Things did not go according to plan for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2025. After starting 6-2 last season, the Bucs lost seven of their final nine games. That drastic fall off led them to missing the playoffs for the first time since 2019 and ultimately led to the departure of Mike Evans in free agency and Lavonte David‘s recent retirement.
Needless to say, the normally sunny skies in the Greater Tampa Bay area have been overcast with rain showers.
Free agency hasn’t done much to help ease the tensions among the fans, but it appears that there isn’t much of it residing around One Buc Place. In a recent one-on-one sit-down with Team Reporter Casey Phillips, General Manager Jason Licht detailed how “hungry” the team is to get things headed in the right direction.
Bucs Ready to Bounce Back
“This team is really hungry right now,” Licht said. “And the way it ended last year, I think really lit a fire under a lot of players. I’ve had several of them telling me that they can’t wait until OTAs start to get out there.
“And I had several of them after the season ended last year, texting or calling or whatever, saying, ‘This is not going to happen next year.’ I’m excited to see the energy and just the way they’re going to go about it and attack it this year.”
Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
While the message from Licht is encouraging when it comes to the mindsets of the players after a tumultuous and challenging season, they are all just words at this point and must be acted upon if they hope to turn things around.
There are still plenty of problems to fix and holes to fill on the roster before we even start to begin to think ahead to offseason programs and practices.
Licht and company dropped the ball this offseason, showing just how complacent they have been at building out the roster the past few seasons, but there is hope that they will be able to work some magic when it comes to the NFL Draft to hopefully avoid what has plagued them over the past few years.
If Licht’s sentiments regarding the players are true, then that is great, but if he is just blowing smoke and just giving “coach speak,” not only could we see the team once again falter and miss the playoffs, but Licht, along with many others, could find themselves looking for a new position outside of Tampa Bay next year.
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