Hey Scott. I was looking at free agents available at various positions. It looks like it would be better for the Bucs to draft an edge rusher and look for a linebacker in free agency. What are your thoughts? – Henry M., via app submission
I tend to agree with you, Henry. First, you’re starting with the premise that edge rusher and off-ball linebacker are two of the Buccaneers’ biggest roster needs heading into the 2026 season, if not the biggest, and that seems right to me. Now, there’s no reason that the team couldn’t address either of those positions through both free agency and the draft, but I think what we’re talking about here is its top assets in each of those endeavors. Say, a first-round draft pick and one relatively lucrative free agent contract.
From a strictly monetary/salary cap standpoint, I think your approach is the most doable. Last offseason, the top contract for an edge rusher went to Josh Sweat, who got four years and $76.4 million from the Cardinals. The highest-dollar contract for an off-ball linebacker was the three-year, $33 million deal Robert Spillane got from the Patriots. In this year’s crop of potential unrestricted free agents (quite a few of whom will not actually make it to free agency), Spotrac estimates the average annual value (AAV) of a new contract for edge rusher Trey Hendrickson at $25.4 million, which honestly seems a little low to me. The top AAV for a free-agent-to-be off-ball linebacker is Devin Lloyd at $20.1 million.
That difference between Hendrickson and Lloyd isn’t that huge, but this happens to be a good year in free agency at the linebacker position, with a lot of options. Again, some of these guys will get new deals with their existing teams before free agency even begins, but there still should be some attractive options on the market. In addition to the Jaguars’ Lloyd, other potential UFA linebackers include the Browns’ Devin Bush, the Eagles’ Nakobe Dean, the Chiefs’ Leo Chanel, the Lions’ Alex Anzalone, the Falcons’ Kaden Elliss, the Jets’ Quincy Williams, the Broncos’ Alex Singleton and the Packers’ Quay Walker. I’m not even including such older options as Bobby Wagner, Demario Davis and Willie Gay because I assume the Bucs would be looking for a longer-term option.
Now, it’s a decent year for linebackers in the draft, as well, and one very popular prediction for the Buccaneers at pick number 15 in the first round, from the mock drafts I’ve perused, is Ohio State’s Sonny Styles. However, there should also be some intriguing edge rush options at that spot, too, even if Miami’s Rueben Bain and Texas Tech’s David Bailey are already taken. Those options include Auburn’s Keldric Faulk, Texas A&M’s Cashius Howell, Miami’s Akheem Mesidor, and Clemson’s T.J. Parker. Given the going right for top edge rushers on the open market, potentially landing one that you have on a rookie contract for four or five years seems like a great way to spend a first-round pick.
It’s worth noting that the Buccaneers will be getting David Walker back from the season-ending knee injury that ended what was shaping up as a very impressive rookie training camp. If the Buccaneers land an edge rusher in the first round and see Walker emerge as a valuable contributor that position could get a lot better in a hurry. As for off-ball linebacker, the Buccaneers probably need to add more than one new player at the position this offseason, so signing one in free agency and drafting one on Day Two or early Day Three would make a lot of sense, in my opinion.
When a coach moves on, do they leave their playbook behind? Are other coaches allowed to use the former coach’s plays? – Tom. H
Well, the thing about a team’s physical playbook is that there are a lot more than one copy of it in the building. So if Liam Coen left his post as the Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator to become the Jacksonville Jaguars’ head coach, he could certainly take his playbook with him but that information would also still be at the AdventHealth Training Center, too.
Here’s a kind of weird example: In 2021, the Rams hired our friend Raheem Morris to replace Brandon Staley as their defensive coordinator after Staley got the Chargers’ head coaching gig. Generally when a new coordinator joins a team he brings with him his own system, influenced by other jobs they’ve had and other coaches they’ve worked with. We’ve seen that repeatedly in recent years with the Bucs’ offensive coordinator position (Josh Grizzard was a promotion from within so that was a different situation). In this case with the Rams, they knew Morris was a talented coach with his own background but they wanted him to run the same system that Staley had been running because it had worked so well with their existing personnel. The Rams won the Super Bowl that season, so it seems the arrangement worked (having Aaron Donald helped a lot, too).
The other thing I would note here is that every team runs a lot of the same plays. The terminology tends to differ from coach to coach but a lot of the basics are the same. Like, every team is going to have some version of a three-level pass play that includes a vertical route, a shallow route in the flat and an intermediate crosser. Every team is going to have some form of a play in which the quarterback fakes a handoff, rolls to one side and throws a quick-hitter to a tight end who has chipped a defender at the line and then gone out into the flat. I don’t know what these concepts are called in the Buccaneers’ playbook (they don’t give me a copy) but I know I’ve seen the Bucs run them.
And every team has lots of coaches, scouts and other personnel employees who collectively watch a lot of game tape of other teams. It’s obviously not uncommon for a coach on one team to see another team run a play, like the concept and try to incorporate into their own scheme. And you also have a lot of teams running similar systems because they come from the same “coaching tree.” You’re seeing a lot of that now with the Rams and Sean McVay; two of the Bucs’ last three OC hires are from that tree, and Dave Canales came from a similar system, as well.
It probably is wise, however, for a team to make some changes when one of their play-callers leaves for another team. Famously, the 2002 Oakland Raiders continued to run the same system as Jon Gruden had installed as their head coach before he was traded earlier that year to the Buccaneers. When those two teams met in the Super Bowl, Gruden’s very deep understanding of the tendencies of the Raiders’ offense allowed him to prepare the Buccaneers’ already-dominant defense for exactly what they would see on Super Bowl Sunday. It proved to be a significant advantage.
Illinois Edge Gabe Jacas recently said, “Tell the Bucs to come and get me”. He’s one of my favorite players in the draft and I think he’s going to be a monster in the NFL. Do you have any insight on if he’s someone the Bucs are targeting at this stage in the draft process? – Joel D., via app submission
If I had any true insider information on the Bucs’ plans for the draft, it would be unwise of me to share it in this space. If I did, it would probably be the last S.S. Mailbag I ever wrote. The Buccaneers’ (and I’m sure every team’s) player-personnel brain trust keeps that circle of information very tight, for obvious reasons. However, I think the Buccaneers should have interest in the Illini’s Gabe Jacas and unless there are some red flags I don’t know about (I’m not suggesting there are), I’d have to think he would be a consideration on Day Two if the picks lined up right. There seems to be something of a consensus – albeit one that is very early in the process and could change in either direction – that he is likely to be selected in the second round, though you do see some analysts sneaking him into the back end of the first round.
There is definitely a lot to like about Jacas and how he could fit with the Buccaneers. First, edge rush is pretty obviously an area of need for the Buccaneers after the team had its lowest sack total (37) in eight years in 2025. In fact, the biggest obstacle for the Bucs’ drafting an edge rusher in the second round is that they might have already hit that position in the first round.
Jacab was certainly productive at Illinois, and his last season was his best one yet, with 11.0 sacks, 13.5 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles and, according to Pro Football Focus, 22 QB hurries. He had 8.0 sacks, three forced fumbles and 28 hurries in 2024, as well. PFF has him ranked as their eighth edge rusher and as their 40th prospect overall. His scouting reports tend to stress his speed-to-power ability and his overall strength but suggest he has room to grow in the refinement of his pass-rush techniques and development of his toolkit of rushing moves. That could actually be a good thing, as it suggests he has room to grow even more as a sack artist. He is also commonly described as being scheme-versatile, so it doesn’t seem like there would be any issues with him fitting into a Todd Bowles defense. And at 6-3 and 260 pounds with the chance to add a little more weight without sacrificing speed, he has good size. I’m sure NFL scouts will also love that he was a state-champion wrestler so he’s got a feel for leverage when locked in battle with offensive linemen.
Jacas was also a team captain at Illinois, which I know is something the Bucs like to see on a player’s resume. And he seems to be the type of high-motor, never-take-a-play-off type that coaches like, as well. Like I said, there’s a lot to like here.
And while I don’t know how much it would factor into the team’s evaluation of him, it’s pretty cool that he seems to want to play for the Buccaneers. I assume you are referring to the reporting from the Senior Bowl by the Pewter Report, to whom he made that comment you mentioned. Jacas is from Port St. Lucie and played his prep ball in that area; I don’t know if he grew up a Bucs fan or not but he seems to like the idea of coming back to Florida to start his NFL career.
Again, this is not really “insight” into whether or not the Buccaneers’ draft decision-makers are high on Jacas, but I can definitely see why he’s one of your favorite players in the draft, Joel.