SR’s FAB 5: Bucs Must Become Ballhawkaneers In Seattle

Let’s set aside the two blocked punts this year by Houston and Philadelphia, which led to 10 points for Tampa Bay’s opponents in those games, and a blocked field goal by New York, which led to seven points for the Jets. Those were damaging special teams blunders that almost caused the Bucs to lose to the Texans and Jets and played an integral role in the six-point loss to the Eagles on Sunday.

Those blocked punts and the blocked kick were indeed turnovers – just not the fault of the offense, nor created by opposing defenses.

Tampa Bay was fortunate to overcome them in Houston and against New York because Baker Mayfield and the offense didn’t have a turnover on offense. And thankfully, the Bucs defense had a pick-six and forced that fumble against the Jets.

But despite losing by a touchdown against the Eagles, it wasn’t just a blocked punt return for a touchdown that doomed the Bucs. It was a fumble by Bucky Irving and a red zone interception in the second half that doomed Tampa Bay versus Philadelphia.

A potential scoring opportunity to tie the game was lost by Mayfield and Co., and despite being essentially shut down by Tampa Bay’s defense, Philadelphia’s offense managed a touchdown on a short field created by Irving’s fumble. The Bucs outscored the Eagles 19-7 in the second half, but that turnover-to-touchdown by Philly was huge.

The blocked punt aside, the Bucs lost the turnover battle 2-0 against the Eagles and that was the difference in the team’s first loss of the year.

So heading up to Seattle to face a defense that already has seven – SEVEN! – interceptions on the season, which is the number of picks the Bucs had in all of 2024, protecting the football on offense is going to be huge. Perhaps even more importantly, Tampa Bay’s defense must force some takeaways.

That’s why it was a bit disheartening to hear head coach and defensive play-caller Todd Bowles dismiss the fact that his unit has only created two takeaways in four games, including none in three out of those four games.

“It’s not disappointing – the season’s still young,” Bowles said. “They’re playing good defense. The key is to play good defense. You want to get turnovers so you make shorter fields and make it easier for the offense. So, we’ve got to help out a little more in that category.”

There is no doubt that Bowles’ defense is playing well overall. The Bucs rank fourth in total defense, allowing just 272.8 yards per game. Tampa Bay is stout against the run, ranking fifth and surrendering just 85 yards per game.

Tighter coverage this year in the secondary has produced a Top 10 passing defense, as the Bucs rank ninth, allowing 187.8 yards per game. Tampa Bay ranks second in third down defense too, allowing just a 32.65% conversion rate.

The Bucs actually have the league’s No. 1 defense in terms of a Havoc score, thanks mostly to 32 tackles for loss and 17 pass breakups so far.

Shutting down the run so dominantly, playing excellent defense on third downs, all of the pass breakups and tackles for loss – all of that is great, but it’s a little hollow without taking the ball away.

For all of Bowles’ talk about needing ballhawks on defense this year and putting an emphasis on picking off more passes during training camp, a great start in the preseason with six interceptions fizzled out once the regular season arrived.

At the end of the day, Tampa Bay’s defense must create more takeaways. Bowles brushed off this notion publicly on the podium on Wednesday during his press conference. Hopefully behind the scenes, he is imploring his defense to force more fumbles and pick off more passes.

The Bucs won’t win in Seattle against a takeaway-minded Seahawks squad without winning the turnover battle. And I’ll remind you that the Bucs were the only playoff team last year that actually had a negative turnover margin at minus-5.

No wonder Tampa Bay lost to Washington in a close, 23-20 game in the Wild Card round. The Bucs defense didn’t force a takeaway and the Commanders did.

It’s no surprise that the Eagles won the Super Bowl last year. Philadelphia was plus-11 in turnover margin in 2024, and the Eagles are undefeated this season thanks to a plus-4 turnover margin through four games.

Liam Coen’s Jaguars are 3-1 thanks largely to a league-leading plus-9 turnover margin. For the first time in franchise history, Jacksonville has had four straight games with at least three takeaways on defense.

It’s time for the Bucs defense to start being more opportunistic and ascend from being a good defense to a great defense. And that means taking the ball away.

The recipe for success against the Seahawks in Seattle?

The Bucs need to be the ballhawks on Sunday. They must become the Ballhawkaneers.

FAB 2. Tampa Bay’s Improved Cornerback Depth Will Be Tested In Seattle

It will be interesting to see how Todd Bowles deploys his secondary in Seattle on Sunday.

Two of the players who did not participate in practice on Wednesday and Thursday – and will likely be out for Sunday’s game in Seattle – were cornerbacks Jamel Dean and Benjamin Morrison. Dean suffered a hip injury against the Eagles and was replaced by Morrison until a hamstring injury knocked him out of the game in the fourth quarter.

The Bucs bolstered the cornerback position this offseason more than any other position on the team. Tampa Bay drafted not one, but two cornerbacks in Morrison and Jacob Parrish on Day 2. Then the Bucs added veteran Kindle Vildor in free agency and re-signed veteran Bryce Hall.

Hall was the team’s No. 3 cornerback last year, but was lost for the season due to a broken leg in Week 1. With Hall out and Dean sidelined with an early-season hamstring injury, Bowles was forced to play undrafted free agent Tyrek Funderburk, who didn’t make the roster in 2025, and Josh Hayes, who is better suited for special teams as a gunner.

With Dean and Morrison out for Week 5, Bowles has a few options. He can insert Vildor at outside cornerback opposite Zyon McCollum and elevate Hall from the practice squad for depth and make Hayes the emergency option at cornerback in Seattle.

Or Bowles can move Parrish from the slot, where he has been an outstanding nickelback thus far, to play outside cornerback where he thrived as a three-year starter at Kansas State. Bowles could then replace Parrish with Tykee Smith, who was the starting nickel cornerback in the slot last year, and insert Kaevon Merriweather at strong safety to replace Smith.

It seems like Bowles would rather do the former rather than the latter, considering the hot starts Parrish and Smith have had at their new positions, respectively. And given the team’s surplus of better talent at the cornerback position this year, Hall could even be in play to start outside for Dean even though he would be a practice squad elevation.

We saw the Bucs do that at left guard with practice squader Michael Jordan for the first two weeks of the season.

Yet considering that Seattle only runs three-receiver sets about a third of the time, making the Seahawks one of the teams that use 11 personnel the least, Tampa Bay will likely be in base defense for most of the game. If Bowles wants to keep his best 11 defenders on the field, as expected, that would mean playing Parrish outside at cornerback in base and then moving him inside to the slot in nickel and inserting Vildor or Hall outside.

In base defense, Bowles could either bring in an extra linebacker like Deion Jones to replace a third cornerback, or move Haason Reddick to the linebacker level, as he’s done a few times this year, and then play an extra defensive lineman up front.

Regardless of how it shakes out, having Parrish, Vildor and Hall as options at cornerback this year without Dean and Morrison is far better than relying on Funderburk and Hayes like the team had to do last year.

FAB 3. The Cavalry Is Coming In Tampa Bay

Bucs fans – and let’s face it, the Bucs coaches, too – have been fretting over injuries this year. Especially heading into Week 5 against the Seahawks in Seattle, where Tampa Bay did not even have enough healthy bodies to even practice on Wednesday.

The Bucs had to have a walk-through instead.

“We probably had more people that couldn’t practice than could practice,” Bowles said on Wednesday.

Tampa Bay’s initial injury report was a mile long on Wednesday, with nine players not participating in practice and four more who were limited. The Bucs did have a regular practice on Thursday with safety Tykee Smith (ankle) returning in a limited fashion, and defensive tackles Greg Gaines (pectoral) and Logan Hall (groin), quarterback Baker Mayfield (knee, right biceps) and wide receiver Sterling Shepard (foot) all full participants.

The only players expected to be out for Sunday’s game are cornerbacks Jamel Dean (hip) and Benjamin Morrison (hamstring), wide receiver Mike Evans (hamstring), defensive back Christian Izien (quad) and running back Bucky Irving (foot/shoulder), as several Tampa Bay players are on the mend.

So when can the Bucs expect some of their injured starters to return? Let’s take a look.

The injuries to Dean and Morrison are considered to be week-to-week, so there is a chance that either or both could return to action as soon as next Sunday versus San Francisco, but the following week at Detroit may be more likely.

Irving was in boot and on crutches this week due to his foot injury, so having him back for the 49ers game next week might be optimistic, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility given the running back’s toughness.

Evans may be in play for the 49ers game, but should be back for the Lions game for sure. Remember, the team opted not to put Evans on injured reserve, which would have meant him missing four games.

Evans will miss his second game due to his hamstring injury this week in Seattle, but if he misses the game at Detroit in Week 7 on Monday Night Football, that would be four games. And his hamstring injury is not believed to be as serious as it was a year ago.

Luke Goedeke was seen in the locker room walking without a boot, and his scooter is gone. No wrap or brace on his injured left foot, either. That’s a good sign that he should be back from injured reserve after missing four games. Goedeke could be in play for a return against the Lions – and Pro Bowl defensive end Aidan Hutchinson – in Week 7, which would be the first game he’s eligible to return for.

If Goedeke does return in Week 7 and the offensive line doesn’t suffer any other injuries between now and then, Tampa Bay would have four of its five starters along the O-line for the first time this season.

The other key player who is set to return from injured reserve later this season is wide receiver Jalen McMillan. I’m told he won’t be ready to return from a serious neck injury until after the bye, which is in Week 9. Yet don’t expect McMillan to return until December, possibly Week 14 against the Saints or Week 15 versus the Falcons.

FAB 4. Next Man Up: OT Ben Chukwuma

It’s been “next man up” a lot in Tampa Bay this year – more than Todd Bowles would like for sure.

The Bucs have had to rely on so many backup players at the start of this season that I’m going to profile a few of the team’s key reserves in each SR’s FAB 5 column over the coming weeks. Today I’m going to profile reserve offensive tackle Ben Chukwuma, who is one snap away from playing left tackle or right tackle for the first time in the NFL.

The last time we saw Chukwuma was in the preseason when the undrafted free agent out of Georgia State led Tampa Bay in overall pass protection with an 85.9 grade from Pro Football Focus. The Nigerian-born Chukwuma had a respectable 67.1 overall PFF grade for his 132 preseason snaps. Only center-guard Elijah Klein (157 snaps) played more on offense for the Bucs than Chukwuma did.

Chukwuma only allowed one pressure in 78 pass block snaps, and played his best game versus Buffalo where he earned an 87.2 PFF pass pro grade playing against Bills’ former first-round pick A.J. Epenesa among others. That’s an incredible feat given that Chukwuma played less than a year and a half at offensive tackle in college – and never played football before enrolling at Georgia State.

“I started playing football when I was four years old, playing Pop Warner all the way through,” Bucs outside linebacker Haason Reddick said. “I can’t imagine playing football for the first time in college, but that’s a testament of who he is and his athleticism and what they (the front office) see.

“Because if you have the talent, they will find you. For him not to have played early in life and to start doing it in college and to make it to the league shows you that he’s a natural football player.”

Chukwuma played mostly left tackle in the preseason, but has spent a lot of his time in practice during the regular season playing right tackle to become proficient on both sides of the line of scrimmage.

“This is a blessing – to be a part of this O-line room where everybody supports everybody,” Chukwuma said. “They want to see everyone grow. Seeing all these guys have to play different positions, out of position, to start the year it’s a testament to who they are and how hard working they are. It’s giving me a head’s up on how to work. I need to learn the left tackle. I need to learn right tackle.”

Watching Charlie Heck do the same thing – playing left tackle all throughout training camp and the preseason and then have to start at right tackle for the injured Luke Goedeke, has shown Chukwuma what he needs to do to truly become a swing tackle in the NFL.

“Seeing someone like Charlie play so much left tackle and then have to come in and play right tackle just reaffirms to me that I have to get my s--- together,” Chukwuma said. “I have to be able to do what these guys are doing. I’m learning, because any snap, I could be out there. I have to be ready. I’m seeing him do it so I’m ready when it’s my time to play.

“I’m understanding the game better and I’m playing more right side than left because I played a lot of left side early on. I just have to be able to transform from the left to the right and the right to the left.”

Chukwuma is blessed to have two of the best offensive tackles in the game to learn from in Tristan Wirfs and Goedeke.

“Tristan is different – the way he moves for that size,” Chukwuma said. “I can’t replicate what he does, but his quick hands and quick feet are something I strive to have. I’m trying to learn from him because he’s one of the best.

“With Luke, it’s sound technique. When he sets his feet are aligned properly. He is so technically sound. That is one thing I’m trying to learn from Luke. He’s also a finisher and I’m trying to be like that, too.”

What made the 6-foot-6, 310-pound Chukwuma so appealing to the Bucs – and why they gave him the biggest contract among all NFL undrafted free agents with $300,000 in guaranteed money – is his athleticism and strong hands.

“He’s got really strong hands,” Reddick said. “I haven’t gone up against him much in practice, but the times that I have I noticed that he has really strong hands and a great punch. You’ve got to be focused and make sure he does not get his hands on  you.”

Bucs outside linebacker Yaya Diaby has also gone up against Chukwuma in practice and was even more complimentary about his game than Reddick was.

“Give Ben a couple more snaps, a couple more years and he’s going to be one of those guys everybody is talking about,” Diaby said. “He has great hands, strong hands. Going against him on the scout team is really good because you get to go against a guy with really powerful hands. Give him a couple more years to really develop himself and he’s going to be one of those All-Pro guys.”

That’s lofty praise, but given Chukwuma’s hot start to his NFL career in the preseason, he seems to be in line for the swing tackle job next year, replacing Heck in that role. And who knows? He may even be called into action this year, as Goedeke is on injured reserve for at least two more games.

Expect Chukwuma to be ready if called upon.

FAB 5. SR’s Buc Shots

• The Bucs’ four-man pass rush has struggled to record sacks out of the gate with just four in four games so far. Defensive tackle Vita Vea has two and edge rushers Haason Reddick and Yaya Diaby each have one. While the pressures have been plentiful from both Diaby and Reddick so far, Diaby said that the loss of pass rushing defensive tackle Calijah Kancey to a season-ending pectoral injury has been a big blow to the unit up front.

“I feel like we just need everybody to rush together,” Diaby said. “I hate bringing it up, but losing Calijah is a big, big loss – just the way we flowed with each other, and the way he flowed with Vita. He would take pressure off Vita. Now that he’s down, they are scheming us different ways. Definitely with Haason it’s getting there. We just need more snaps to play together and play off each other.”

• The Bucs gave left tackle Luke Goedeke and cornerback Zyon McCollum contract extensions after training camp, but refrained from doing so with tight end Cade Otton, who is also in a contract year. That’s turned out to be a smart move as Otton has had to stay in block through the first four games due to injuries at offensive tackle. Otton has just six catches for 34 yards this year, and if he continues to slump as a receiver, it very well could drive down his market value, which would hurt the fourth-year tight end, but help the Bucs when it comes to re-signing him.

The Bucs will have to take into consideration how Otton plays in his contract year. He currently has a career-low 45.2 Pro Football Focus grade – not that the team values PFF grades, though. But is Otton good enough to warrant an extension worth close to $12 million per year? Can the Bucs get by with blocking tight end Payne Durham as a starter with receiving tight end Devin Culp as a backup moving forward in 2026? We’ll see how the season plays out for Otton and how much he could be worth in free agency. Perhaps a return to his home state of Washington can kick-start Otton’s production on Sunday.

• Despite three furious fourth-quarter finishes to win games in the first three games this year, the Bucs have struggled with slow starts and finishing strong. Tampa Bay has been outscored by 21 points in the first quarter and outscored by 14 points in the fourth quarter. Yet the team has outscored opponents by 21 points in the second quarter and outscored foes by 14 points in the third quarter.

• Wouldn’t it be something if Bucs wide receiver Emeka Egbuka won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and cornerback Jacob Parrish won NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year? Egbuka, who won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month, is off to a hot start with four touchdowns in four games, and Parrish would’ve won Defensive Rookie of the Month if he would have come away with an interception or two. Atlanta safety Xavier Watts won the honors instead with two interceptions, but Parrish is making a strong case.