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Tampa Bay Buccaneers News & Rumors

Buccaneers To Fire OC Byron Leftwich

January 19th, 2023 at 9:28am CST by Sam Robinson

The Buccaneers are moving on from Byron Leftwich. The team’s offensive coordinator of the past four years will not return in 2023, according to the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud.

In addition to Leftwich’s dismissal, Stroud points to other changes. As many as five offensive staffers and multiple defensive assistants will not be back next season. This follows a season in which the Bucs’ offense declined considerably after two strong years with Tom Brady. The changes came to pass after a Todd Bowles meeting with GM Jason Licht and Bucs ownership, per Stroud.

This news comes a year after Leftwich, 43, was on the HC carousel. The Jaguars interviewed their former quarterback twice in January 2022, but Leftwich removed his name from consideration for the job. Jacksonville ended up hiring Doug Pederson and is now in the divisional round. Leftwich’s fourth Bucs offense dropped from second in 2021 to 25th this season.

In December, a report emerged indicating Brady and Leftwich were not seeing eye-to-eye, and a recent report noted a Brady 2023 return could well be contingent on Leftwich’s dismissal. Many connected Brady to Bruce Arians‘ exit as well, though Arians has repeatedly denied he was forced out. While Brady’s Tampa future is up in the air, Bowles will search for his own offensive coordinator. Bowles’ seat warmed after the Bucs’ 8-9 finish and blowout loss to the Cowboys in the wild-card round, and he will tie his future to a handpicked OC.

A name to watch is Georgia OC Todd Monken, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). Monken has a history with the Bucs, having been on staff from 2016-18, and Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com adds (via Twitter) he has generated interest from teams.

The Bucs moved on from Monken upon firing Dirk Koetter after the 2018 season, leading Monken to Cleveland and the Arians-Leftwich tandem to Tampa. Monken has been Georgia’s OC since 2020, and his tenure has overlapped with the greatest stretch in the program’s history. The Bulldogs have won back-to-back national championships, the most recent being cemented via a 65-7 rout of TCU. Monken’s 2018 Bucs season also included Ryan Fitzpatrick posting a 9.6 yards-per-attempt figure, which still ranks in the top 10 all time.

Leftwich earned a second chance as an OC following a dismal 2018, which featured the Cardinals’ first post-Arians season end with a 3-13 record and the team ranking last offensively. Arians, who had retired following the 2017 slate, brought Leftwich to Tampa and installed him as the Bucs’ play-caller. Jameis Winston‘s historically high-variance 2019 season gave way to Brady in 2020. After a rocky start, the legendary QB drove the Bucs to a top-three ranking on offense that year. Leftwich collected a Super Bowl ring that season, and Brady led the NFL in touchdown passes and passing yards in 2021. Tampa Bay’s final Winston-led offense also ranked in the top seven in both points and yards, which should reflect well on Leftwich. But this season brought an undeniable blow to his value.

The Bucs ranked last across the board in rushing this season, despite the team re-signing Leonard Fournette on a three-year deal worth $21MM. Offensive line issues plagued the team, and Brady’s QBR fell from second in 2021 to 18th in 2022. The Bucs’ 198 fewer points from 2021-22 doubles as the second-steepest decline in NFL history, behind only the Falcons’ freefall from 1973-74 (h/t Fox Sports’ Greg Auman). Although Brady threw for 351 yards in Tampa Bay’s woeful wild-card performance, he struggled throughout and did not confirm anything about his 2023 plans postgame. The 45-year-old passer has been connected to retiring again, playing for the Bucs in 2023 or playing elsewhere. More Brady-dominated news cycles are coming, but Leftwich will be on the lookout for his next gig by that point.

Leftwich’s Winston offense outperforming Monken’s Winston work should work in the former’s favor, though some of Winston and Brady’s Tampa production will undoubtedly be attributed to Arians. Leftwich, a former Jags top-10 pick, entered coaching in 2016 as an Arians intern but rose to the OC level by 2018, when the Cardinals fired Mike McCoy in-season.

NFL Reserve/Futures Deals: 1/18/23

January 18th, 2023 at 8:30pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s reserve/futures deals:

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

Philadelphia Eagles

  • DB Tristin McCollum

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

According to Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (via Twitter), there was a bit of competition for offensive lineman Kyle Hinton’s services. The 2020 seventh-round pick spent much of the season on the Vikings practice squad, and they looked to sign him to a reserve/futures contract. However, he ended up opting for the Falcons, who gave him an $100K signing bonus.

NFL Reserve/Futures Deals: 1/17/23

January 17th, 2023 at 7:27pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s reserve/futures deals:

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Buccaneers Activate C Ryan Jensen From IR

January 16th, 2023 at 10:56am CST by Adam La Rose

Just in time for tonight’s postseason game, the Buccaneers are receiving a significant boost to their offensive line. The team announced that center Ryan Jensen has been activated from IR, putting him in line to make his season debut against the Cowboys. In a corresponding move, special teamer J.J. Russell has been waived.

Jensen suffered a major knee injury in late July, and his availability for the season was immediately called into question. It was long presumed that he would be sidelined for the entire campaign, something which substantially compounded the Buccaneers’ issues along the interior of their o-line. The retirement of Ali Marpet and free agent departure of Alex Cappa left the team without any of their 2021 starters at guard or center throughout the 2022 campaign.

To little surprise, then, Tampa Bay struggled mightily on the ground this season. The Buccaneers finished dead last in rushing yards per game, averaging only 77 yards in that department. The absence of a balanced attack weighed down the team’s offensive consistency despite their success through the air (270 passing yards per game, second-most in the league). Jensen’s return, assuming he is able to play close to his Pro Bowl level, could go a long way towards solving that issue.

The 31-year-old has been a mainstay in the middle of Tampa’s offensive front since signing with the team as a free agent in 2018. He had yet to miss a game during his time with the Bucs prior to this summer’s injury, making him a dependable member of the team’s decorated offense. It remained uncertain for much of the campaign when (if at all) Jensen would be able to return this year, but a comeback was confirmed to be a distinct possibility last month when he returned to practice.

Uncertainty still remains at the left guard spot for Tampa Bay heading into the final contest of the wild-card round, but with Jensen expected to start, their offense will be better-positioned to pull off an upset over Dallas. This move leaves the Buccaneers with three IR activations remaining for the postseason.

Buccaneers Expected To Retain HC Todd Bowles

January 14th, 2023 at 8:22pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Buccaneers are preparing for their wild-card matchup on Monday night, but the weekend has already produced a significant (if unsurprising) development for the team. Tampa Bay is expected to retain head coach Todd Bowles in 2023 barring an “unforeseen change of heart,” reports Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times.

Stroud notes that the outcome of the Bucs’ upcoming contest against the Cowboys will not affect the front office’s view of Bowles, who guided the team to an up-and-down performance throughout the season and was reported in December to be likely to be retained. Tampa ended up with an 8-9 record, which was still good enough to win the NFC South and set the team up with a home playoff game.

The 59-year-old took over as head coach from his defensive coordinator role in the wake of Bruce Arians‘ retirement. However, Bowles retained play-calling duties on that side of the ball during the campaign, assigning the title of co-DCs to Kacy Rodgers and Larry Foote. Stroud notes that it remains Bowles’ intention to remove himself from the role of play-caller down the road, which would likely lead to one of Rodgers or Foote taking on those responsibilities.

Bowles inherited plenty of expectations given the Bucs’ success under Arians and with Tom Brady under center. However, the team never managed a winning streak longer than two games during the season, struggling to find consistency on offense in particular. Set back considerably by injuries up front, Tampa ranked just 25th in the league in scoring with an average of 18.4 points per game. That has fueled speculation regarding Brady’s future with either Tampa Bay or a number of other interested clubs, and led to calls for offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich to be replaced.

On defense, Bowles led his unit to a better statistical performance. Tampa Bay surrendered the ninth-fewest yards per game in the league, and tied for 13th in scoring defense (allowing 21.1 points per contest). Still, the Buccaneers found themselves involved in several high-scoring affairs in 2022, along with more than one lopsided defeat, illustrating their inability to consistently produce on both sides of the ball on any given day.

Tampa Bay heads into Monday’s game as slight underdogs, and their hot-and-cold season leaves plenty of room for doubt regarding their ability to pull off the upset. Even if the team’s season comes to an end at that point, however, they will have continuity on the sidelines heading into next year.

Dolphins A Potential Suitor For Tom Brady?

January 12th, 2023 at 5:45pm CST by Ben Levine

Tom Brady-to-Miami is back on the table. A source “with general knowledge of the various dynamics regarding all things Brady” told Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com that a move to the Dolphins is “definitely on the table.”

This obviously isn’t the first time that Brady has been connected to the organization. Miami’s previous pursuit of the quarterback led to a tampering scandal that resulted in significant penalties for the organization and their owner, Stephen Ross. Either way, the Dolphins clearly had Brady’s ear as they looked to team the future Hall of Famer with head coach Sean Payton. Thanks in part to Brian Flores’ discrimination lawsuit against the Dolphins, that plan was scrapped, and following a brief retirement, Brady ended back in Tampa Bay.

The 45-year-old will hit free agency this offseason, providing no barriers to him joining the Dolphins. As opposed to his last trip to free agency, Brady should have more than a couple of teams competing for his services. It remains to be seen if Brady would still be interested in moving to Miami, but among the hypothetical suitors, they’d make sense from a roster standpoint.

Another major part of this story revolves around current Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. If the Dolphins do land Brady, Florio said it’s uncertain if the Dolphins would move on from Tua or if they’d keep him as a backup. If the organization can find another team that would “assume the concussion risks,” then the incumbent QB would be a natural trade candidate. His $4.7MM financial commitment in 2023 certainly isn’t a concern for the Dolphins or any trade suitors, so either route wouldn’t be overly surprising.

Brady’s third season in Tampa Bay saw him complete 66.8 percent of his passes for 4,694 yards, 25 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. Despite an 8-9 record, the Buccaneers qualified for the postseason. Tagovailoa, meanwhile, guided the Dolphins to an 8-5 record in 13 starts, tossing a career-high 25 touchdowns vs. only eight interceptions. He won’t start their Wild Card matchup against the Bills as he continues to sit in concussion protocol.

Raiders Looking Into Tom Brady Addition

January 10th, 2023 at 10:26pm CST by Ben Levine

Tom Brady still has at least one more game to play for the Buccaneers, but that hasn’t stopped pundits (and, potentially, other NFL teams) from considering where he could play next season. During an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show (Twitter link), Albert Breer of TheMMQB said the Raiders are “unequivocally” looking into the possibility of adding the future Hall of Famer.

The Brady/Raiders comment was preceded by a question about Jimmy Garoppolo, with Breer noting that the Raiders are also doing their due diligince on the 49ers QB. In fact, Breer believes Derek Carr was thrown into a de facto competition with the two impending free agents, with Josh McDaniels, Dave Ziegler, and co. ultimately deciding they could squeeze more out of the quarterback position from someone else.

As Breer explains, when the current regime initially signed Carr to an extension, they thought they were locking in their equivalent of Alex Smith in Kansas City. In other words, the Raiders thought their veteran QB would be able to guide them to postseason performances while the front office identified their play-caller of the future. At 31, Jimmy G could allow the Raiders to continue with that plan, while Brady would obviously force the organization to go in a completely different direction as they load up for temporary contention.

With McDaniels and Ziegler having both worked alongside Brady and Garoppolo in New England, the connections are obvious, and it really wouldn’t be surprising if one of these QBs reunites with their former coach in Las Vegas. At the moment, the big question is which of these two quarterbacks is atop the Raiders’ wish list.

Elsewhere in Raiders QB news, the organization is set to meet with Carr soon. As Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal explains, the QB and the Raiders agreed to meet after the season to “discuss the situation and all the various options.”

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 1/10/23

January 10th, 2023 at 8:30pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Baltimore Ravens

New York Giants

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Signed: CB Duron Lowe

Tennessee Titans

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/10/23

January 10th, 2023 at 7:55pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor NFL transactions, mostly involving playoff teams:

Indianapolis Colts

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

  • Designated for return: WR Dee Eskridge

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Per ESPN’s Field Yates (on Twitter), Shepley will be allowed to officially join his new squad after the Super Bowl. The offensive lineman spent most of the 2022 campaign on the Cowboys practice squad.

Davis, a sixth-round rookie out of UCF, is still recovering from a torn ACL suffered during his final collegiate season. He returned to practice earlier this month but ultimately won’t be activated for the playoffs. Per Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area (on Twitter), the defensive lineman continues to recover and should be good to go for the offseason program.

Updated 2023 NFL Draft Order

January 8th, 2023 at 10:01pm CST by Sam Robinson

Some fireworks came in regarding the draft order on the NFL’s final regular-season day. The Bears upended the Texans for the No. 1 pick, reeling in a team that held that top slot for much of the season. The Bears last made a pick at No. 1 overall in 1947. Their former head coach — Lovie Smith, whom the Texans just fired — oversaw this final-day flip-flop. Clarity on the rest of the non-playoff-bound teams’ draft slots emerged as well.

The Jaguars’ rally to win the AFC South moves them into a postseason spot, and the Titans’ seven-game losing streak to end the season drops them to their highest selection since 2017. Tennessee’s next general manager will have the opportunity to make a pick at No. 11 or deal from that draft position, while Jacksonville will hold its lowest selection since 2018. The Texans will hold two top-12 picks in April, thanks to the Browns’ Week 18 loss to the Steelers, while the Lions will have two in the top 20 as well.

For non-playoff teams, the draft order will be determined by the inverted 2022 standings — plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule — with playoff squads being slotted by their postseason outcome and regular-season record. Here is how the draft order looks at the regular season’s close:

  1. Chicago Bears: 3-14
  2. Houston Texans: 3-13-1
  3. Arizona Cardinals: 4-13
  4. Indianapolis Colts: 4-12-1
  5. Seattle Seahawks (via Broncos)
  6. Detroit Lions (via Rams)
  7. Las Vegas Raiders: 6-11
  8. Atlanta Falcons: 7-10
  9. Carolina Panthers: 7-10
  10. Philadelphia Eagles (via Saints)
  11. Tennessee Titans: 7-10
  12. Houston Texans (via Browns)
  13. New York Jets: 7-10
  14. New England Patriots: 8-9
  15. Green Bay Packers: 8-9
  16. Washington Commanders: 8-8-1
  17. Pittsburgh Steelers: 9-8
  18. Detroit Lions: 9-8
  19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 8-9
  20. Seattle Seahawks: 9-8
  21. Jacksonville Jaguars: 9-8
  22. New York Giants: 9-7-1
  23. Baltimore Ravens: 10-7
  24. Los Angeles Chargers: 10-7
  25. Dallas Cowboys: 12-5
  26. Cincinnati Bengals: 12-4
  27. Minnesota Vikings: 13-4
  28. Denver Broncos (via 49ers)
  29. Buffalo Bills: 13-3
  30. Kansas City Chiefs: 14-3
  31. Philadelphia Eagles: 14-3

This year’s draft will feature a 31-pick first round. The Dolphins’ penalty for the Tom Brady–Sean Payton tampering scandal cost them their 2023 first-round choice

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