Buccaneers Address Pass-Rush With Latest Signing

The Buccaneers missed out on Trey Hendrickson, essentially the last big name edge rusher left in FA. However, that did not mean there were no moves left to make. And thank God moves were made. Because the Bucs were dangerously close to holding open tryouts at the facility for edge rusher. Although I am 6′ 1″ and could probably add like fifty pounds before training camp. Fortunately for the team, they will not have to test out my ability to get to the QB.

Technically, this move was made yesterday. However, I didn’t really think there was enough there to warrant a full article. But they did sign A’Shawn Robinson from the Panthers to a one-year $10 million deal, fully guaranteed. This is by no means a big move, and it shows in the fact it’s only for a year. He’s also 30 years old coming onto the team. He will essentially be our 3 DT on the depth chart behind Vita and Calijah Kancey. However, he is very good at stopping the run, something that Josh Quiepo pointed out on twitter was a problem for the team when Vita came off the field. Clearly they wanted a bigger presence in the middle and we all know how much Bowles likes stopping the run. With that said, his deal is a little pricey, especially since it is fully guaranteed. But that was kinda the market at this point, and the Bucs had the space for it.

—

The move they actually made today was signing Al-Quadin Muhammad. But you can probably call him Al or AQM. He is a depth edge rusher that will hopefully result in Anthony Nelson and Chris Braswell seeing the field less. He did have 11 sacks for the Lions, but it was a lot of clean-up stuff from Aiden Hutchinson. Still, he should be a quality depth piece and the Bucs only had to pay him $6 million, which is a steal in my opinion.

These moves the Bucs have made on defense have shown a very clear vision. They are going after the biggest and the oldest. Anzalone is 32 and Robinson and AQM are 30. Plus the special teams player, Miles Kilebrew is 32. Hell, even the new staff Bowles has put together has prioritized experience over upside. And there’s also the fact these are some big men. Anzalone is 6′ 3″ 234 lbs, Robinson is a 6′ 3″ 320 lbs (sweet Jesus), and AQM is 6′ 3″ 250lbs. They also apparently like the height 6′ 3″. Bowles seems to think the experience these players bring will help fortify a huge weakness of the defense. I don’t hate this approach, although a few swings wouldn’t have gone unappreciated. The team still needs to address a lot on defense, but will be able to do so on draft night.