Emerging Buccaneers starter named offseason surprise by ESPN

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had what many considered a volatile linebacking corps heading into the 2025 offseason. but they trust one of their young defensive players to be a big contributor.

The Bucs drafted linebacker SirVocea Dennis out of Pitt in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, but since then, he hasn't gotten a lot of playtime. This is mostly due to injury, as he recently underwent surgery for a lingering shoulder injury he's had since college, but he's only played in 17 games across two years and started in none of them. Dennis was set to be a coverage-down linebacker to complement KJ Britt last season, but the surgery on his shoulder saw him out for the season after just four games.

Now, though, he's set to start alongside Lavonte David at linebacker, and he's already been making plays. ESPN recently released a list of 32 players, one from each team, that have been a training camp surprise — and reporter Jenna Laine went with Dennis, who has shown out in camp so far.

"The Bucs only caught a glimpse of Dennis due to a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 4, and the middle of the field was quite vulnerable last season as a result. But he had one of the most impressive offseasons of any Bucs defender," Laine wrote.

Dennis has indeed had a strong offseason so far. He had a nice interception on quarterback Baker Mayfield during OTAs, and he's also been swarming to the ballcarrier on run plays as well. Head coach Todd Bowles and fellow linebackers Anthony Walker and Lavonte David have all been complimentary of his work so far, and he's set to have the biggest role in this defense he's had yet in 2025.

“The fact that he’s been here two years – he understands how it works and what to do," Bowles said of Dennis earlier this year. "Just the experience and him being out on the field every day and staying healthy will help him a great deal. I don’t worry about him from the game getting too big for him standpoint. He understands everything, he knows how to play, and right now, he’s in the best shape he’s been in since he’s been here.”

Dennis will get to learn from great players like David as he looks to take over a starting role, but he's already been showing out as football begins to ramp back up again.

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