The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are not the betting favorites to win the NFC South in 2024, despite capturing the last three division titles, returning virtually everyone from a 2023 squad that advanced to the Divisional Round of the playoffs and adding some key pieces in free agency and the draft. The Buccaneers are more than happy to put on the underdog costumes again, but they don’t actually believe that’s their role.
Of course, this team has been here before. National expectations were not high for the Buccaneers in 2023, and the reasons were both obvious and at least somewhat reasonable. Though they had won the division in 2022, they finished 8-9 and were run out of the playoffs in the Wild Card round. Then Tom Brady retired and their choice to replace him (after a camp battle with Kyle Trask) was Baker Mayfield, who had been on three other NFL rosters in the past year.
A year later, the Bucs have seen Mayfield succeed and, not coincidentally, they’ve seen their current roster contend with the best. The Buccaneers took a tie with the Lions into the fourth quarter of their Divisional Round game in Detroit, coming close to advancing to the NFC Championship Game. Recently, Mayfield contemplated how his NFL situation has changed dramatically since he arrived in Tampa and noted that, “When I settle in, good things happen.” Mayfield is now settled in, and his teammates can tell and are feeding off his confidence.
“I think because he is settled in, you see a lot more confidence in the squad and a lot more confidence in each other,” said Head Coach Todd Bowles on Monday after the team’s fifth practice of training camp. “The fact that we went pretty far last year – for us, not far enough – but you see some confidence and some hope. They come back maturity-wise and understanding what they have to do. We’re just trying not to beat ourselves.”
It is quite understandable, then, that the 2024 Buccaneers are a confident bunch despite outside assessments of their chances. If anything, there are a lot fewer questions around the team than there were a year ago. Mayfield is a playoff caliber quarterback; Mike Evans and Lavonte David are not in decline; Antoine Winfield is now a bona fide star in the secondary; confidence in the kicker is higher than it’s been in a decade; Tristan Wirfs handled the switch to left tackle without a hitch and Luke Goedeke is an above-average right tackle; Yaya Diaby is a better pass rusher that the team even expected; and so on.
“I think there [were] a lot of new parts last year – new quarterback, new offensive coordinator,” said Wirfs. “I mean, I was going through it, you guys remember that. But I think everyone’s kind of settled in. I think Baker said it the other day: He really can dig his feet in now and make a difference. So I think just the leadership that he’s bringing, the confidence and experience we have all across the board. Mike Evans, HOF (Hall of Fame), it’s incredible watching him come out here every day and fly around. Chris Godwin, Vita Vea, Lavonte David, Will Gholston…you’ve got all these leaders, incredible players, incredible people [who] come out here and show these young guys what it’s like to be a pro. It’s hard to see that and not want to emulate it, and everyone steps up and be the best you can be.
“I mean, we’re only what, five days into training camp and it’s been awesome. I’m super excited. It’s great being out here with everybody. We’ve got a long road ahead; it’s going to be fun.”
