It seems like ages ago that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were terrorizing opposing quarterbacks with dominant pass rushers off the edge.
After Shaq Barrett notched 10 sacks in 2021, the Bucs have struggled to see any of their edge rushers get after the passer and finish with regularity. Nose tackle Vita Vea led the team with 6.5 sacks in 2022, while rookie outside linebacker Yaya Diaby’s 7.5 was tops on the team last season.
It come as no surprise then that when ESPN asked league sources to rank the top edge rushers in the NFL heading into the 2024 season, not a single Bucs player made the cut.
There was a top-10 list, followed by six honorable mentions, and nine more players who received at least one vote from one of the sources. That’s 25 edge rushers mentioned, and nobody from Tampa Bay.
Barrett was released this offseason, and while the Bucs spent a second-round pick to address this need with Alabama’s Chris Braswell, they’re going to need others like Diaby and 2021 first-rounder Joe Tryon-Shoyinka to rise to the occasion this season if they want to be effective on defense.
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