Be Aggressive
February 15th, 2026
Decisions.
The Bucs of the post-Tom Brady era seem to be of the “trust the process” mindset, as Nick Saban might say.
The Bucs are proud of their draft process. You may have heard of “I Am That Man.” And *that man* (Lavonte David) is on the brink of retirement.
The Bucs trust their ability to size up prospects and develop them. The first part has played out well since Brady retired. The development? Eh, not so much.
So the Bucs have become a tweener team, suggests ESPN NFL scribe Jeremy Fowler. He says they’re good enough to make a playoff run after a couple of additions, but also a team with enough holes to go south in a hurry if they’re not successfully addredssed.
Tampa Bay falls somewhere between contention and the need for a mini rebuild. The Bucs need to address their defense this offseason. The group needs talent improvements at all three levels, most notably pass rusher. This would be as good an offseason as any to take some chances to acquire quality defensive players.
Well, the Bucs have a lot of defensive holes, specifically in the front-seven. It is unlikely they can all be filled by just one draft class.
Joe doesn’t expect Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht to go out like a drunken sailor next month and spend Team Glazer loot like Licht’s at the craps table at Aria.
So, might Licht be aggressive and bring in decent starting inside linebackers? And Joe’s not talking about the Anthony Walkers of the world. Might durable and productive veteran Germaine Pratt fit Todd Bowles’ defense?
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