Now that the draft is behind us, could the Bucs add more pieces?
With the 2025 NFL Draft officially in the books, the Buccaneers offseason additions are largely done. We now have a clearer view of their roster and where the team’s strengths and weaknesses are.
Tampa Bay is trying to take that next step of being a contender and while their roster is a strong one, that doesn’t mean there aren’t spots they could improve. The bulk of free agency is in the rear-view mirror and most of the top guys have signed, but there are still quality names available that could help the Bucs.
EDGE Za’Darius Smith
One of the positions that analysts and fans alike labeled as a potential need for Tampa Bay heading into the draft was an edge rusher. The team added veteran Haason Reddick in free agency but still may have needed an extra boost. Tampa elected to wait until the 4th round to select a pass rusher in David Walker out of Central Arkansas. With Walker in the mix, the Bucs have addressed the need, but perhaps they could use another vet at that spot.
Za’Darius Smith was released by the Detroit Lions back in March after a productive run in Detroit after being traded there from Cleveland. In eight games with the Lions Smith totaled four sacks. He had five sacks with Cleveland before being moved, so he’s had production recently.
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The 32-year-old pass rusher has had three seasons with double digit sacks, his last one being in 2022. Those days may be behind him, but it’s clear he’s still an effective edge defender and someone teams eyeing pass rush help may look to. Could that team be Tampa Bay? If the team doesn’t feel 100% comfortable with who they have right now, they could look to explore that option.
ILB Ja’whaun Bentley
Like Smith, Bentley was also a player who was released in March. After seven seasons in New England, the Patriots decided to release the 28-year-old. Bentley was a four-time team captain on New England’s defense and was a pretty productive player during his time there.
Now there are some concerns with Bentley. He tore his pec early in the 2024 season which caused him to miss the rest of the year after only playing two games and one of the reasons he was released by New England was reportedly a failed physical. If Bentley isn’t healthy enough to be on the football field, then his value isn’t much to a team needing linebackers. If he’s healthy though, Bentley could be someone to take a risk on with a one year deal.
The Bucs did decide to take an edge rusher in the draft and fill a need, but they didn’t draft a single inside linebacker and that was considered by many a bigger need than pass rush help. With the Bucs not selecting a linebacker to pair with Lavonte David at all, it begs the question as to whether or not Tampa Bay will look to the free agent market.
ILB C.J. Mosley
Speaking of inside linebackers with injury concerns, Mosley was a top name in the league when it came to the linebacker position for a few years, mostly with Baltimore before he signed a big contract as a free agent with the New York Jets. It didn’t really work out in New York though as Mosley was often injured and just could never stay on the field enough. He was released by the Jets earlier this offseason. However, when he did play, he was a tackling machine having 103 solo tackles in 2021 and 99 solo tackles the following year. The 32-year-old linebacker only appeared in four games in 2024 before a herniated disc impacted the rest of his season.
Mosley is someone the Bucs could definitely check in on as a stop gap option for this season, but beyond that there would still be questions surrounding the future of linebacker in Tampa. Mosley is going to be 33 when the season begins and with the number of injuries he’s sustained, it would be a risk but perhaps like Bentley, being on a cheap, one year deal would lower the risk enough and make the potential reward worth it.
According to Spotrac, Tampa Bay currently has about 32.5 million dollars in cap space, so the money won’t be a problem for the Bucs. If they want any of these guys or even someone not mentioned here, they would likely be able to get them as none of them will likely cost too much at this point in the offseason. Jason Licht and co seem to be pretty comfortable where they are at with the roster, but I think even Licht would tell you they are constantly looking for ways to improve the team and perhaps adding a free agent now that the draft is over would do that.