Bucs Defensive Additions Bring SNARL To The Defense | 'Best Of The Rest' In Free Agency

Hey everyone, this is Ross Jackson, one of the hosts of The Lockdown Podcast Network.

If your group chats been a little quiet lately, I want to invite you to come and join

ours.

If you sign up for the everydayer club, you get access to the members' only group chats

for your favorite teams, plus national chats for every sport.

Personally, I love watching folks talk a little smack in the NFC South Trash talk chat.

You also get an ad-free version of your favorite locked on show and a whole lot more.

You can check it out by tapping the everydayer club link in the show notes.

The Buccaneers may not have made a big splash in free agency, but the pieces they've added

might just be bringing something new to the defensive side of the ball, in improving

the team in the area that is needed the most.

You are locked on Buccaneers, your daily Tampa Bay Buccaneers podcast, part of The Lockdown

Podcast Network, your team every day.

What's up and welcome into this episode of Lockdown Bucks, your daily podcast covering

the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, part of The Lockdown Podcast Network.

Now, the number one sports podcast network, I'd like to thank you for making locked

on Buccaneers listen to you every day.

I am your host, James Jarko, right or over at Buccaneers, I've come with Buccaneers

for over a decade.

And of course, he is Evan Klosski of 10 Tampa Bay and 10Tampa Bay dot com.

And I am here with you every Monday through Friday along with the everydayers.

That will share my appreciation for your continued support of the show.

We are going to get Evan's best of the rest in free agency and see what he grades their

free agent moves to this point.

But Evan, since we spoke last and are recording when completely off the rails, because that

was the moment that the Max Cross we trade news, it was completely off.

But since then, the Bucks have gone out, they signed defensive lineman, A. Sean Robinson,

they signed Ed Ruscher, Al Qudin, Muhammad.

Now, these weren't splash cycles or household names, but they certainly helped in some key

areas where the Bucks struggled last season.

What did you make of the signings and what do you feel that those two guys bring to a team

that just could not rush the quarterback consistently last season?

Look, I mean, they're savvy signings, right?

I'm not here to say that the Buccaneers are now on their way to a Super Bowl because

of it.

But considering that the money used for both of those players probably equals what you would

have had to pay Mike Evans close enough.

But for the most part, I think that A, you needed to add beef in the defensive trenches.

I fully imagine the Buccaneers are going to draft a defensive lineman.

So let's say that they draft a defensive lineman.

Their D-line room would be Vita Vega, Kalaija Cansey, A. Sean Robinson, whoever you

draft, Elijah Roberts, and Elijah Simmons.

That's all the sudden a D-line that kind of looked weak last year.

Certainly, look, if Vita or Cansey get hurt, it's still going to be a problem, but at least

you have A. Sean who's kind of been there done that, and can at least cosplay in a starter

role versus last year.

I mean, they really didn't have someone behind their top two dyes who could step in and

be everything that you needed him to be.

It was Elijah Roberts being thrust into a run-stopping down.

He was exposed.

Elijah Simmons could run-stop, but he couldn't.

He really rushed the passer and he kind of got phased out by the end of it.

Greg Gaines, you know, just the floor was getting lower and lower for him.

So I really like what they did with Robinson, and then when you talk about Muhammad, I mean,

look, he was the only NFL player last year who did not start a game where double digit

sacks was that, you know, being the beneficiary of playing next to Aiden Hutchinson, maybe.

I do like his tape, you know, is he going to have 11 sacks for the box?

I don't know, but it would be great, but he is a guy that at least on obvious passing

downs, which if you go back to a lot of his sacks, a lot of them did come in games where

third down or second half, you know, you're protecting Ali, whatever it might be, end

a game stuff.

You can deploy him and he should be able to get the job done next to Yahya.

And Yahya is great because he does so many things well, you know, certainly does great

against a run.

Obviously, he can do a little bit better against the pass, but in a third down situation,

you might be able to have some help now with a higher floor guy in Muhammad.

Yeah, I mean, you can't really complain, you know, whoever you're going to throw in

there, it's going to be as positive.

I, you know, I spun Hassan Reddick as a positive last year when they signed him.

You still got to do it, right?

It seems great on paper and to be honest, Reddick was supposed to have a higher ceiling

last year entering the year than what you're paying Muhammad to do.

So, you know, my thing with Muhammad is he still, you can't play him all downs.

That's probably the one knock, but they just need pass rushers.

So, from that stance, I like it.

Again, we really, we imagine the, the buccaneers are going to draft in that drusher.

Like, they're going to draft somebody who can pass rush, you know, the thing is, when

you look at this room, we still don't know what David Walker is.

And that really is going to dictate what I feel about this group because Yahya, Muhammad,

insert draft pick, David Walker, Chris Braswell reads a little bit different if Walker is

showcasing some of those things that made Larry foot so excited when they drafted him.

You know, if, if David Walker gets injured again or is not quite what we think he could

be, puts a lot of pressure on that draft pick and we'll write back to square one with

this team.

The fact is, we don't, entering the year, we will not have a, I will not feel confident

about the pass rush until I see it.

And that's really the problem.

That's why fans won't max crowd do that's why they want to tray Hendrickson.

They wanted someone who they know, when they step in day one, they can expect 10 sacks

and, you know, barring injury, but they can expect 10 sacks.

They know what this person puts out on tape and they're a top 10, top 15 type of player

at their position.

But it's not going to have that with the Buccaneers next year and you hope whoever they

draft, maybe can surprise, but I tend to think that at that position, I think that's

one of the hardest positions to transition into the NFL playing off the edge.

And it's usually, like, even like Jared verse when he started playing for the Rams.

It's very special, but it wasn't like he was rattling off like 15 sacks season, like

even Hutchinson was a top pick.

One of the top, like that, that sort of talent is what you need for me to change my opinion.

When you're drafting a little bit, when you're not getting a top five pick, it's just,

it's just tough to find.

So yeah, I like them.

Am I a hundred percent sold that, that these issues are fixed?

No, but they're, they're good players and we like good players that usually produces

a good football team.

Yeah, we heard that the Bucks were in on Trey Henderson.

They wanted a shorter turn deal, obviously, and you and I talked about it in real time

that, you know, as soon as the Crosby trade was called off, it's like, oh, Trey Henderson's

going to go to the Ravens.

You know, but when you take a look with Trey Henderson off the table and you take a look

at Muhammad versus some of the other edge rushers that were on the market, you know,

do you feel that maybe the Bucks got the guy with the highest upside rather than relying

on an older guy with an injury history like a Joey Vosis, that was a name that came

up a lot?

Yeah, I mean, you know, it just depends how you want to look at it.

You know, yes, from an upside standpoint, sure, but it's still a one year deal.

Like what, you know, like when Shaq came to the box, it was great to have that upside

until you had to pay him all this money to keep him, right?

If Muhammad comes out and has 15 sacks, that's awesome.

You're now going to have to pay him a ton of money to keep him, which, you know, obviously

is a good problem to have, but, you know, Muhammad, at least up to this point seems like

he's been fairly durable.

Obviously, he hasn't had to start and maybe doesn't get the amount of reps as somebody

else does.

You know, there is something to be said about a guy like Joey Vosis who has been there

and done that when he is healthy, usually can affect games.

But yeah, I mean, typically when you hit your 30s, like even like with Trey Hendrickson

and the back, you know, the back end of that Ravens contract, it's probably not going

to be too pretty for them, you know, and, you know, they might not even make it there

with all the guaranteed monies, which is typically how those things go.

But, you know, typically at that age, you are going to plateau slash start falling off.

And so, Muhammad, you know, a late bloomer, you might have a little bit more juice left

in there.

And maybe he's a little bit emboldened now by that year in Detroit and things, hey, like

I can prove to everybody that I'm not just eight and Hutchinson's wingman, right?

I mean, there's plenty of motivation for him.

Lines didn't take him back, you know, he had 11 sacks and didn't get paid a whole chunk

of money.

So, you know, I typically like the guys that have something to prove, does it mean it works

out for you?

Again, I sound retic, but it's certainly the mentality and the snarl.

I think from a snarl perspective and a snarl rating, Robinson, Anzaloni, Muhammad, like

a 9.1 on snarl.

So that we like, because I think that is something that the team was lacking.

Yeah, look, they went out and signed themselves a couple of bullies, which is nice to have on

the defensive side of the ball.

All right, well, while the first wave of free agency is over, Evan is going to go through

the best of the rest that the box could look to to improve the team that is coming up next

on today's episode of Locked On Box, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team

every day.

College basketball is nonstop big games tight spreads momentum swings every single night

from early tip offs to late night West Coast shootouts.

There's always action on the board.

And now, Fandall is giving you a way to turn that energy into even bigger potential wins with

a college basketball, partly profit boost.

You can build any college hoops, partly that you want rivalry games, rank matchups,

whatever you want.

You can mix spreads, totals, player props to match how you see the slate playing out,

then apply the profit boost and instantly bump up the potential payout.

Michigan, Duke and Arizona are the favorites to win the national championship,

all tied at plus 380 followed by Florida plus 900 Houston at plus 1100 and then Iowa state

at plus 1600.

Go safe, go bold, ride with the team.

You've been following all season.

It's your parlay, your style now with more upside behind it.

Head to fandall.com to get started.

That's fandall.com.

Fandall play your game.

Thank you again for making Locked On Bunch.

You first listen review every day.

And thank you for making Locked On B number one sports podcast network.

Join the every day or club right now with code March.

M-A-R-C-H and get your first month free.

If you sign up for the NCAA tournament tips off this Thursday,

you can compete against me as well as all of the other Locked On hosts

in our men's and women's bracket pools on discord.

The winner in each is going to get $100 in Locked On Merch.

The rest of us can commiserate in the members only chats

as our brackets implode.

Super excited for that to happen.

All right, the bucks still are not done filling out this roster.

Not even close.

Of course, we have the draft in a little over a month from now

where you're going to be adding as of now seven new players to this team.

That said, there are still lots of free agents out there.

And you're going to see, you know,

these guys slowly start to join teams.

And then there's going to be another mini wave free agency

after the draft to fill out needs that weren't addressed,

you know, during draft weekend.

And then you'll have that third wave during training camp

to replace guys who suffer injuries.

So even though the first wave is done,

free agency is basically basically going to last

through the end of the year as, you know,

teams continuously go and pick up new players.

Evan, who are some of the guys that you see out there

that would still be able to come in and help improve

this bucket years roster?

Whether that's in a rotational role, a depth role,

you know, that Tampa could realistically look into bringing it.

Look, at this point, the Bucks don't have much money left.

I'm going to guess, and I haven't looked at it the last couple of days.

I'm going to guess just thinking your head like about five million

in cash left to spend maybe.

So we got to ask ourselves, like, what does this team need?

Now, if Levante David were to come back,

and let's say this team has about five million dollars to spend,

what is Levante David coming back asking for?

Like, is Levante David signing for three million?

Like, are you coming back and playing a whole other season for three million?

Like, he did play for four and a half million just a couple of years ago.

If you do, so if you do four and a half million,

three, four and a half million, like that might be it, right?

Like that, that could be it.

Also, maybe he wants to take a little bit of a pay cut,

in a little bit of a reduced roll, ease his body in,

kind of do some of that.

But if we're reading the tea leaves on what Levante David's going to do,

I would say that that might be a wee bit of some tea leaves, but we'll see.

Because in the end, there is no reason to talk about adding free agents.

If they bring in Levante David, you know, maybe they scrounge up some

shekels for a cornerback, a veteran cornerback, which I'll get to in a minute,

but mostly you're going to have to supplement with the draft now,

and those are going to have to be the rest of your backups, because you kind of,

you know, spend the rest of your money, unless the glazers after the whole Mike Evans

debacle say, you know what, Levante's on us.

Like, we're going to, Levante money will tuck aside, you continue to do your business.

Um, so, you know, just food for thought there.

But if we want to look at the linebacker position, which currently,

they have Angeloane and Servacea Dennis.

So as it stands right now, you probably need three linebackers, right?

Like, I mean, at least two that you're entering the season with.

One has to be a special teamers.

So if we're looking at guys that, um, they can maybe bring in,

uh, you know, the, the options are honestly slim.

So, you know, I'm not even,

some of these names to even give you, I think would just be, you know, we're like, you know,

like, people aren't, aren't fans of Kenneth Murray.

I get it. Um, around $5 million to play, you know, third fiddle to whoever you draft,

who's going to have to start for this team is, you know, he would be a backup.

And that's just the way the backups work.

They're not, um, sexy, you know, Christian Rose Boom is another one.

Not, not these sexy guys, you know, Shaq Thompson is another guy.

So those are the types of, uh, talents.

Because again, they're going to draft someone to start at linebacker.

Like, the roster is telling us that we know that.

We can, we can prognosticate that right now.

What I'm looking at is really the cornerback position.

Because they need a, a veteran cornerback to sit behind Zion and Bimo.

And you probably have to draft one.

But you might have to draft a little bit more of a developmental project.

And it would be better suited for them to be the four than the three.

So removing Levante from the equation and whatever money he would bring in, you know,

you want to talk through guys like Rizul Douglas, Dornay Holmes, Adori Jackson,

Abonte Maddox, um, Trudevius White, Keir Elon, like, not much more, they're not going to pay

March on that.

And I don't think fan, I think, I think Buck and Ears fans have said, you know what?

I don't care if this man is going to help our team out.

Just like Cameron Jordan, we don't want him.

Don't make this, don't make this offseason any worse than it's already been for fans.

Hey, by the way, we're bringing in Cameron Jordan.

I had to say it just because, you know, David Harrison and I were joking about it

last week. And then I mentioned it on the squash.

I was like, you know what?

I think I've reached the point in pre-agency where I want Jason Light to do the full heel turn

and just be as petty as possible inside March on Latin more, just in case they face San Francisco

and the playoffs. Not really.

Again, don't come after me with your, you know, with your pitchforks.

But yeah, I had not come at us to get him.

He can handle it.

Yeah, you know, it's so really like for me, what I think you have to look at is there's really

not much else to add.

Like when you're looking, if you want to go at home and look at players, you kind of like

and say, okay, where are those gaps on this team?

Like maybe they're at, you know, maybe you're bringing back a like a Tyler Johnson type

that wide receiver.

If Sterling Shepard isn't kind of back, you know, I hope Shep is back.

But right now they have what five wide receivers with Godwin Abuka, McMillan,

Tess Johnson, and Cameron Johnson.

So, you know, maybe Garrett Green is ready to step into a role after a year in the practice squad.

We'll see what happens.

But that like in general, that's what, you know, if you want some to have some fun at home,

I'm giving you $5 million.

You can probably sign a wide receiver, five or six.

Maybe another backup offensive lineman.

I don't think it's 100% necessary now that you brought back Fini.

Um, like maybe maybe another outside linebacker.

I don't think it's necessary considering who to draft one.

Certainly look at the inside linebackers.

Certainly look at the cornerbacks.

And maybe a safety if you're not a believer in JJ Roberts.

But like that's kind of it.

The team is is almost set in stone when you factor in the draft.

Yeah, and, and of course, people are counting down to the draft.

I'm excited about it.

I'm excited.

I'll be at Ohio State's pro day with David Harrison next week.

Uh, that should find an institution that will hopefully clean yourself up.

I'm wearing Illinois stuff while I'm there.

All right, Professor Klosski hands out his grades.

That is coming up next on today's episode of Locked On Fun.

Never hired someone who looked good on paper, but wasn't the right fit.

You know how important that is.

When you want candidates who truly match what you're looking for,

trust indeed sponsor jobs.

If you're hiring, indeed is all you need.

Stop struggling to get your job posting on other sites.

Indeed, sponsor jobs puts your post at the top of the page.

And helps you reach the right candidates faster.

Indeed, sponsor jobs helps your listing stand out and reach quality candidates.

And they boost your pro your post to the people who are the best match for your role.

That makes the real difference.

Spend more time interviewing candidates who check all of your boxes with less stress,

less time, more results using indeed sponsor jobs.

Listeners of this show get a $75 sponsor job credit to help give your job.

The premium placement it deserves and indeed.com slash locked on NFL.

Just go to indeed.com slash locked on NFL.

Right now and support the show by saying you heard about indeed on this podcast.

Terms and conditions apply hiring.

Do it the right way with indeed.

Rep and things up here on today's episode of locked on bucks and to recap.

The Buccaneers have brought in Alex Anzaloni Kenneth Gainwell,

A. Sean Robinson, Alfred E. Muhammad, Jake Browning and Biles Kilibrit.

They retained K. Dotton co-kept and Dan Theney.

They have tendered Sean Tucker on the flip side.

They lost Mike Evans, Rashad White who could not get out of town fast enough and then got like a

league minimum deal. Christian Isian Logan Hall in Jamel D.

They still have 10 guys that were on the team last year that are available in free agency as of

right now at this moment, including Levante David who, as we just talked about, if he does play,

will only play for Tampa. Then Hassan Reddick, Ray Gaines, Sterling Shepherd, Kind of the

Lord, D.R. Jones, Anthony Walker, Jr. Evan, what would you grade the Bucs free agency moves so far

this? In totality, I lean towards a C minus.

Because here's a thing, I like the Anzaloni edition, I like Gainwell, I like Robinson,

I like Muhammad, I like bringing back Odin, I like all those moves.

The thing that you needed, you needed a star pass rusher to elevate this defensive group.

And it seems like for the 90th year in a row, I'm going to be on Locked On Bucks,

complaining about this all season. You did not address the biggest need on this team.

And you're going to, I'm sure, do some of that in the draft and we'll see when the season begins,

how that's going to work out like again. The asterisk is David Walker's legit, you draft a stud

and then all the sudden I can eat all these words and I'll give a huge tip of the cap to Jason

Light, say I was wrong, you were right, that's why you sit in that position and I sit in my

butt over here. But in the end, everybody at home knows and we all complained about it, you need a

pass rush. And I just, it feels like they, they, they, they whiffed. It feels like they whiffed

and they had to settle for Muhammad. And again, I like the Muhammad signing. It's average,

like it's a C minus. It's nothing to get excited about. It's, it's savvy work. Robinson is

savvy work, gain wealth, savvy work, Anzaloni, you needed it, you got it. It's a little bit at,

it's average. It's what I expected this team to do. But C minus, because you also lost my heavens.

And in some respect, I think some fans out there might be a little bit of a heart of grade than I am.

But you can tell me that you're like, I believe in this wide receiver room of God went

a Buka McMillan. It's a strong three. With Mike Evans, it's a, it's a totally different unit.

And you're going to have to convince me that this offense is going to be able to elevate without

Mike. Because when Mike has been off the field, that is when we have seen a deflated offense,

historically speaking for this team, it's a new offensive coordinator. I'm not going to put that

baggage on Zach Robinson. But I look at this team the same way that I looked at the team last year.

And with maybe a little less of a, of a glimmer of my eye, this is a good team. I don't know if they're

a great team. This is a eight nine 10 win team. Maybe gets you a dub in the playoffs. I do not think

this team is competing for a Super Bowl title. And from that perspective, I go back to the whole

Mike Evans rant I had like, what are we doing here? It feels like you're straddling, you're straddling

the middle between being a decent product to watch, but not a good enough product to get excited about.

That's the reality of where I feel like this team is. And a lot of players are going to have to

a stay healthy, which we haven't seen a mile, but be elevate their game to prove that this is a

Super Bowl winning team. Baker Mayfield is going to have to force the box to regret the fact that

they don't, they did not extend him. And he's going to be worth 50 million. You're going to need

Chris Godwin to look like the guy we saw a couple of years ago. Mecha Buka to take that next step.

The offensive line, if they can all stay healthy, that is a legit online. What happens if

one goes down? Tristan Worf's is typically injured every year now. Luke Gettyke has been getting

injured every year. Cody Malke is coming off of a torn ACL. That's not an easy injury to come back on.

No, it's not. So you have you have collage of cancies who can't suit up for a full season. Vita

Vaya is a year older and tapered out at the end of the last year. I already mentioned the outside

linebackers, the inside linebackers, right now there are two on the roster, cornerbacked.

You're depending on Zion Bimo, Jacob Parrish, with nothing behind them. So none of those guys can

get injured. And then you have Antelman, the junior, Tiki Smith, and none of those guys can get

injured. It's, it's, it's just us. It's, it's tough. The, the, the depth, I don't think is

completely there. The draft is going to help some of these complaints. But in the end, I just think

they're a good team. And there are much worse things you could be. You could be the jets.

You know, coming from a guy who grew up a jet fan, right? You could, you could be what the browns

have been for a decade and a half, right? There are worse, there are worse places to be

and don't feel like going back to the decade of darkness is something you want to risk.

Because I know the glazers don't. But the reality is you have to do something transformative

to really shift the tide of this team becoming a contender. They did that with Tom Brady. They brought

in an X factor who brought in a bunch of other pieces who transformably changed the makeup of this

team. I just haven't seen that type of, I haven't seen the glazers or this organization kind of

put it all on the table and say, let's go for it. It's just, it's a lot of straddle. It's a lot of

straddle. And it, it smells like to me wanting to keep your options open for 2027, you know, loaded

quarterback class. That's what, and not to mention a loaded draft class period, but certainly a loaded

quarterback class. Well, and it's, it's like you said last week, pick a light, either you're contending

or you're rebuilding. At this point, being average, being in the middle, if you are going to move on

and keep your options open in a loaded quarterback class, pick 15 isn't going to get it done.

So, you know, either you're in or you're out and I agreed with, with that assessment. Of course,

we'll revisit, you know, Professor Klossky's grading scale here in about a month and a half

when the draft rolls through and we start to get an even more clear picture of what this roster

looks like. But Evan, what are we have going on over at 10 Tampa Bay 10 Tampa Bay.com in the 10 Tampa

Bay news app? Yeah, just make sure that you check out the 10 Tampa Bay news app, especially,

you know, if you're filling out your brackets and all that stuff, I mean,

the, our friends that locked on over here are just crushing it and we have a great partnership.

So, we're getting you set for the bracket. We're going to cover March Man this all the way through.

You can watch the games on 10 Tampa Bay, you know, we'll be covering USF in their first game against

Buffalo on Thursday. You know, they have practiced tomorrow or if you listen to this on Wednesday at 11 o'clock,

we'll see them play on Thursday at 130. The Valspar Championship is this week. We got games in Tampa.

It's going to be beautiful all weekend. So, we got you covered.

Yep, you are going to want to check all of that out.

Please follow everything on Twitter at locked on box at JRco underscore box at e-closki WTSB.

Follow on YouTube with the notifications turned on as well as whatever you do with podcasts.

Join the everyday or club. You can compete in a bracket challenge that will win you $100 of

locked on swag use promo code March for your first month free. If you want to sport the show,

you don't want to join the everyday or club. It's pretty simple. Like this episode on YouTube.

Leave a five star review wherever you get podcasts. It does help other book near fans find the show.

Hope you all have an absolutely outstanding day. Stay safe. Stay healthy.

Fire the cannons. We want to thank you so much for joining us right here on locked on box part of

the locked on podcast network your team. Have a great day.