A rebuild by any other name is still a rebuild

Times almost up

Mike Evans, Devin White, Lavonte David, Antoine Winfield, Will Gholston, Aaron Stinnie, Ryan Neal, Ke’Shawn Vaughn, and Deven Thompkins, among others, will all be free agents next season. There are some significant names in that list. It’s fair to say there isn’t going to be a way to sign them all. In addition, it remains to be seen if Baker Mayfield will end the season the same way he started it, as the starter. If he is, and the Bucs are happy about his play. You can then add his name to that free agent list, as he was playing on a one-year deal. So the Bucs could lose their starting quarterback, both middle linebackers, free safety, wide receiver, and strong safety next season. Certainly, the team can be counted on to sign some of those players back, but indeed not all of them. The Bucs in 2024 could be less of a team in strength than they are today.

The dreaded “R-word”

From the moment the scoreboard ticked off the last few seconds of the 2022 season, One Buc and the coaching staff have tried to beat down that two-syllable dirty word. At times, it seems they have gone out of their way to dismiss the possibility. If you are looking at a football, and everyone in the room claims it is a hockey puck. You may not argue, but you will leave the room knowing it was without question a leather Wilson Football. Much like the team claiming that what went on between Mayfield and Trask this preseason was a contest, while those who know better get quite a chuckle from that fabrication information. Personally, when you are actively trying to replace pieces of a puzzle that got you another Lombardi Trophy; it’s an obvious rebuild. The Bucs are just trying to quickly rebuild enough to get them back to the playoffs. A Super Bowl return, as things stand, is a pipe dream. So whether you see a hockey puck or a football, the fact is that the team is very much in a rebuilding phase that should continue for the next several years at the very least. Too many important pieces are currently missing and could go missing soon enough. So don’t drink the Kool-Aid, folks. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the last 6 months, it’s that the information being handed out by NFL Teams to their fans can, at times, be extremely suspect. The team wants us all to wear Pewter Colored Glasses, not me; give it to me straight or not at all. Bucs Life will continue to give it to you the way it is, not the version covered in sprinkles. Go Bucs!!