2024 Season Review Once again the NFC South was regarded as one of the weakest divisions in the NFL with the Bucs supposedly competing in the pre- season rankings with the Atlanta Falcons, now coached by former Bucs’ head coach Raheem Morris. The Panthers had employed former Bucs OC Dave Canales meaning the vacancy leading the offense was filled by Liam Coen. The main loss in free agency was not that much of a loss. Devin White had been a Pro Bowler but had worn out his welcoms in Tampa and had been benched late in the 2023 season. He signed a one-year deal with Philadelphia, took to social media to proclaim how glad he was to be out of Tampa but then never even made it through a season with the Eagles. The Bucs made only minor moves signing players themselves but the arrival of Ben Brederson to take over the left guard position was one of necessity and turned out to be an excellent move. Former Buc Jordan Whitehead returned for a second stint in the Tampa secondary but the other moves were minor back-up ones. But when it came to the 2024 draft, Jason Licht and his personnel team nailed it once again. The first round brought the best center in the draft, Graham Barton, who made the position his own early in training camp. WR Jalen McMillan became a star in the second half of the seaspn but the real star was RB Bucky Irving who had highlight runs all season and reached the 1,000-yard mark despite only starting three games. The backfield was in solid hands with Irving, holdover Rachaad White and third-stringer Sean Tucker and the run concepts Liam Coen brought to the table saw the Bucs jump from last to a top five rushing offense. The starting line only missed six games all year with Tristan Wirfs becoming the first player in NFL history to earn All-Pro honours at both left and right tackle. The receiving corps took a massive hit in October when Mike Evans was stopped in his tracks by a hamstring pull and Chris Godwin was lost for the season with a terrible ankle injury. This came in the middle of a four-game losing streak that saw the Bucs fall from 4-2 and in control of the divison to 4-6 and two games back of the Falcons. Two losses to Atlanta as well as an overtime loss on the road on Monday Night Football to the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs saw the social media heat on the coaching staff reach fever pitch. But the Buccaneers were made of sterner stuff and they came back from their bye week needing to come close to running the table in their final seven games to make the post-season. And that they did going 6-1 albeit with wins over some of the weaker members of the NFL. The win over the Chargers was a dominating performance on the road but losing to Dallas did look to be a potential season-wrecker. But the Falcons lost to Washington in the penultimate week and wins over Carolina and New Orleans saw the Bucs take their fourth straight NFC South division title. The playoffs were unfortunately one and done. The Bucs had beaten the Washington Commanders in the opening week of the season when rookie QB Jayden Daniels looked every part a rookie in his first pro start. By January, he was one of the most dangerous offensive threats in the league. It was a fumble deep in Buc territory that turned the game in the fourth quarter and after the Bucs had tied the scores with just over four minutes remaining, one long Washington drive led to a winning fieldgoal going through off the right upright and Tampa Bay was dumped from the post-season at the first hurdle for the second time in three years.

TRADES 11 Mar 24 Traded CB Carlton Davis, a 2024 6th round pick and a 2025 6th round pick to the Detroit Lions for a 2024 3rd round pick.

PLAYERS OUT CB Dee Delaney G Matt Feiler LB Cam Gill S Richard LeCounte G Nick Leverett (UFA - New England) WR David Moore (UFA - Carolina) DE Patrick O’Connor CB Derrek Pitts DL Deadrin Senat G Aaron Stinnie (UFA - NY Giants) WR Deven Thompkins T Brandon Walton TE David Wells LB Devin White (UFA - Philadelphia) QB John Wolford PLAYERS IN G Ben Brederson (UFA - NY Giants) LS Evan Deckers CB Tyrek Funderburk LB Antonio Grier CB Bryce Hall (UFA - NY Jets) WR Kameron Johnson G Royce Newman (Waivers - Green Bay) WR Sterling Shepard (UFA - NY Giants) DL Ben Stille DB Tavierre Thomas (UFA - Houston) S Jordan Whitehead (UFA - NY Jets)