The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have plenty of offensive firepower — that much is for sure. From rookie phenom Bucky Irving to quarterback Baker Mayfield to star veteran Mike Evans, the offense has been putting up points for the last few years, and the team boasted a top-five unit in the league in 2024.
But the defense has been lacking — particularly the edge rushing room. You have to go through four Buccaneers defenders (three defensive linemen, one linebacker) before you get to an edge rusher in Yaya Diaby in the team’s sack list this year, so they could use a boost — and it could come in the form of Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett. Garrett requested a trade this offseason, and many in the NFL world are wondering where the many-time All-Pro and former Defensive Player of the Year will land.
ESPN released an article going over every team and their chance to land Garrett, and the Buccaneers were mentioned as a team that could be interested — but, according to writer Bill Barnwell, there could be obstacles.
Here’s a little bit of what Barnwell wrote below:
“The Bucs have several members of their edge rusher rotation hitting free agency, but their two young starters are back — Calijah Kancey and Yaya Diaby. Kancey had more sacks than his teammate, but Diaby racked up 26 quick quarterback pressures in 2024, per NFL Next Gen Stats, which was tied for the eighth-most of any player. One of those defenders would make sense for the Browns in a potential Garrett deal.
Would it make sense for the Buccaneers? They have to work on re-signing veterans Lavonte David, Chris Godwin and Ben Bredeson, and edge rusher isn’t a real point of weakness. Todd Bowles’ defense also generates so much of its pressure with blitzes, so Garrett might mean more for a team that rushes four and relies on the defensive line to get home. The Bucs are a competitive team that could justify seeing Garrett as the guy who can take them to the next level, however, and playing in an income tax-free state could make Garrett millions of dollars over this next contract.”
If it took giving up Yaya Diaby or Calijah Kancey, the Buccaneers certainly wouldn’t jump — Jason Licht loves his draft picks and developments, so he’d be unlikely to make a move like that. Additionally, Barnwell is right about another thing, too — the Bucs have quite a few free agents to take care of, so would Garrett be worth the loss of players like Lavonte David, and Chris Godwin.
The Bucs may not pull the trigger on a potential trade, but they will be asking themselves these questions. With a dynamic playmaker like Garrett potentially on the market, most, if not all, NFL teams will be thinking about what it would take to acquire him.
