The Tampa Bay Buccaneers enjoyed a successful season in 2023. The Buccaneers went 9-8, won their third consecutive NFC South title, and even won a playoff game, defeating the defending NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles 32-9 in the wild-card round. Making the playoffs for a fourth consecutive campaign will be the expectation in 2024.
The 2023 season could have been more transitional. The 2022 Buccaneers were a disappointing 8-9 with Tom Brady at the helm in his final year. Those Buccaneers won the division too, but that achievement reflected poorly on their competitors as opposed to Tampa winning anything on their own merit. They were a bad team propped up by a declining Brady that benefited from everybody else’s incompetence.
The Buccaneers could have found themselves in a rebuilding mode following Brady’s retirement, but a shrewd offseason gamble changed everything. Difficulties against the salary cap didn’t make general manager Jason Licht a legitimate player to chase a big fish at QB. Instead, he rolled the dice on former No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield, signing him to a one-year contract that was heavily incentivized.
Mayfield responded to the opportunity with a career-best season. He threw for personal highs in yards (4,044) and touchdowns (28), ranking ninth and seventh in the league in those respective categories en route to his first Pro Bowl appearance. Mayfield also completed a career-high 64.3% of his passing attempts.
With more financial flexibility this offseason, the Buccaneers had no choice but to re-sign Mayfield following his performance, inking him to a three-year extension worth $100 million. It's a far cry from the $4 million base salary he earned throughout 2023. The expectation for Mayfield is to repeat last season's herculean efforts.
He'll be tasked with doing so without last year's offensive coordinator Dave Canales at his side. Canales parlayed salvaging Mayfield's career into a head coaching opportunity with Tampa's NFC South rival Carolina Panthers. Bowles replaced him with Liam Coen, a Sean McVay disciple with just one year of coordinator experience at the NFL level. Coen is viewed as an offensive-minded genius who's well-versed in running his variation of the McVay and Kyle Shanahan offense.
It's obvious that Licht was beyond thrilled with last season's surprising results. Not only did he re-commit to Mayfield for the foreseeable future, but he also re-signed a pair of aging leaders on both sides of the ball. Future Hall of Fame wide receiver Mike Evans signed a two-year extension following a short contract-related standoff. The 34-year-old Lavonte David signed a one-year contract to continue his career with the only franchise he's ever known. Licht is doubling down on last year's success.
The biggest threat to a Buccaneers four-peat in the NFC South this season appears to be the Atlanta Falcons, who enjoyed an aggressive offseason by signing quarterback Kirk Cousins. Canales and the Panthers are true wild cards. The New Orleans Saints should remain competitive after matching Tampa's win total last season.
The Buccaneers wrote one of the league’s more heartwarming stories last season by surpassing expectations. All parties involved are now tasked with proving it was no one-off. A successful 2024 Buccaneers campaign means showing everyone that 2023 was no fluke.
