As a diehard Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan, David Shilkitus was devastated when Tampa Bay fell to the Dallas Cowboys in last year’s divisional-round playoff game. Despite entering the game as underdogs and being the winner of the worst division in football, there was still a hope that Tampa Bay fans shared thanks to having Tom Brady under center. After all, David Shilkitus notes that no one has more playoff success at the quarterback position than Brady. Ultimately, the Cowboys were the better team and the Bucs were the team their record said they were. A lot has changed since that game ended on January 16th, today, David Shilkitus will provide a preview of what Buccaneers fans can expect in the 2023-2024 season.
The most significant shift in the offseason is Tom Brady is retired – and for good this time. David Shilkitus will be forever grateful for Tom Brady’s contributions to the franchise. Allowing the team to hoist their first Super Bowl trophy since the magical 2002 run was something incredibly special. Now that he’s gone, the Buccaneers will start Kyle Trask or Baker Mayfield at quarterback. David Shilkitus believes adding Baker Mayfield was a wise move by Tampa Bay. Baker needs to prove he is worthy of being a starting quarterback in the NFL. With Chris Godwin and Mike Evans still on the roster, there’s going to be plenty of opportunities for Baker to show he should be the long-term answer at quarterback. Even if Baker fails, the Buccaneers will put themselves in a position to be in the running for Caleb Williams in next year’s draft.
The USC signal caller, Caleb Williams, is one of the highest-rated prospects in NFL history. Many scouts are calling him the best prospect at QB since Andrew Luck. The idea of having him represent Tampa Bay at quarterback for the next decade is certainly appealing, but David Shilkitus believes the Buccaneers are more likely to finish in the middle of the pack than in the basement of the NFL standings.
As reigning champions of the NFC South, the Buccaneers do have a first-place schedule to contend with. Still, they only have two home games against teams that made the playoffs last season. In addition to their three home division games, the Bucs will play, the Bears, the Lions, the Jaguars, the Titans, and the Eagles. On the road, they have trips to Green Bay, Minnesota, Houston, Indianapolis, San Francisco, and Buffalo.
On paper, Bucs fans are probably most worried about trips to Buffalo and San Francisco. Both are notoriously difficult places to find a win. The Buccaneers will also likely be significant underdogs when they host the defending NFC Champion Eagles and the surging Jacksonville Jaguars. Otherwise, the Bucs should be in competitive games throughout the season.
It’s difficult to say that the team should be focused on the future when their division remains one of the weakest in football. David Shilkitus notes that both head coach Todd Bowles and quarterback Baker Mayfield are not in a position to show some positive growth and return the following year. These are two men who either put a winning product on the field or will find themselves on the unemployment line entering next season.
While David Shilkitus isn’t capable of rooting for the Buccaneers to lose even a single game. He does understand why many fans are hoping the Bucs take a step back in 2023 to take a few steps forward in the next few years. Making the playoffs with a losing record and failing to do anything to progress puts a team in a weird spot. Unlike other teams with losing records, the draft pick isn’t quite as high up when you win the division. A repeat of that scenario is not very interesting to any Tampa Bay fan. David Shilkitus expects Todd Bowles to do everything in his power to prepare his team to get off to a hot start. If the Bucs look to be struggling early, there will be growing pressure from the fanbase to turn the keys of the franchise over to Kyle Trask. If Trask can’t show a spark, the team will enter the next draft in complete quarterback or bust mode.
The Tom Brady tenure proved that a great quarterback can take a good team and turn them into a championship team. David Shilkitus believes no NFL franchise should be looking just to make the playoffs. It’s time for the Buccaneers to rebuild and return to being a threat to hoist the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the season.
