2025 Season Review Another year where the NFC South proved to be the weakest division in the NFL. Another season when the Buccaneers were expected to be the strongest of the weakest and it looked this way for most of the year until a late season collapse. The year began with another offensive co-ordinator moving on to a head coaching role as Liam Coen took the job with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Josh Grizzard was quickly promoted to the OC role but most of the coaching staff remained intact. Players leaving the roster were not of a major concern, long-time DE William Gholston retiring after 12 seasons with the Buccaneers. The release of long-time back-up QB Kyle Trask in camp was something of a surprise though. To improve the pass rush, LB Haason Reddick was signed to a one-year $12M deal. Formerly a double-digit sack artist, an ill-advised contract holdout had seen him wear out of his welcome in Philadelphia and his 2024 season with the Jets was a real disappointment. The draft saw the Bucs go wide receiver in the 1st round which seemed to also be a surprise but when injuries hit early in the year, proved to be a godsend. Emeka Egbuka was the early favourite for Offensive Rookie of the Year but his performance fell away in the second half of the season. The defensive rookies, CBs Benjamin Morrison and Roscoe Parrish and DL Elijah Roberts were all excellent selections and LB David Walker was expected to do the same until a season-ending injury felled him in camp. Even 7th round pick WR Tez Johnson was a really worthwhile pick. 2025 was the 50th season of Buccaneer football and a lot of events took place to celebrate the anniversary including the Bucs wearing their original 1976 uniforms in the games against the Jets and Seahawks, both wins. Comeback victories were the name of the game early on as the Bucs jumped out to 5-1 and then 6-2 marks. Injuries decimated the offense at times with the likes of Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Bucky Irving all missing a number of games. The offensive line lost Tristan Wirfs and Luke Goedecke at times too, whilst Cody Mauch was placed on IR after just two games. But when the injured players returned, the offense began to lose its effectiveness. The defense kept allowing big plays at the worst moments and the lack of pass rush was evident throughout the season. Loss followed loss and the division title that seemingly seemed a formality became more of a concern. Four straight losses all by less than a score meant the playoffs were out of the Bucs’ hands going into the final week. A win over the Panthers on a wet afternoon in Tampa took the Bucs to 8-9 but Atlanta’s win over New Orleans the following day meant the Carolina won the NFC South on a tie-breaker. Todd Bowles kept his job but the cull of assistant coaches saw both offensive and special teams co-ordinators relieved of their positions as the Buccaneers missed the playoffs for the first time since 2019 and no NFC South division title after four straight successes.

PLAYERS OUT LB Shaq Barrett (retired) KJ Britt (UFA - Miami) P Jack Browning WR Marquez Callaway (UFA - S.Francisco) S Mike Edwards (UFA - Kansas City) CB Dallis Flowers (UFA - San Francisco) CB Tyrek Funderburk DE William Gholston (retired) DL Mike Greene LB Antonio Grier T Robert Hainsey (UFA - Jacksonville) CB Troy Hill (UFA - Carolina) WR Rakim Jarrett G Royce Newman (UFA - Arizona) WR Trey Palmer QB Michael Pratt LB Jose Ramirez LB JJ Russell (UFA - Arizona) T Justin Skule (UFA - Minnesota) DB Tavierre Thomas (UFA - Minnesota) QB Kyle Trask LB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka (UFA - Cleveland) PLAYERS IN QB Teddy Bridgewater (UFA - Detroit) P RIley Dixon (UFA - Denver) T Charlie Heck (UFA - San Francisco) G Michael Jordan OL Tyler McLellan LB Haason Reddick (UFA - NY Jets) CB Kindle Vildor (UFA - Detroit)