Tampa Bay Buccaneers Depth Chart
- NFC South
- Stadium
- Raymond James Stadium
- Head Coach
- Bruce Arians
- Offensive Coordinator
- Byron Leftwich
- Defensive Coordinator
- Todd Bowles
- Special Teams Coach
- Keith Armstrong
- Defensive Scheme
- 4-3
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are not expected to sign free-agent wide receiver Antonio Brown, per ESPN's Dianna Russini. The talented, but troubled receiver has been out of the league since appearing in Week 2 of the 2019 NFL season with the New England Patriots. The 31-year-old has found himself in various legal troubles recently, which has generally left teams hesitant to sign him. There is no doubt Brown can be an asset for any team when looking at it from a football perspective, but he will likely face some sort of league discipline even if he were to get signed now. Other teams like the Seattle Seahawks and Baltimore Ravens have been linked to the wideout, but there is no certainty they will pursue him.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett is holding out hope for a long-term deal before the July 15 deadline, but he isn't holding his breath. "Long-term will probably be pretty hard with the situation of the world right now. I think we're working on a deal, but it probably won't be long (term)," Barrett said on Monday. The COVID-19 pandemic and unsure nature of next year's salary cap is making it hard for franchise tagged players to sign multi-year deals. If a long-term deal isn't worked out, Barrett plans to sign his tag. Barrett had 19.5 sacks in a full-time role for the first time in his career in 2019 and is set to earn $15.8 million in 2020 under the tag. Like the Bucs, fantasy owners in IDP leagues would like to see the pass-rusher have another great season before trusting him as a starting linebacker.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Vita Vea (hand) suffered an unspecified hand injury and underwent a minor surgical procedure a few weeks ago. Vea is expected to miss some time at the beginning of training camp, which is scheduled to start on July 28, but he's not expected to be limited for the start of the regular season. The 25-year-old was part of a Bucs run defense in 2019 that allowed an average of just 73.8 rushing yards per game, which was tops in the NFL. A first-round pick in 2018, Vea had a career-high 35 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 12 quarterback hits and four tackles for loss. He was the first player since J.J. Watt in 2014 to have a sack and catch a touchdown pass in the same game. Vea has become a fixture on the defensive line, and they hope he can continue improving for a Buccaneers Defense that is slowly approaching fantasy relevance.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul had arthroscopic knee surgery on Friday morning to "clean up cartilage" that was causing discomfort. His three- to four-week expected recovery should have him ready when training camps begin in late July. It's not related in any way to the scary neck injury he suffered in a car accident last offseason, which cost him the first six games of 2019. In just 24 games with Tampa Bay, the 31-year-old has 21 sacks. He and Shaquil Barrett form one of the better pass-rushing duos in the league for a Bucs defense that also ranked first in the NFL against the run in 2019. JPP is more of a backup defensive lineman in IDP leagues because of his injury history.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett, the reigning NFL sack leader, is one of five remaining NFL players (A.J. Green, Chris Jones, Yannick Ngakoue and Justin Simmons) that have yet to sign their franchise-tag tenders. Barrett said on NFL Total Access on Wednesday that he is "about 50-50" on whether he'll sign it. He started only 15 combined games in five previous seasons with the Broncos, but he started all 16 games last year with Tampa and set a single-season franchise record with 19.5 sacks. Barrett's 37 quarterback hits were also tops in the league, and his six forced fumbles were third. His 68 QB pressures were third in the NFL. The 27-year-old has until July 15 to work out a long-term deal with the club. Barrett could be morphing into a serious pass-rushing force, but his lack of tackles (career-high 45 solo tackles last year) makes him more of a backup linebacker in IDP leagues. Fantasy owners want to see him do it again in 2020.