The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense had an up and down season due to injuries and the lack of a premier edge rusher in 2024. Additionally, the defense never truly found a consistent replacement for Devin White with a rotating collection of linebackers operating alongside Lavonte David for the majority of the year.
One NFL writer has the Bucs aiming to address both of these positions this offense with a couple of splash signings in free agency.
Bucs Sign Former No. 2 Overall Pick Chase Young to Boost the Pass Rush
Chase Young has felt like a bit of a disappointment considering his top five draft status coming into the NFL from The Ohio State University and never truly building off of his encouraging rookie year.
Andrew Buller-Russ of sportsnaut.com believes adding Young to this pass rushing unit could be provide this defense with a viable pass rushing threat to operate opposite of YaYa Diaby.
Buller-Russ said, “The Buccaneers will need some defensive replacements and reinforcements and they can’t exactly pay top dollar. Yet, that doesn’t mean they can’t still add some impact players. Chase Young had a mini-bounceback season in 2024, recording 5.5 sacks after playing in all 17 games but starting none. He has double-digit sack potential if used correctly and Todd Bowles may be perfect for the job.”
The Bucs defense does feel like it is missing an impact edge rusher and feels like the biggest position of need entering the offseason with both Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and Anthony Nelson both set to hit the free agent market later this year.
Tampa’s defense was able to generate 46 sacks last year, which is a pretty respectable mark. Yet, it was a pair of defensive tackles who led the team in sacks with Calijah Kancey and Vita Vea both registering 7+ sacks in 2024.
Diaby did enter the season dealing with an ankle injury he sustained during training camp, which could speak to his lackuster 4.5 sacks last year. Admittedly, his sack production was a bit of a disappointment.
Young flashed elite potential his rookie year with 7.5 sacks, but hasn’t topped that mark in his next four seasons – which have been plagued by injuries and simply a lack of increased production. He certainly feels like an intriguing option who could come at a reasonable price on the open market.
Bucs Projected to Find Starter Opposite of Lavonte David by Adding Dre Greenlaw
Speaking of potential impact players who have dealt with injuries, Buller-Russ also sees the Bucs potentially going after former San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw to shore up the linebacker position next to David.
Buller-Russ added, “Linebacker Dre Greenlaw also has Pro Bowl potential and if he can return to health, Tampa Bay could upgrade over pending free agent Lavonte David.”
Greenlaw is coming off of the worst year of his career after suffering a torn Achilles in Super Bowl LVIII. Yet, his consecutive years with 120+ tackles operating alongside Fred Warner certainly suggest he is capable of playing at high level when he is healthy.
It will be interesting to see what type of market value Greenlaw demands this offseason, but he does feel like a potential starting caliber option to play alongside David while Sirvocea Dennis continues to develop generating some splash plays in his limited four games of action in 2024.
