The Buccaneers' Biggest Roster Hole That Still Hasn’t Been Addressed

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have made some solid, though unspectacular, additions so far in free agency.

Former Detroit Lions and New Orleans Saints veteran linebacker Alex Anzalone agreed to join the Bucs on a two-year, $17 million contract. The Bucs also signed journeyman running back Kenneth Gainwell to a two-year, $14 million deal.

Both of these additions address a clearly defined need on the roster as it's currently constructed.

Anzalone fills a major need at the inside linebacker position for the Bucs. Although many would have preferred the team make a bigger splash by going after a younger, higher-upside type of player like Devin Lloyd, who signed a surprisingly reasonable 3-year, $45 million contract with their NFC South rivals, the Carolina Panthers, the Bucs instead opted to add a more affordable player with loads of experience but modest upside.

Gainwell also fills a clear need, with the Buccaneers ultimately conceding that they are okay to lose both Rachaad White and Sean Tucker in free agency. Gainwell will serve as a nice third-down back for the Buccaneers. He has plenty of juice still left in the tank as a runner, exceptional receiving skills and he is more than adequate in pass protection.

Although the Bucs have already lost two longtime starters at important positions in WR Mike Evans and CB Jamel Dean, the team has enough depth at those spots to not feel extreme desperation to find their replacements in free agency.

Tampa Bay desperately needs an impact edge rusher

Nov 30, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby (98) during the first half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' biggest roster hole that still hasn't been addressed is the edge rusher position.

The Bucs' lack of urgency to address the edge position so far this offseason has been perplexing, to say the least. Despite openly acknowledging the team's need to improve on defense, GM Jason Licht has done nothing to improve the most important position on that side of the ball.

Although Yaya Diaby provided the team with seven sacks in 2025, the next best sack producer at the position was rotational veteran pass rusher Anthony Nelson, who had three on the year. Anyone with a pulse knew that the Buccaneers needed to be aggressive in the offseason in attempting to add some combination of size, athleticism and production to their collection of edge rushers.

So far, that hasn't happened.

Licht has stood pat as most of the big-name free agent pass rushers on the market (and there weren't many to begin with) have been scooped up by other teams. Trey Hendrickson, Jaelan Phillips and K'Lavon Chaisson have all agreed to terms with their new teams over the first 2.5 days of NFL free agency.

Is the draft a realistic option to solve the Bucs' pass rushing woes?

Feb 24, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Based on Licht's history of prioritizing the draft over free agency, it isn't the biggest surprise to see the Bucs' GM stand pat during the opening phase of free agency. That being said, Licht's recent history of drafting edge rushers has not been good.

The highest draft capital invested by Licht into the edge rusher position over the last several years was a second-round pick, which he's done twice, most recently in 2024 when he drafted Chris Braswell, and in 2022 when he drafted Logan Hall, a defensive end who the Buccaneers tended to play inside. Those two players combined for just 2.5 sacks last season. As a free agent, Hall was not retained by the Buccaneers and instead signed with the Houston Texans earlier this week. Braswell, on the other hand, has shown no tangible progress over the first two seasons, where he looks completely overmatched by the NFL competition he faces each week.

Although Licht did hit on Diaby in 2023 as a third-round pick, Licht's edge rusher draft resume gets even worse when you dig deeper. The only time Licht used a first-round pick on an edge rusher as the GM of the Bucs was in 2021, when he drafted Joe Tryon-Shoyinka out of Washington. JTS never came close to making a legitimate impact for the Buccaneers, was given up on by the Browns and is now suiting up for the Chicago Bears — his third team in the past two years.

With the Buccaneers slated to pick 15th overall in the first round of this year's draft, the edge rusher options will be very limited based on this year's crop of pass rushers. Many believe that, beyond the top few prospects like David Bailey, Reuben Bain and Arvell Reese (who may be better suited as an off-ball linebacker anyway), the quality of prospects will be very comparable across the next couple of rounds.

Final thoughts

Historically, Licht has always preferred to attack his team's weaknesses through the draft as opposed to free agency. Unfortunately, his track record when it comes to drafting edge rushers has been extremely poor.

Considering the fact that the Buccaneers' greatest need right now is, without question, the edge rusher position, Licht's lack of activity during the opening few days of free agency has been alarming. Not only did he bypass an opportunity to trade for Maxx Crosby, but when Mike Evans unexpectedly departed in free agency, opening up a substantial amount of additional cash to work with, he didn't make a serious push to sign Hendrickson.

For a team that desperately needs to add an impact edge rusher to the roster, Licht's unwillingness to add to the position in free agency, combined with his poor track record of drafting the position, leaves little room for optimism among the Buccaneers' fanbase.

Whatever Licht's plan is to add an impact edge rusher to his football team, it needs to take shape in a hurry. If not, his reputation with the Buccaneers faithful will continue to plummet.

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