One Buccaneers Position Group Named ‘Painful Watch’ Last Season

Aug 9, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles prior to the game against the Tennessee Titians at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

One Buccaneers Position Group Named ‘Painful Watch’ Last Season

Originally posted on Tampa Bay Buccaneers on SI
By Collin Haalboom | Last updated May 30, 2026 8:00 AM ET

Add us as a preferred source on Google

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made a number of moves this offseason, all of which will contribute in some capacity towards a different brand of Buccaneers football being played this season.

A recent ESPN article sought to explore the moves each NFL team made this offseason and identify which were the best and which were the worst.

For the Buccaneers, ESPN's Tampa Bay beat reporter Jenna Laine took on the task of choosing which move made by GM Jason Licht was the best and which was the worst.

LB Overhaul Tabbed Bucs' Best Offseason Move

Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

It's no surprise that Laine chose addressing the inside linebacker position as the Buccaneers' best move of the offseason. Here's what she had to say.

"It was time to do something at what had traditionally been a position of strength in Tampa Bay," Laine wrote . "The Bucs' defensive tape made for painful watching at times last season, as the duo of Lavonte David and SirVocea Dennis simply lacked the athleticism to compete against upper-echelon NFL offenses."

Laine didn't hold back when describing Dennis' disappointing 2025 season, his first (and likely his last) as a starter for the Buccaneers.

"Dennis was badly stretched in pass coverage or any sort of open space, where he often couldn't get close enough to even miss tackles," Laine wrote. "Dennis allowed a 122.0 passer rating in coverage and missed 13% of his tackle attempts."

Bucs New LB Core Should Payoff Immediately

Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Laine didn't just trash last year's duo, though. She made a point of describing why the moves the team made in the offseason should pay immediate dividends for Todd Bowles' defense.

"David retired, marking the end of an excellent career in Tampa Bay. General manager Jason Licht replaced him by signing Alex Anzalone, landing the Bucs one of the league's most competent coverage linebackers," Laine wrote, "Albeit one on the wrong side of 30. He allowed a 78.8 passer rating in coverage in 2025 and has seen his coverage passer rating top 100 only once in eight years as a pro."

Laine also wrote about the team's second-round pick, Josiah Trotter, outlining his strength being in the run game with his athleticism still providing much higher upside in coverage than what Dennis provided the team last season.

What about the Buccaneers' worst move of the offseason? That was failing to retain both Mike Evans and Jamel Dean, at least according to Laine.

Although it's fair to conclude that losing two veteran starters is not ideal, many fans seem to believe that it was time for a changing of the guard, and the departure of Evans and Dean will provide opportunities for younger players with much to prove.