tampa Bay’s offense.

That’s new offensive coordinator Dave Canales’ domain. Even though Canales has no experience calling plays or being an offensive coordinator in the college or pro ranks, Bowles isn’t going to meddle on that side of the ball. His focus will remain on Tampa Bay’s defense, as it should be.

Bucs OC Byron Leftwich and HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

But Bowles finally has a play-caller in place who sees the game the same way he does. Bowles and former offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich were at odds for most of the season as Leftwich too often abandoned the run and relied far too much on the aging right arm of 45-year old quarterback Tom Brady. When the Bucs did run the ball, it was too predictable and typically on first downs.

“Coach Bowles, he wants to play a style of football that I know,” Canales said. “So creating a tough style of football, and knowing that’s what he wanted – he wanted the marriage and the balance of the run and the pass. He wanted a guy that is going to come in and keep it simple and teach it well.”

Gone is Bruce Arians’ antiquated and complex vertical passing game that featured several choice routes that required the receivers and quarterback to be on the same page. When the Bucs could out-talent opponents with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Antonio Brown and Rob Gronkowski, the offense put up 30 points per game.

When Brown left, Gronkowski and Pro Bowl left guard Ali Marpet retired and Pro Bowl center Ryan Jensen suffered a severe knee injury, Leftwich failed to adapt and the Bucs’ scoring fell to just 18 points per game.

Canales’ offense is more QB-friendly and easier to learn. It features more plays run out of the same formation with the same personnel groupings to make it less predictable and harder to defend.

Another sticking point on offense was Leftwich too often relying on veteran players. Rookie Rachaad White was clearly faster and more dynamic than veteran Leonard Fournette. Yet, Fournette had 60 more carries and 25 more targets in the passing game than the rookie had last year.

Rookie tight end Cade Otton got 28 more targets than veteran tight end Cam Brate received, but that was mostly due to Brate missing six games due to injury more than anything. Bowles is excited about the team getting bigger contributions from last year’s draft class in 2023.

Bucs OC Dave Canales – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“I think the guys that have the ability are having the chance to play this year,” Bowles said. “You’ll see more of Rachaad White. You’ll see more of Cade Otton. You’ll see more of Luke Goedeke. You’ll see more of these guys.

“You kind of know what Mike and Chris, Jensen and Tristan and all those guys are going to do. But we have other guys that can really play football. I look forward to building a team and adding guys to that mix to help us win.”

Bowles likes the fact that Canales embraces young talent, and was high on players like White, Otton and even quarterback Kyle Trask in the draft over the years.

“It’s not easy, but you have to change your system and at the same time, it has to be more team play,” Bowles said. “You want to win, but at the same time you have to get young guys in to help you.

“You can’t just have an established vet at every position, and say, ‘Okay, we’re going to continue from there.’ We’ve got to be smart money-wise, shedding it and spending it. We have to draft well. We have to get some key free agents in. We’ll build from there.”

In a season where the Bucs are salary cap-strapped, Tampa Bay will have to rely on several members from last year’s draft class and the yet-to-be drafted rookies this year to really produce. Both Bowles and Canales are in lockstep about that approach.

And that’s a good thing after the dysfunction that occurred last year on offense.

FAB. 3 Bucs May Wait To Give Devin White A Contract Extension

Bucs general manager Jason Licht has a responsibility to the franchise to have one eye on the present-day football team and one eye toward the future. That’s one reason why Tampa Bay could hold off on giving inside linebacker Devin White a contract extension this season.

White, the Bucs’ first-round selection and fifth overall pick in 2019, had his fifth-year option picked up by the team. He’ll make $11.706 million in 2023 and then Tampa Bay will have a big decision to make.

Bucs ILB Devin White – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

How big? Try over $20 million per season.

White wants to become the highest-paid linebacker in football, topping Roquan Smith, who received a contract extension from Baltimore worth $20 million per year. The Bucs, who desperately need some salary cap space, could lower White’s salary in 2023 with an extension and save millions of cap room.

But the Bucs are wise in holding off from nearly doubling his salary until he shows he can be a more consistent playmaker over the span of an entire season. White was criticized by Hall of Famer and Bucs legend Warren Sapp as well as Pewter Report for sub-par play against the Ravens in Week 8 and a few other games.

To his credit, White played much better football consistently down the stretch. White had a good year with 124 tackles, which was tied for most on the team, in addition to 5.5 sacks, which was tied for second in Tampa Bay. The team captain also led the Bucs with three fumble recoveries and forced two fumbles.

So how do White’s numbers stack up with Smith’s? Actually, pretty favorably.

Smith, who was a first-round pick in 2018, has 693 tackles, 23 pass breakups, 18.5 sacks and eight interceptions in his career, in addition to one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He averages 138 tackles per year.

White has played one fewer year, but 483 tackles, 15 pass breakups, 20.5 sacks and just one interception. But White has six forced fumbles and nine fumble recoveries, including two for touchdowns. He averages 120 tackles per year, but has made more splash plays outside of Smith’s eight interceptions.

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles and ILB Devin White – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

In addition to waiting to see if White can deliver an even better, more consistent year, the Bucs could be waiting to give him an extension for another important reason. There is a reality in which Bowles gets fired if Tampa Bay underwhelms and finishes with six wins or less.

Bowles has a blind spot for White, who can just about do no wrong in his eyes. As long as Bowles is the head coach in Tampa Bay, White will be his play-making inside linebacker.

But if Bowles gets fired, the decision to re-sign White could fall on the lap of the new head coach, and Licht, of course. Paying any player $20 million or more per season is a huge investment and will take up a considerable chunk of Tampa Bay’s salary cap. A new head coach might want to allocate those resources in another direction.

So, White will need to have his best year in 2023. Not only to land a massive payday for himself, but to make sure that it happens in Tampa Bay with Bowles as his head coach.

FAB. 4 Five Bucs Who Could Wear No. 0

One of the bigger developments from the NFL Annual Meeting is that the league adopted the use of the No. 0 jersey number. For some fans, jersey numbers are important.

Like really important.

Bucs fans are dying to know if Baker Mayfield will claim No. 6, his jersey number from his days at Oklahoma and Cleveland. He has not been assigned a jersey number by the Bucs as of Friday, March 31.

What if Mayfield wanted to claim No. 0? Mayfield certainly has enough swagger to wear that number and become the first Buccaneer to do so. He tops my list of players who could rock No. 0.

QB Baker Mayfield

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

For Mayfield, the zero would be a constant reminder that the Bucs would want him to throw zero interceptions in every game. Both head coach Todd Bowles and offensive coordinator Dave Canales are big on protecting the ball. Perhaps wearing No. 0 would help Mayfield in that regards. Another 21-interception season like Mayfield had in 2019 would sink the Bucs’ ship.

RB Chase Edmonds

With Rachaad White changing his number to No. 1 this offseason now that Jaelon Darden has departed, Edmonds wearing No. 0 makes sense. Running backs always look good in single digits. Now if the Bucs can convince Ke’Shawn Vaughn to pick a single digit jersey number, perhaps No. 3, Tampa Bay’s running backs could start a single digit trend.

K Chase McLaughlin

Like newcomers Mayfield and Edmonds, McLaughlin has yet to be assigned a jersey number. The number zero would be perfect for the Bucs’ new kicker, assuming he wins the job. Tampa Bay would want him to miss zero kicks per game. And with his big leg, zero kicks would be out of his range.

OLB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka

Bucs OLB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Tryon-Shoyinka already rocks a single-digit number with No. 9. That’s pretty cool. But No. 0 would look even cooler on the long, athletic edge rusher. Maybe No. 0 would encourage Tryon-Shoyinka to miss zero sacks this season and finally leave the four-sack plateau he’s been living on the last two years in Tampa Bay. In his first two seasons with the Bucs, he’s unfortunately missed as many sacks as he’s made.

TE Ko Kieft

Kieft was dealt a bad hand from the start. Number 41?! Just awful. It’s probably the worst number a player could be issued. In the history of the NFL, only Eugene Robinson, Charlie Waters, Alvin Kamara, Terence Newman, Antoine Bethea and Keith Byars did anything with No. 41. I would have no problem if Kieft were to be given No. 0 as a make-good by the Bucs.

Others who deserved consideration were tight end Cade Otton and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. Otton has two Os in his last name, but he’s already wearing No. 88, which is a great number and he looks good wearing it.

As for Winfield, No. 31 is a bad number, not as bad as No. 41, but not super cool. Yet, Winfield won a Super Bowl as a rookie with No. 31, as well as making a Pro Bowl with it the following year. So let’s not mess up a good thing.

FAB 5. SR’s Buc Shots

• TURN FAILURE INTO FUEL: Even though new Bucs offensive coordinator Dave Canales wasn’t in Tampa Bay last year, he knows the Bucs underwhelmed with an 8-9 record and a playoff loss, despite winning the NFC South. Canales had a great, motivational tweet earlier this week. His intended target was certainly his Bucs players.

• BUCS – JETS JOINT PRACTICES AREN’T SET YET: There was a report out of the NFL Annual Meeting that the Bucs would be holding joing practices with the Jets and playing New York in the preseason. But Tampa Bay officials tell Pewter Report that is not certain, and it is just a request sent in by the team to the NFL. The league has to approve any and all of the requests for joint practices and preseason scheduling, and has not done so as of yet.

If the Bucs were to practice against the Jets (and soon-to-be quarterback Aaron Rodgers) it would take place in New York and the Bucs would have an away game against the Jets. After having two home games last preseason, Tampa Bay will have two away preseason games this year. The other one could happen in Miami. Both the Dolphins and Bucs had joint practices in Tampa last year and Miami was one of Tampa Bay’s home preseason games.

THIS WEEK’S PEWTER REPORT PODCASTS

• BUCS FREE AGENCY ANALYSIS ON THE PEWTER REPORT PODCAST: The Pewter Report Podcast is energized by CELSIUS and broadcasts four live episodes each week. We’re in the offseason now, so PR Podcasts will typically be featured on Mondays and Tuesdays at 4:00 p.m. ET and Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:00 p.m. ET. Subscribe to PewterReportTV on YouTube and click on notifications and you’ll be informed about when the next podcast will be broadcast.

Matt Matera, Scott Reynolds and Josh Queipo discussed whether or not the Bucs defense can prevent a drop off on Monday.

Matera and Reynolds analyzed what Todd Bowles said at the NFL Annual Meeting and Pewter Report’s latest Bucs mock draft on Tuesday.

Matera and special guest James Hill talked about how the Bucs might be getting overlooked this year on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Reynolds and Adam Slivon talked about how the Bucs could get some real value in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Watch the Pewter Report Podcasts live on our PewterReportTV channel on YouTube.com and please subscribe (it’s free) and add your comments. We archive all Pewter Report Podcasts. So, you can watch the recorded episodes if you missed them live.

There is no better time to listen to or watch a new Pewter Report Podcast – energized by CELSIUS – than Friday afternoon on the way home from work. Or early Saturday morning during your workout or while running errands.

The popularity of the Pewter Report Podcast continues to grow. In addition to listening to the Pewter Report Podcasts on PewterReport.com, you can also subscribe to the free podcasts at PodBean by clicking here and on SoundCloud by clicking here. And of course, the Pewter Report Podcast is also available on iTunes and YouTube. Make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss a single episode.