KEY 2025 ROSTER ADDITIONS
• QB Teddy Bridgewater (FA)
• LB John Bullock (UDFA)
• T Benjamin Chukwuma (UDFA)
• WR Emeka Egbuka (1st-round draft pick)
• WR Tez Johnson (7th-round draft pick)
• G Michael Jordan (FA)
• CB Kindle Vildor (UFA)
• CB Benjamin Morrison (2nd-round draft pick)
• CB Jacob Parrish (3rd-round draft pick)
• DL Elijah Roberts (5th-round draft pick)
• DL Elijah Simmons (FA)
• OLB David Walker (4th-round draft pick…on injured reserve)
• RB Josh Williams (UDFA)
• WR Davante Adams (FA)
• ILB Shaun Dolac (UDFA)
• TE Terrance Ferguson (2nd-round draft pick)
• DL Ty Hamilton (5th-round draft pick)
• T D.J. Humphries (FA)
• RB Jarquez Hunter (4th-round draft pick)
• CB Roger McCreary (T-TEN)
• LS Jake McQuaide (FA)
• WR Konata Mumpfield (7th-round draft pick)
• T David Quessenberry (FA)
• C Coleman Shelton (UFA)
• DE Josiah Stewart (3rd-round draft pick)
ADDITIONAL 2025 CHANGES/DEVELOPMENTS OF NOTE
• The Buccaneers rolled into 2025 with their fourth offensive coordinator in the last four years. This year’s transition, however, is a bit different than the last two. In 2023 and 2024, Dave Canales and Liam Coen, respectively, came to town with entirely new offensive systems that the players had to absorb. In 2025, the Buccaneers followed the departure of Coen to be the Jacksonville Jaguars’ head coach by promoting former Pass Game Coordinator Josh Grizzard from within. Grizzard is certainly evolving the Bucs’ offense in new ways and have his own spin on play-calling, but the basic system remains the same, offering a very helpful continuity for a team that is also returning all of its offensive regulars from a unit that finished in the top five in 2024 in net yards, points scored, rushing yards and passing yards. After Grizzard’s promotion, the Buccaneers also hired one of his former colleagues, Kefense Hynson, to be the team’s new pass game coordinator.
• To celebrate their landmark 50th season, the Buccaneers have unveiled a new sort of throwback uniform in 2025. In addition to the popular “Creamsicle” togs that they will don for the Thursday night game against Atlanta in Week 15, the Bucs have also worn, for this season only, a white version of their original uniforms worn during the 1976 season. Those uniforms made their debut in the home opener against the Jets in Week Three and were broken out again when the Bucs played at Seattle in Week Five, a game that was a battle of the NFL’s two expansion teams from 1976.
• While Todd Bowles remains the play-caller for Tampa Bay’s defense, he did make some changes to his defensive coaching staff. Mike Caldwell, who was part of the Bucs’ staff from 2019-21 when Bowles was the defensive coordinator, returns to tutor the inside linebackers. Larry Foote has moved from inside linebackers to outside linebackers and is also the team’s run game coordinator. George Edwards, who previously coached the outside linebackers, is now the pass game coordinator.
• The Buccaneers started the season without All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs and wide receiver Chris Godwin, but both returned to the lineup in Week Four. However, the Buccaneers’ injured reserve list has grown considerably as the season has progressed. Wide receiver Jalen McMillan sustained a severe neck strain in Week Two of the preseason against Pittsburgh and is expected to be sidelined for at least half of the regular season. He is currently on injured reserve but can be designated for return. Since the start of the season, the Buccaneers have also lost defensive linemen Calijah Kancey, tackle Luke Goedeke, guard Cody Mauch, tight end Ko Kieft and safety Rashad Wisdom to injured reserve. Goedeke is expected to return from IR at some point but Kancey, Mauch and Kieft are likely to miss the rest of the season.Godwin suffered a second injury that has had him sidelined for weeks and fellow wide receiver Mike Evans is on injured reserve due to a fractured collarbone.
• The changes made to the kickoff process by the NFL during the offseason appear to have impacted the Buccaneers’ strategy for that play in a significant manner. Now that a touchback on a ball caught or landing in the end zone puts the ball at the receiving team’s 35, the Buccaneers have relied a lot less on touchbacks, which they produced on more than 75% of their kickoffs last year. With that in mind, the team took kick coverage units into serious consideration when shaping the 53-man roster and multiple players – including linebacker John Bullock, cornerback Josh Hayes, outside linebacker Markees Watts and wide receivers Ryan Miller and Kameron Johnson – made the team in large part due to their special teams contributions.
• Early in the 2025 offseason, there were some rumblings that Matthew Stafford’s time in Los Angeles might be done, as he was given permission to speak with other teams in advance of a potential trade. He did in fact have discussions with the Raiders and Giants but those proved to just be precursors to a new deal with the Rams that gives him $84 million over the next two years. The Rams kept the rest of their quarterback room intact by re-signing veteran backup Jimmy Garoppolo, who has remained as Stafford’s primary backup ahead of 2023 fourth-round pick Stetson Bennett.
• In addition to Garoppolo, the Rams also kept some other potential free agents in town with new deals, including wide receiver Tutu Atwell, tackle Alaric Jackson and linebacker Troy Reeder.
• During the 2025 draft, the Rams picked up a valuable 2026 first-round draft pick by trading down with the Falcons, who were after Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce Jr. The move gives Los Angeles, which also has its own pick in the first round next year, a little flexibility if it decides to go after Stafford’s eventual successor.
• With Nick Caley leaving Sean McVay’s staff to serve as the Houston Texans’ new offensive coordinator, the team hired former Seahawks assistant Scott Huff to be their new tight ends coach. Caley had also served as the team’s pass game coordinator, with that task now going to Nate Scheelhaase, who had been an offensive assistant and pass game specialist for the Rams for one season.
• Alex Van Pelt also joined McVay’s staff after spending last season as the Patriots’ offensive coordinator, and the two prior seasons in the same role with Cleveland. Van Pelt got the title of senior offensive assistant in Los Angeles. Jimmy Lake returned to the team after just one season as the defensive coordinator on Raheem Morris’s staff in Atlanta. The Rams also created a new position of pass rush coordinator in order to bring Drew Wilkins in after he also coached in New England last year, tutoring the linebackers.
• In the 2024 offseason, the Rams signed former Lions offensive lineman Jonah Jackson to a lucrative three-year deal and installed him at center, the first time he had played that position. However, Jackson spent much of the season on injured reserve with a shoulder injury and in March the Rams chose to move on, trading him to the Bears for a sixth-round pick in this year’s draft.
INJURY REPORT
DNP: Did not participate in practice
LP: Limited participation in practice
FP: Full participation in practice
• C Graham Barton (illness) – WEDS: LP
• Chris Braswell (foot) – WEDS: DNP
• Ben Bredeson (hamstring) – WEDS: DNP
• CB Jamel Dean (hip) – WEDS: DNP
• WR Emeka Egbuka (illness) – WEDS: LP
• G Dan Feeney (illness) – WEDS: LP
• WR Chris Godwin (fibula) – WEDS: LP
• T Luke Goedeke (illness) – WEDS: LP
• DL Logan Hall (illness) – WEDS: LP
• RB Bucky Irving (shoulder/foot) – WEDS: LP
• QB Baker Mayfield (illness) – WEDS: LP
• K Chase McLaughlin (personal) – WEDS: DNP
• OLB Haason Reddick (ankle/knee) – WEDS: DNP
• WR Sterling Shepard (shoulder) – WEDS: LP
• OLB Markees Watts (hand) – WEDS: FP
• T Tristan Wirfs (shoulder) – WEDS: LP
* The Buccaneers conducted a walk-through on Wednesday. The practice status reports from that day are estimations.
• LB Nate Landman (back) – WEDS: LP
• WR Xavier Smith (concussion) – WEDS: DNP
• DE Kobie Turner (back) – WEDS: FP
• CB Josh Wallace (knee) – WEDS: FP
WEATHER FORECAST
Stadium with canopy but open sides. Evening outdoor weather: Clear skies, low of 51, winds light and variable, 5% chance of rain, 91% humidity, winds out of the NE at 2 mph.
GAME REFEREE
Head referee: Clay Martin (11th season, 8th as referee)
BETTING LINE
• Favorite: Rams (-6.5)
INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS
Points Scored: K Chase McLaughlin, 80
Touchdowns: WR Emeka Egbuka, 6
Passing Yards: QB Baker Mayfield, 2,365
Passer Rating: QB Baker Mayfield, 97.0
Rushing Yards: RB Rachaad White, 376
Receptions: WR Emeka Egbuka, 45
Receiving Yards: WR Emeka Egbuka, 717
Interceptions: LB Jamel Dean, 3
Tackles: S Tykee Smith, 79
Points Scored: WR Davante Adams, 60
Touchdowns: WR Davante Adams, 10
Passing Yards: QB Matthew Stafford, 2,557
Passer Rating: QB Matthew Stafford, 112.6
Rushing Yards: RB Kyren Williams, 750
Receptions: WR Puka Nacua, 73
Receiving Yards: WR Puka Nacua, 850
Interceptions: S Kam Curl/CB Cobie Durant/CB Emmanuel Forbes/S Kamren Kinchens, 2
Sacks: OLB Byron Young, 9.0
Tackles: LB Nate Landman, 90
TEAM STAT RANKINGS
Scoring Offense: 10th (25.2 ppg)
Total Offense: 17th (332.2 ypg)
Rushing Offense: 22nd (110.0 ypg)
Passing Offense: 15th (222.2 ypg)
First Downs Per Game: 18th (19.6)
Third-Down Pct.: 15th (38.9%)
Sacks Per Pass Attempt Allowed: 10th (5.88%)
Red Zone TD Pct.: 25th (51.7%)
Scoring Defense: 21st (25.0 ppg)
Total Defense: 22nd (342.0 ypg)
Rushing Defense: 10th (100.4 ypg)
Passing Defense: 27th (241.6 ypg)
First Downs Allowed Per Game: t-9th (18.5)
Third-Down Pct. Allowed: 17th (39.8%)
Sacks Per Pass Attempt: 14th (7.65%)
Red Zone TD Pct. Allowed: 26th (64.0%)
Turnover Margin: 3rd (+9)
Scoring Offense: 6th (27.2 ppg)
Total Offense: 8th (360.9 ypg)
Rushing Offense: 18th (114.0 ypg)
Passing Offense: 6th (246.9 ypg)
First Downs Per Game: 3rd (22.7)
Third-Down Pct.: 17th (38.7%)
Sacks Per Pass Attempt Allowed: 3rd (4.13%)
Red Zone TD Pct.: 8th (64.4%)
Scoring Defense: 2nd (17.2 ppg)
Total Defense: 13th (323.0 ypg)
Rushing Defense: 11th (100.7 ypg)
Passing Defense: 21st (222.3 ypg)
First Downs Allowed Per Game: 17th (19.9)
Third-Down Pct. Allowed: 5th (34.6%)
Sacks Per Pass Attempt: 16th (7.42%)
Red Zone TD Pct. Allowed: 2nd (43.8%)
Turnover Margin: 2nd (+10)
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• QB Baker Mayfield has thrown for 10,909 yards since joining the Buccaneers in 2023. That ranks eighth in franchise history and he would move up to seventh, passing Brad Johnson (10,940), with just 32 more on Sunday night in Los Angeles.
• LB Lavonte David secured his 14th interception in the Bucs’ Week Five win in Seattle, setting up the game-ending field goal. With one more interception, he would join Pro Football Hall of Famers Charles Woodson and Ray Lewis as the only players with 15-plus interceptions, 15-plus forced fumbles and 15-plus fumble recoveries since data began being tracked in 1994.
• DL Vita Vea recorded a half-sack against San Francisco in Week Six, improving his career total to 33.0. That put him into a tie with both Brad Culpepper and Jason Pierre-Paul for the ninth-most sacks in franchise history. Vea would break that tie with one more sack, and two more would move him past Chidi Ahanotu (34.5) into eighth place.
• S Antoine Winfield Jr. has 18.0 career sacks, tied with four other players for the 11th most by a defensive back since sacks became an official statistic in 1982. Two more sacks would allow him to tie Charles Woodson for 10th place on that list.
NOTABLY QUOTABLE
• Head Coach Todd Bowles on the Los Angeles Rams’ usage of 13 personnel and what allows them to be so effective out of that formation: “It’s three tight ends, but it could play out like two tight ends or even one tight end. They’re very versatile in what they do when they run the three tight end set. If you’re big, they spread you out and they can throw it; if you’re small, they can pound you. It’s a very smart aspect of their game and what they do. Sean [McVay] is a great coach and does a great job with that, so we’ve got to be sharp.”
• Quarterback Baker Mayfield on what he saw behind the scenes from QB Matthew Stafford when they were in the same quarterback room for the Los Angeles Rams: “I think I gained an even [greater] level of respect for him about communication, about how he wanted certain routes [and] certain schemes to be done. When you’re at that level — that year — in your career, you kind of run the ship. Had a lot of respect for him before but seeing it in person on how detailed he really was and exactly what he was going to try and check to, that was big seeing it in person.”
• Tackle Tristan Wirfs on what challenges the Rams defense presents: “Their front seven, and also us being very similar offenses. They hear all those calls all the time, just going against their own offense. I think that will be a little tough, but their defensive line, they’re tough guys. I think a combination of both those things will be tough, but we’ll be ready.”
• Running back Sean Tucker on if he feels he gets better the more carries he gets throughout the game: “I would say so. I would say after a couple of carries, you get to feel out the defense and see what they’re trying to do and the scheme they’re doing for the day. The more carries after that, I am just able to get into my rhythm and mode and showcase what I can do.”
• Bowles on the growth of safety Tykee Smith in his second season: “He’s a confident player. We’re confident in him. He understands the game. He’s just one of those guys who knows how to play. I wish, coaching-wise, we could take credit but he knew how to play when he came in the door. He understands the game very well. He’s a heck of a competitor and he’s always going to show up on Sunday.”