TAMPA, Fla. -- With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2019 season, the organization first focused on making significant changes within the coaching staff.
Now, the franchise shifts to areas of need in both the draft and free agency. A big chunk of that process happened at the Senior Bowl at the end of last month in Mobile, Alabama. It will continue at the combine -- which kicks off Feb. 26 -- before free agency officially gets underway March 11.
The futures of franchise record holders Mike Evans and Lavonte David are unknown at this time, with both players pledging to take some time after the season to assess what's next. Those conversations weren't really slated to happen until after the Super Bowl.
So here we are.
In David's case, linebacker is a need no matter what, but with Evans, it could potentially be the difference in addressing wide receiver altogether, considering the Bucs selected Emeka Egbuka in the first round of last year's draft and have depth at the position.
That said, here are four positions that Tampa Bay will need to assess and potentially address this offseason:
Edge rusher
The Bucs held quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs to nine points in Super Bowl LV, not because then-defensive coordinator Todd Bowles was in his bag of blitzes that day but because he wasn't -- he blitzed on only 9.6% of dropbacks that day but came away with a 41.1% pressure rate.
The Bucs have not had a dominant edge rusher since 2021, when they had the duo of Shaquil Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul. Yaya Diaby continues to take steps forward, posting seven sacks last season, but Haason Reddick did not have the rebound year he'd hoped for, registering just 2.5 sacks after signing a one-year deal worth $14 million last offseason.
"[Diaby] was clearly our best pass rusher up front," Bowles said. "I thought he had a heck of a season, especially in the second half of the season. He was one of our best players. He plays hard, he plays with a lot of energy, and we just have to help him out with the other guys up front."
Chris Braswell, the team's second-round pick in 2024, has registered 2.5 sacks in 34 regular-season games, and David Walker, a fourth-round pick from last year's draft, is trying to come back from a torn ACL that he suffered at the beginning of training camp.
Inside linebacker
Regardless of whether David calls it a career, the Bucs struggled covering the middle of the field and in the flat.
In fact, the Bucs' 581 receiving yards given up in the flat were the most of any team. David is clearly on the back end of his career, but he was still the best option they had there, while SirVocea Dennis has been a huge liability.
Dennis surrendered 606 yards as the nearest defender -- second most in the league among linebackers last year, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. His 420 yards after the catch surrendered were also second most in the league.
"I thought [Dennis] got better as the season went on, especially in the run game," Bowles said. "He can be a lot better."
Luckily for the Bucs, this is considered to be a pretty good draft class for off-the-ball linebackers, raising the likelihood that they can find one who can rush the A-gap, come off the edge, cover the flat, hooks and curl routes and line up one-on-one versus running backs and tight ends.
Running back
Even as his role went from feature back to more of a complementary role, Rachaad White paired well with Bucky Irving and was an asset in the passing game. But he will become an unrestricted free agent, and immediately upon season's end, he began posting farewell messages -- an indication that he could be eager for a fresh start somewhere else.
On top of that, Sean Tucker will be a restricted free agent, and as tough as Irving may be, he still missed seven games this season because of shoulder and foot injuries.
This is where someone like Tyler Allgeier's Atlanta Falcons connection to new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson could come in handy.
"I see Bucky in a very similar light [to Bijan Robinson] there with what he can do in the passing game, and there's not a run concept that he can't run," Robinson said. "So I'm excited to work with Bucky and know that there is a ton of meat on the bone in the passing game.
Defensive line
Another thing the Bucs' 2020 Super Bowl defense had was excellent push up the middle. 2022 second-round draft pick Logan Hall and Greg Gaines are set to become unrestricted free agents.
In addition, starting defensive tackle Calijah Kancey has missed 22 regular-season games in three seasons because of injury. The Bucs' 2023 first-round draft pick is impactful when he's out there, leading the team with 7.5 sacks in 2024. But too often, he's not out there -- including this season, when he missed 14 games.
Still, Bowles took accountability for the issues of his defense.
"I thought it was a tough year, defensively," he said. "It starts with me, because I'm the [defensive] coordinator as well, and the coaching staff, but we've got to rush better, and we've got to cover better. It works together. Sometimes the rush got there and the coverage wasn't there. Sometimes the coverage was there and the rush didn't get there.
"It's not about the sacks -- it's more, for us, about the pressure and making the quarterback get rid of the ball and be incomplete. I don't think we did that consistently."