Bucs’ $94 Million Veteran Identified as Biggest ‘Question Mark’ of 2025 Season

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have built an offensive roster that could contend for a Super Bowl once again, but the defense still has some question marks, including long-time team leader Lavonte David and the linebacker core.

The writers and analysts over at Pro Football Network identified David and the inside linebackers as the “biggest” Bucs question mark in 2025 during a document shared with Heavy. And the veteran captain’s age is certainly a major part of their selection.

“Lavonte David is still a good starting linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he took a slight step back in 2024,” they reasoned. Adding: “At 35 years old, he’s in the twilight of his career.”

On top of David’s personal uncertainties, PFN pointed out that “K.J. Britt left in free agency, opening a starting path for SirVocea Dennis to start in Year 3 of his NFL career.”

“With the latter coming off a major injury, though, there’s no guarantee he’ll be an upgrade,” the NFL site concluded.

Buccaneers Need SirVocea Dennis to Live Up to the Hype This Season

Despite only being voted to one Pro Bowl and only being named to one first-team All-Pro roster, David has made over $94 million in career earnings according to Over the Cap. He’s spent his entire NFL tenure in Tampa Bay, beginning as a former second-round pick in 2012, and he’s been rewarded handsomely for it.

Unfortunately, it’s almost time for David to hang up the cleats and enjoy his career earnings. But in order to do so, he needs to pass the torch to a true successor.

Head coach Todd Bowles has strongly hinted that he believes this player is Dennis, hyping him — as much as the monotone Buccaneers HC can hype anyone — as a standout of OTAs and minicamp. And while that’s great, the former fifth-round pick must still prove it on the field.

Needless to say, 2025 is a crucial campaign for Dennis and also a pivotal one for the Bucs linebacker core as a whole.

It’s totally fair for a site like Pro Football Network to mark this position as a question mark, but if things end up working out with Dennis, the Bucs’ ILB position could go back to being one of the steadier areas of this roster.

Bucs LB SirVocea Dennis Has Shown Great Coverage Ability, But Shaky Run Defense Early in His NFL Career

The Buccaneers have veteran depth behind David and Dennis, with the 30-year-old Deion Jones and the soon-to-be 30-year-old Anthony Walker Jr. on the roster, but there aren’t too many younger players in this room besides Dennis and Antonio Grier Jr., plus UDFAs John Bullock and Nick Jackson.

In other words, Dennis is the guy who must step up and take over for David, or the Bucs must address this position next draft.

Although that plan B in the 2026 draft could still occur, Dennis will get his opportunity for now. And he has shown clear strengths and weaknesses in his game so far.

Per Pro Football Focus, Dennis has proven to be very capable in coverage, but his run defense and tackling could use some work if he’s going to become a steady three-down linebacker.

Dennis was charged with eight missed tackles over his first two seasons compared to just 10 key defensive “stops.” Having said that, he was showing signs of improvement in 2024 before his injury.

Dennis’ average depth of tackle (the amount of yards that were picked up before he made the tackle on average) in run defense was 6.7 yards in 2023. But in four appearances in 2024, that average lowered to just 2.5 yards per tackle, which was on par with David.

If Dennis can continue on this trajectory and do it for an entire season, he has the ability in pass defense to turn into a consistent starting NFL linebacker.