The Bucs had a chance to shake up a roster that has obvious questions on offense, but when the NFL trade deadline hit Tuesday at 4 p.m., they stayed put.
That fit the pattern for general manager Jason Licht, who has long preferred to keep his draft capital and rarely gets aggressive with in-season trades. It also came after head coach Todd Bowles acknowledged Monday that the receiver room is short on punch from a pure talent standpoint.
“Chemistry-wise, I would say, yes, we have enough firepower,” Bowles said Monday. “Talent-wise, we’re probably not. Production-wise, we’re not doing what we’ve been doing in the past, so we can pick it up a little at that position.”
A move for a receiver would have made sense on paper. Several wideouts were in the rumor mill, including Jacksonville’s Brian Thomas Jr. and the Colts’ Josh Downs. The Jaguars, though, reportedly had no intention of moving Thomas, and Downs ended up going to the Chiefs.
The Bucs also had players who could have attracted interest from other teams, including defensive tackle Vita Vea, who has one more year left on his contract. But Licht’s track record says plenty about how this deadline was likely to play out. In 13 seasons as Tampa Bay’s general manager, he has made only a handful of regular-season trades.
Those deals include sending safety Mark Barron to the Rams for fourth- and sixth-round picks in 2015, moving linebacker Jonathan Casillas and a sixth-round pick to the Patriots for a fifth-round pick in 2014, trading cornerback Johnthan Banks to the Lions for a conditional seventh-round pick in 2016, and sending a sixth-round pick to the Jets for defensive lineman Steve McLendon and a seventh-round pick in 2020.
That was the extent of it, and Tuesday didn’t add anything to the list.
The Bucs sit at 3-6, yet they’re still among the betting favorites to win the NFC South. They’re 2-0 in the division after beating the Panthers, 3-5, and Falcons, 3-6.
Their defense has carried them. Tampa Bay ranks among the league’s best on that side of the ball, leads the NFL in takeaways and rushing defense, and is allowing just 79.1 yards per game on the ground.
The problem has been the offense, now under new coordinator Zac Robinson. Baker Mayfield, who missed three games with a dislocated thumb, has not found his usual level.
In six games, he has completed 60.6% of his passes for 922 yards with three touchdown passes and four interceptions. The Bucs are 2-4 with Mayfield at quarterback, and he’s averaging a career-low 153.7 passing yards per game.
While Tampa Bay stood pat, other NFC South teams were busy. The Falcons dealt Pro Bowl safety Jessie Bates to the Jaguars for a second-round pick and a fifth-round pick, and the Saints sent defensive lineman Davon Godchaux to the Jaguars for a conditional sixth-rounder.
In Other News...
Bucs Made A Risky Deadline Choice At A Crucial Moment
With the NFL trade deadline passing and Tampa Bay sitting at a crossroads in its season, the Buccaneers opted for patience over action. Rather than reshaping the roster with a veteran addition or looking to cash in on an established piece, the team stood still, choosing not to make a move that would have signaled a bigger shift in direction.
That restraint was especially notable given the level of outside attention on the roster, with the Bucs still in position to chase the NFC South but not doing anything to materially change the group around them. It leaves Tampa Bay betting on the players already in the building to carry the stretch run, even as the deadline came and went with a chance to add future value or alter the balance of the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Buccaneers Have A David Walker Problem Fans Cant Ignore
Todd Bowles rotation off the edge against Chicago offered a revealing look at where the Buccaneers are right now. With Yaya Diaby out, the expectation was that David Walker would get a bigger chance to show what he can do after entering the game with four sacks, but Tampa Bay leaned on veteran Anthony Nelson next to rookie Rueben Bain Jr. instead. The setup made it clear the staff is still sorting out how it wants to develop its younger pass rushers while trying to keep the front productive in the moment.
Bain made his presence felt in a big way, helping swing the game with a forced fumble that set up Tampa Bays game-tying touchdown drive. That only sharpened the question around Walker, because the Buccaneers have reasons to want more from a player who has already flashed as a pass rusher. For a defense trying to build depth and find reliable answers while Diaby is sidelined, the way those snaps were handled stood out just as much as the plays themselves. [Read more 🡒]
Bucs Still Have A Real Shot To Save Their Season
At 3-6, the Buccaneers have spent most of the season trying to claw back into relevance, but the NFC South has kept the door open. Tampa Bay is still within striking distance of the division lead, sitting just half a game back, and the path ahead is far from impossible. The schedule does them plenty of favors, too, with a stretch that includes the Lions, Chargers, Ravens and Saints, plus four of the final eight games coming against division opponents.
The next few weeks will go a long way toward deciding whether this turns into a late-season push or another missed opportunity. A favorable slate only matters if Tampa Bay can take advantage of it, and there are enough tests ahead to make the margin for error thin. The Ravens game after the bye stands out as one of the most intriguing on the calendar, especially with the kind of uncertainty that can change a matchup before it even gets here. [Read more 🡒]