The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are sticking to their usual approach during the 2025 offseason. They prioritized retaining their own players, then focused on addressing areas of need through free agency and, eventually, the NFL Draft. This strategy has been largely successful for them over the years, even though they haven’t made a Super Bowl appearance in a few seasons.
However, head coach Todd Bowles appears to be growing increasingly frustrated with his team. Despite winning the NFC South title for the fourth consecutive season, Bowles admitted to the media that he wasn’t happy with the team’s lack of “killer instinct.”
Buccaneers Todd Bowles Puts His Players on Notice
Bowles knew that his team lacked cornerback depth this offseason, so they chose to keep Jamel Dean rather than cut him. However, they know that is not enough.
Tampa Bay is bringing in corner after corner for Top 30 visits and has also brought in some inexpensive depth in the way of Kindle Vildor and Bryce Hall. While depth is critical, Bowles sent a strong message to the team: Everyone’s job is up for grabs, and no one should get comfortable. He expects players to be prepared to compete.
“We don’t have a lot of depth,” Bowles told the media at the Annual League Meeting. “That’s crystal clear — we don’t have a lot of depth. We hope to address that at some point in the draft, as well.”
The free agent market for cornerbacks saw massive deals for top players like Charvarius Ward and D.J. Reed. However, Bowles noted that the Buccaneers did not sign many cornerbacks in free agency and would need to see what Vildor, who is coming off an injury, and Hall can contribute.
Bowles acknowledged that injuries have made it difficult to rely on Dean, but he expressed satisfaction with some of their recent draft acquisitions, such as Tykee Smith and Zyon McCollum, who he described as the most reliable of the group. The message to Dean and anyone else in that room was clear.
“Like I said, everybody’s position is up for grabs,” added Bowles. “I think Zyon is probably 1A, 1B because Zyon stayed healthier during the year. Dean has to get healthy. He comes in and he plays — he can’t play half a year, every couple of years. He understands he has to stay healthy, and he’s doing everything he can to be healthy, but we have to have some depth there just in case. If somebody comes in and competes with him, he’s going to have to compete.”
The Buccaneers have multiple needs, but with the No. 19 overall pick, there’s a strong possibility they could select an elite cornerback. As Bowles pointed out, McCollum has been stepping up, but he’ll be entering the final year of his contract.
Tampa Bay is thoroughly evaluating all of the top cornerbacks in the draft to ensure they pick the right one at the right time. Bowles is hoping that selection will ignite intensity and competition on his defense.