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It can't be denied that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 2021 season ended in disappointment with their NFC Divisional Round loss to the Los Angeles Rams at home. The Buccaneers nearly made an epic comeback to advance to the NFC Championship Game once again, but they fell just short and the loss highlighted some weaknesses on the roster that must be fixed in the months to come.
Obviously, the biggest storyline for Tampa Bay in the upcoming offseason is the impending decision of Tom Brady regarding the status of his career moving forward. Certainly enough, the choice that he will make is out of the team's control, and they can only hope that he returns for another Super Bowl run next season. The same can be said for Rob Gronkowski.
Nonetheless, the front office will have its hands full in strengthening Tampa Bay's roster while making decisions on key players who are set to enter free agency in the offseason. Hopefully, the changes they will bring to the Buccaneers will be enough to help them bounce back and return to being Super Bowl contenders in 2023.
With that said, let's take a look at two major fixes the Buccaneers must make in the offseason, not taking the quarterback situation into account as they await Brady's decision.
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2022 Offseason Fixes
2. Shore up the running back room
In 2021, the Buccaneers primarily relied on RB1 Leonard Fournette, who finished the regular season with 812 rushing yards on 180 carries and eight touchdowns in 14 games played. Against the Rams, the LSU product was the only player who ran the ball for the team with 51 yards on 13 attempts and two scores.
After a productive campaign, there's certainly a good chance that the Buccaneers bring Fournette back on another short-term deal as he hits free agency. Tampa Bay will also have other decisions to make in the backfield.
The other top rusher in Ronald Jones II battled injuries and was relegated to a backup role this season as he compiled 428 yards on 101 attempts and four carries in 16 appearances. It was a huge drop from his total numbers last season, when he almost reached 1,000 rushing yards for the first time in his career.
Due to his underwhelming performance, it remains to be seen if Jones will be brought back as he hits unrestricted free agency in the upcoming offseason. The Buccaneers do have Ke'Shawn Vaughn, Gio Bernard and then Kenjon Barner way down the depth chart, but Bernard is also an unrestricted free agent and Barner isn't a factor as a runner.
Tampa Bay needs to figure out the running back room.
1. Improve their defensive efforts
Brady and the offensive line struggled against the Rams, but the biggest debacle for the Buccaneers in their Divisional Round loss was the defense. While Tampa Bay's defense played a key role in last year's Super Bowl run before being strong again this season, it wasn't at its best against Los Angeles. The Buccaneers got picked apart by Matthew Stafford and allowed the team to get in a deep hole. Some timely fumble recoveries helped Tampa Bay come back, but then one final breakdown was the nail in the coffin.
After the Buccaneers erased a 27-3 deficit, they gave up a big pass play to Cooper Kupp to give the Rams some life. Then came an all-out blitz call, with Stafford and Kupp taking advantage with a deep completion to set up the game-winning field goal. It was a bizarre call to say the least, leaving many around the NFL scratching their heads as to why Tampa Bay would give Stafford and Kupp such a chance to beat them like that.
It now remains to be seen if defensive coordinator Todd Bowles will be back at the helm, as he has been involved in head coaching rumors around the league for the past few months. The Buccaneers will also do their best to bring back their key defenders who are set to become free agents in the offseason. This includes Jason Pierre-Paul, Ndamukong Suh, and Carlton Davis, among others, though running it back again will be a bit more difficult this time around.
With the tasks at hand, the Buccaneers can expect a long offseason ahead of them as they aim to bounce back after a disappointing 2021 campaign. The first order of business will be Brady's decision, and then everything else will flow from that. Brady returning would make life much easier for Tampa Bay's front office, but there would still be plenty of work to be done to fill out the roster. If Brady calls it quits, everything changes.
Stay tuned.
