There’s no doubt that Tom Brady was the biggest individual signing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this offseason. The prized free agent chose the Bucs and their talented roster over a return to the New England Patriots, with the hope that the Bucs can help him in his pursuit for a seventh Super Bowl ring.
While Brady’s arrival to the Bucs warrants all the hype and fanfare that comes with it, the Bucs’ defense also had a strong free agency period, evident by their re-signing of Ndamukong Suh and Jason Pierre-Paul, as well as the tagging of linebacker Shaq Barrett, who led the NFL with 19.5 sacks last season.
In fact, Mike Clay of ESPN believes the Bucs had the look of a team on the rise even before the Brady signing, in part because of their defense. In his latest piece examining five NFL teams trending upwards, Clay had the Bucs on his list, and said the biggest unit upgrade so far this offseason has been to their defense.
Per Clay:
“Even prior to the Brady signing, the Buccaneers had the look of an ascending team, so the re-signing of defensive linemen Ndamukong Suh and Jason Pierre-Paul and linebacker Shaquil Barrett can’t be overlooked when evaluating their offseason. Further development from Devin White, Vita Vea, Carlton Davis, Sean Murphy-Bunting, Jamel Dean and Mike Edwards also will help. Add in standout LB Lavonte David and Justin Evans’ return from a foot injury and you have a defense that could take a big leap in 2020.”
The Bucs defense performed well last year under first-year defensive coordinator Todd Bowles. The rush defense was tops in the league, but the secondary struggled mightily at times. If Tampa Bay can find help for their pass defense in the upcoming NFL draft, they could sport one of the league’s top offenses and defenses next year.
Watch out, Saints.
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