When you look at the Bucs roster, it is easy to see what general manager Jason Licht had in mind when he was building the team for the 2025 season. He wanted the offense to be able to carry the torch for Tampa Bay, while the defense was able to pick up the slack without too much pressure being placed on it to be the team’s breadwinner.

However, he did add some key pieces on defense to be able to make some plays in both the secondary and off the edge. Overall, the Bucs’ pass defense in 2024 was among the worst in the NFL, and if you need further proof of that, just look at Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins, who passed for 785 yards in two games against them last season.

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Despite that number, Cousins now finds himself the backup in Atlanta.

Anyway, in their team previews, ESPN discussed a variety of topics for each team, including the biggest question mark heading into the year. For the Bucs, beat reporter Jenna Laine, of course, addressed the team’s pass rush situation. She writes, “Pressure off the edge. The Bucs defense couldn’t get off the field on third down in their wild-card playoff loss to the Commanders, and they got a lot deeper in their secondary to help address this. But on the edge, though they signed Haason Reddick in free agency, draft pick David Walker suffered a torn ACL, Yaya Diaby is still learning how to finish, and Chris Braswell has yet to really flash going into Year 2.”

The arrival of Haason Reddick was met with much speculation and hesitation, for good reason. Coming off a year where he couldn’t get out of his own way, people wondered how he would adjust to the team. That question was answered immediately when he spoke to the media and talked about working with Yaya Diaby and others on defense and feeling an instant connection.

Todd Bowles isn’t asking this defense to play like it did when Derrick Brooks, Warren Sapp, and John Lynch were lining up. He wants them to be their own unique unit, but they have to be efficient. That efficiency remains a question mark heading into Week 1, but against Atlanta, it will be answered quickly.

This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: One piece of the defense remains a question mark for the Bucs in 2025