Tag: bucs news

Tristan Wirfs helps NFC win ‘Move the Chains’ Pro Bowl challenge

Tristan Wirfs has always had the strength to be one of the best linemen in the NFL, and he now has the Pro Bowl skill victory to prove it.

Tristan Wirfs has always been a people mover, and now, he’s won a Pro Bowl competition to prove it.

Wirfs was a part of the “Move the Chains” competition between the NFC and the AFC at the Pro Bowl, which was a test of strength in more ways than on. Per the NFL’s official description, each team of five players must work together to move 3,000 pounds of weights off a massive wall and be the first team to pull that 2,000-pound wall across the finish line. The winner will earn three points for their conference.

Wirfs, of course, played for the NFC, and he was able to help them win by moving the weight off the wall and then pulling the wall across the finish line. It didn’t come without effort, though, as Wirfs conducted the post-game interview for the NFC and was clearly winded after the experience.

Check out the competition above and what Wirfs had to say about it afterward below:

New NFL.com mock draft has Bucs going WR in first round

Could the Bucs bolster their receiving corps with their first selection in the draft?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a few needs to fill in the upcoming 2024 NFL draft in Detroit. And with how the free agent market could go, some of those needs may look a little different by the time we get to the draft in April.

NFL.com writer Eric Edholm put up his mock draft for the upcoming 2024 NFL draft, and he has the Bucs going offense for Round 1 — he has them taking Florida State wide receiver Keon Coleman at pick No. 26.

Here’s what Edholm wrote about his pick for the Bucs:

Depending on what happens with pending free agent Mike Evans, the Bucs might need a wide receiver who can complement Chris Godwin. Coleman can’t fly, but he has acrobatic receiving skills, can play inside and out and would be a big red-zone target for Baker Mayfield, assuming he’s back.

Edholm is certainly right about one thing — this would be a move that the team could benefit from should WR Mike Evans not return to Tampa Bay. If he does, thought, it wouldn’t make too much sense, as the team has Evans and Chris Godwin and also filled a WR3 need with Trey Palmer in the 2023 NFL draft. Coleman is a big wideout who can do a lot of the things Evans can, so he would be a good replacement, but the team would be unlikely to draft him should the longtime Bucs wideout return.

The Bucs’ biggest needs in the draft include the interior offensive line to shore up the run game and pass protection and an edge rusher on the defense to improve the pass rush. Should Evans come back, a pick there is likely — if he doesn’t, though, fans of both the Bucs and the Florida State Seminoles could get to watch more Coleman on their TV.’

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Bucs reach agreement to hire Liam Coen as offensive coordinator

The Bucs get their guy in Liam Coen, who could bring some continuity to Tampa Bay’s offense after the departure of Dave Canales.

The reports have been confirmed — the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have their man.

FOX Sports’ Greg Auman reported on Saturday that Kentucky Wildcats offensive coordinator Liam Coen is set to be Tampa Bay’s new OC. The hiring comes a day after reports that the two sides were close to striking a deal.

Coen’s offense will have some continuity with that of Dave Canales’ offense, as he worked with current Chicago Bears OC Shane Waldron in Los Angeles under Sean McVay. Waldron was the OC in Seattle from 2021-23, and a lot of Canales’ offense is thus inspired by McVay’s through Waldron. As a result, the scheme and plays should be quite similar, avoiding a total change to the playbook.

The move may also help retain quarterback Baker Mayfield. Coen worked with Mayfield in 2022 when Mayfield had his very brief stint with the Los Angeles Rams, so the familiarity there could be a draw for the signal caller to come back to Tampa Bay. Mayfield told reporters he wanted to wait to see who was calling the plays in Tampa Bay before continuing talks, and now that it has happened, those talks can indeed continue.

Coen spent 2023 as the offensive coordinator for the Kentucky Wildcats, which wasn’t an unfamiliar job with him, either. He also spent 2021 in Lexington, and he was able to coach Will Levis to his best college season. Whether he can bring the same value to Mayfield remains to be seen, but between the continuity and his QB experience, there’s a lot to like about Tampa Bay’s new hire.

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How Ryan Jensen’s retirement affects the Bucs’ cap

A post-June 1 designation could free up some space for the Bucs in 2024, but they’ll still have to take a dead cap hit after Jensen’s retirement.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers center Ryan Jensen officially announced his retirement on Saturday, which will see the Bucs give him a retired designation. But how does that affect the salary cap for 2024 and beyond?

As it stands, Jensen has $16.6 million in dead money on the salary cap for 2024 — that’s because Tampa Bay has reworked his deal in 2022 and 2023 when he was unable to play in the regular season due to the knee injury he suffered in 2022. The team could in theory take all of that dead money in 2024 to clear it in 2025, but it doesn’t have to.

Should the team wait to put Jensen on the retired list after June 1, his dead money would only count at $4.8 million for 2024, according to Greg Auman of FOX Sports. The rest of that money, which would come out to $11.8 million, would carry over into 2025.

Because the Bucs have some big decisions to make regarding high-profile free agents like quarterback Baker Mayfield and wideout Mike Evans, it’s likely that they’ll use that post-June 1 designation to save some money on the salary cap this year. In doing so, it might be a little easier to retain the players the team was hoping to bring back and to possibly add some new ones in free agency to maintain a competitive roster going into next year.

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Social media reacts to Bucs C Ryan Jensen’s retirement

“Big Red” was a fan favorite in Tampa Bay and helped the Bucs reach the promised land in 2020 — see how fans showed him love after he announced his retirement Friday.

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Baltimore Ravens center Ryan Jensen was a crucial part of Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl run in 2020, and now, he’s hanging up his cleats.

Jensen officially announced on Friday that he’s retiring from the NFL, putting a bookend on his career that started in 2013 with Baltimore. The decision comes after Jensen spent 2023 on Injured Reserve due to a knee injury he suffered in preseason during the 2022 season.

Jensen was a fan favorite in Tampa Bay, not only renowned for his excellent play at center but also for his fiery attitude on the field and his kindness off of it. Jensen was one of the more beloved free agency signings in team history, and as a result, fans made sure to show their love and give respects to the player they affectionately called “Big Red” on Sundays.

Check out what social media is saying about Jensen and all he did for the Buccaneers below:

Bucs set to hire Kentucky’s Liam Coen for OC position, per reports

Should the Bucs hire Coen, they’ll get an OC who studied under Sean McVay and who worked directly with Baker Mayfield in 2022.

It isn’t official yet, but it’s looking like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have their guy.

The Bucs are set to hire Kentucky Wildcats offensive coordinator Liam Coen, per the NFL Network’s Liam Garafolo. If that deal does go through, the move would likely bring Coen back together with quarterback Baker Mayfield, who he worked with in 2022.

Coen was the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams in 2022 before he left to take a position as OC of the Kentucky Wildcats, a position he also served in in 2021. Coen was OC when Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis was at Kentucky, and the one year he was with the Rams, Matt Stafford got injured late in the year and Mayfield took over during the last frame of the season.

If the Bucs hire Coen, they are not only getting a coach familiar with Mayfield, but one who has worked with Rams coach Sean McVay. McVay disciples are a huge part of the NFL at the moment, and Coen will be another one who could continue to bring his offensive philosophy to the league. The Mayfield connection could be a bigger part of it, though, as Mayfield said Thursday that he needs to know who’s calling the plays before making a decision to stay in Tampa Bay.

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Baker Mayfield on Bucs future: ‘we’ve got to know who’s calling plays’

Mayfield said in an interview at the Pro Bowl Games that while there’s mutual interest in returning to Tampa Bay, the Bucs’ OC pick will be a part of his offseason decision.

Right when the NFL season ended for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a reunion with quarterback [autotag]Baker Mayfield[/autotag] seemed certain. And then offensive coordinator Dave Canales left.

Canales helped coach Mayfield to one of his career-best seasons, and now that he’s become the head coach of the Carolina Panthers, Mayfield’s future with Tampa Bay is just a bit murkier. Mayfield recently did an interview with the NFL’s Grant Gordon at the Pro Bowl Games, and he stressed that while he and Tampa Bay have mutual interest for 2024, knowing who the playcaller will be will certainly be a factor in his decision.

Here’s what Mayfield had to say about the situation:

“My agent and them, I think they engaged a little bit. But obviously, when Canales left — and happy for him, as well, getting a head coaching job, he deserves that — but when they started the OC search, I think they know that we’ve got to know who’s calling plays before anything’s done.”

Despite that declaration, Mayfield still seems fond of Tampa Bay. As Gordon noted, he used “we” to refer to the Bucs whenever he talked about them for most of the interview, and he was particularly thankful for the organization and what they did to him. Additionally, he made mention of Tampa Bay’s free agency situation and seemed confident that the Bucs would re-sign some of their big free agents in the offseason.

“We’re gonna get some pieces back. Everything that we did in the back half of the year, to build on culture-wise, it was a great locker room. So you get a lot of those pieces back and the culture’s the most important thing. I know we had a little bit of a lull there halfway through the season, but we stuck through it. I know they hung with us the whole time, but hang in there again.”

The Bucs are still in their search for an offensive coordinator. The team is being thorough, having interviewed six candidates so far — the team interviewed 10 last year before signing Canales late February. What Mayfield doesn’t next remains to be seen, but he seems to have made clear that he wants to see who the next Bucs OC is — even if he’s already partial to the team.

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Bucs officially interview Jake Peetz for vacant OC job

The Bucs interviewed a Sean McVay disciple for their OC position on Thursday.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have completed another interview for their vacant offensive coordinator job, and they’ve interviewed a candidate with a very popular set of credentials in the NFL lately — he’s a disciple of Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay.

The team announced Thursday it’s interviewed Rams passing game coordinator Jake Peetz for their vacant OC position. Peetz was the second candidate from the McVay pool considered, as the team also requested an interview with Rams QB coach Zac Robinson before he went to the Atlanta Falcons to be their offensive coordinator instead.

Peetz was LSU’s offensive coordinator in 2021 before moving to Los Angeles as an offensive assistant in 2022. He was promoted to passing game coordinator in 2023, where the Rams fielded a top-10 offense by both passing yards and points per game.

Peetz is not the last candidate the Bucs are set to interview from the McVay tree. The team is also expected to interview Kentucky Wildcats offensive coordinator Liam Coen, who served as OC for the Rams in 2022.

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Bucs offensive consultant Tom Moore returning for 46th year of coaching in NFL

The 85-year-old Moore has been with the Bucs since 2019, and he’ll be back for at least one more year in Tampa Bay.

In an offseason where numerous Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaches are leaving the team, one of Tampa Bay’s will be coming back for his 46th year in the NFL.

At age 85, Bucs offensive assistant Tom Moore is staying with Tampa Bay, per Fox Sports’ Peter Schrager. Moore has been with the Bucs since 2019, but his NFL heritage goes back much farther than that.

Moore first started coaching in 1961 as a graduate assistant at Iowa, and his first NFL job was with the Pittsburgh Steelers as wide receivers coach in 1977. Moore has coached for a number of teams, and his most notable stint came in with the Indianapolis Colts as offensive coordinator/senior consultant from 1998-2010, when he oversaw the development of Peyton Manning and earned a Super Bowl XLI ring. Moore has been a part of four Super Bowl victories, the latest coming with the Bucs in Super Bowl LV.

Moore came to Tampa Bay in 2019 under Bruce Arians, whom he had worked with in Arizona. He has stayed with the team since Arians retired, however, and now he’s set to return for another year with the Bucs offense.

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Three biggest questions facing the Bucs in 2024

The Bucs go into the offseason as NFC South winners, but they’ll have a few things to answer for if they want to get back.

The 2024 offseason came a little later for the Buccaneers than many expected and arrived with changes even fewer anticipated. Just one year after joining the Bucs, offensive coordinator Dave Canales took the head coaching job with the Carolina Panthers, once again leaving Tampa Bay without a play-caller on offense.

This quickly became one of, if not the, biggest dilemma facing the Bucs in 2024. The question of who becomes Tampa Bay’s next offensive coordinator could also affect the status of pending free agents Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans, who were the two most important players on offense this season. Even before the offseason began, the Bucs were going to need answers at edge rusher and along the offensive line.

Here are the three biggest questions facing the Bucs in 2024: