Freethinker
Hall of Famer
The Tampa Bay Bucs have been the default team to "root for" in the putrid NFC South for many years now. Its not because these Bucs teams have been super White friendly or even particularly talented. No, they win by default since the Panthers, Falcons and Saints typically field teams that wouldn't look out of place in the HBCU. Will this years Buccos fill that void once more? Well what we do know is that they are still lead by the immensely mediocre (or worse!) black HC Todd Bowles. Bowles has a career coaching record of 61-77 as I type this. In the playoffs, he's been equally bad with only 1 win out of 4 tries. Plenty of better head coaches have gotten fired for performing far better. At 0-3, with the prospect of more losses piling up, it seems the media is finally saying Bowles is on the hot seat. Ya think!? I miss the Tom Brady days.....
Total White Athletes on Roster (Starters in bold)
19 Whites total, with 7 starters. Grade: D
Offense:
QB - Baker Mayfield
TE - Cade Otton, Payne Durham, Ko Kieft, Bauer Sharp
LG - Ben Bredeson, Billy Schrauth
C - Graham Barton, Dan Feeney
RG - Cody Mauch, Luke Haggard
RT - Luke Goedeke, Justin Skule
Defense:
WLB - Alex Anzalone, Christian Rozeboom
OLB - Anthony Nelson
Special Teams:
K - Chase McLaughlin
P - Riley Dixon
LS - Evan Deckers
IR - David Sills V (WR)
Practice Squad - Brett Rypien (QB), Easton Stick (QB), CJ Dippre (TE), Caden Fordham (LB), Garrett Greene (WR), Henry Lutovsky (G), Paul Rubelt (T), Ben Scott (G), Silas Walters (S)
An increase of 3 Whites on the roster and 1 additional starter is a positive trend. I guess they will be the premier NFC South team but the bad news is they aren't doing well and with Mayfield hurt it cold get much worse.
Baker Mayfield is back for his 4th year in TB after he signed a one-year "prove it" deal with Tampa Bay in 2023 and turned it into a career revival — leading the Buccaneers to back-to-back NFC South titles, earning two Pro Bowl selections, and signing a $100 million extension along the way. His 2024 season was the peak: 4,500 yards, 41 TDs, and a 71.4% completion rate made him just the 4th QB in NFL history to hit that statistical trifecta, joining Drew Brees, Joe Burrow, and Aaron Rodgers. He also holds the highest postseason passer rating in NFL history (105.9, min. 150 attempts). So we can all see he's a talented player, yet nearly every year he's maligned by the Caste Sports Media. For some reason he's one their short list of hated White quarterbacks that they'd love to see replaced.
And with that said, these snakes will get to see a black replacement of Mayfield, albeit a brief injury related one. It has been discussed alot on CF how ridiculous it was for Tampa (Bowles maybe?) to give the backup role to an UDFA who never excelled in college and crapped the bed in his final preseason audition. I don't know what they see in this guy (Jalon Daniels) other than the "magical melanin" which they see as the source of "unlimited upside". We see through this farce, have called it out for 2 decades and will continue to do so.
The offensive line is 4/5 White and 8/10 overall which should be commended as most teams cannot boast this depth. The line enters 2026 banking on continuity after injuries forced constant shuffling a year ago, with preseason rankings pegging this group as high as a top-3 to top-5 unit in the league. Wirfs (black) is legitimately very good at LT. Luke Goedeke at right tackle and Cody Mauch at right guard were both viewed as plus starters heading in, with Mauch specifically projected for a bounce-back year after a leg fracture limited him to just two games in 2025. Graham Barton, entering his third season at center, was expected to keep ascending after a strong finish to last year.
At tight end, we see a common NFL trend — White stacking at the position. Cade Otton enters his fifth season as Tampa Bay's unquestioned TE1, fresh off re-signing a three-year, $30 million deal that ranks him 15th among NFL tight ends in average salary. He's been remarkably durable — leading all NFL tight ends in snaps since 2023 (3,716-plus total). The hope is that rookie Bauer Sharp and backup Payne Durham can finally take some of the "iron man" workload off Otton's plate, freeing him to play fresher and lean into his strengths as a trusted, sure-handed target (just 2 drops on 61 catchable targets last season) rather than grinding through nearly every offensive snap.
On defense, the Bucs stay with their typical 3 White players, just a different cast. Alex Anzalone signed a two-year, $17 million deal with Tampa Bay to fill the void at weakside linebacker, and he's already exceeded expectations — teammates voted him a captain and handed him green-dot play-calling duties before he'd played a regular-season snap. His game (strong coverage against backs and tight ends, sharp zone instincts, vocal leadership) fits exactly what the Bucs needed, and at 32 he projects for a career-high in pass-rush opportunities as Tampa Bay's new defensive anchor (has played 100% of the defensive snaps so far).
Now here come the part where I b1tch and complain. Anthony Nelson is a beast of an OLB at 6'-7" and is always disruptive when he plays. No matter who comes and goes, Anthony is on a lifetime White apprenticeship entering his 8th season with only 22 starts over that time. He's typically in the 1/4 to 1/3 of the defensive snap percentage which is a crying shame and waste of his potential. The other gentleman getting screwed by the Bucs is Christian Rozeboom, who was assumed a starting ILB when he signed in the offseason, but has so far remained the backup to a black rookie. Across his 2024-2025 seasons as a full time starter, Christian averaged 128.5 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and 1 interception per season, with 0.5 forced fumbles per year over that two-season stretch. That's in the upper echelon of LB production but I guess if you are White it doesn't impress NFL coaches and its back to the bench for WT.
So that the 53 man, but take a look at the practice squad too. Its 9 of 17 White right now so that bodes well for depth as the season progresses. My favorite 3 players to keep and eye on are Garrett Greene, Silas Walters and Caden Fordham. All very talented, however I want to highlight Walters. The Miami Ohio alum played great in the preseason for the Ravens (active tackler, an interception, etc). However, cue an image in your head of Bobby Bowden manically laughing if you thought a White UDFA safety would make the coal Ravens.
So there you have your 2026 Bucs. I'll certainly root for them to turn things around, but only once Mayfield returns. They can crash and burn with their backup QB....
Total White Athletes on Roster (Starters in bold)
19 Whites total, with 7 starters. Grade: D
Offense:
QB - Baker Mayfield
TE - Cade Otton, Payne Durham, Ko Kieft, Bauer Sharp
LG - Ben Bredeson, Billy Schrauth
C - Graham Barton, Dan Feeney
RG - Cody Mauch, Luke Haggard
RT - Luke Goedeke, Justin Skule
Defense:
WLB - Alex Anzalone, Christian Rozeboom
OLB - Anthony Nelson
Special Teams:
K - Chase McLaughlin
P - Riley Dixon
LS - Evan Deckers
IR - David Sills V (WR)
Practice Squad - Brett Rypien (QB), Easton Stick (QB), CJ Dippre (TE), Caden Fordham (LB), Garrett Greene (WR), Henry Lutovsky (G), Paul Rubelt (T), Ben Scott (G), Silas Walters (S)
An increase of 3 Whites on the roster and 1 additional starter is a positive trend. I guess they will be the premier NFC South team but the bad news is they aren't doing well and with Mayfield hurt it cold get much worse.
Baker Mayfield is back for his 4th year in TB after he signed a one-year "prove it" deal with Tampa Bay in 2023 and turned it into a career revival — leading the Buccaneers to back-to-back NFC South titles, earning two Pro Bowl selections, and signing a $100 million extension along the way. His 2024 season was the peak: 4,500 yards, 41 TDs, and a 71.4% completion rate made him just the 4th QB in NFL history to hit that statistical trifecta, joining Drew Brees, Joe Burrow, and Aaron Rodgers. He also holds the highest postseason passer rating in NFL history (105.9, min. 150 attempts). So we can all see he's a talented player, yet nearly every year he's maligned by the Caste Sports Media. For some reason he's one their short list of hated White quarterbacks that they'd love to see replaced.
And with that said, these snakes will get to see a black replacement of Mayfield, albeit a brief injury related one. It has been discussed alot on CF how ridiculous it was for Tampa (Bowles maybe?) to give the backup role to an UDFA who never excelled in college and crapped the bed in his final preseason audition. I don't know what they see in this guy (Jalon Daniels) other than the "magical melanin" which they see as the source of "unlimited upside". We see through this farce, have called it out for 2 decades and will continue to do so.
The offensive line is 4/5 White and 8/10 overall which should be commended as most teams cannot boast this depth. The line enters 2026 banking on continuity after injuries forced constant shuffling a year ago, with preseason rankings pegging this group as high as a top-3 to top-5 unit in the league. Wirfs (black) is legitimately very good at LT. Luke Goedeke at right tackle and Cody Mauch at right guard were both viewed as plus starters heading in, with Mauch specifically projected for a bounce-back year after a leg fracture limited him to just two games in 2025. Graham Barton, entering his third season at center, was expected to keep ascending after a strong finish to last year.
At tight end, we see a common NFL trend — White stacking at the position. Cade Otton enters his fifth season as Tampa Bay's unquestioned TE1, fresh off re-signing a three-year, $30 million deal that ranks him 15th among NFL tight ends in average salary. He's been remarkably durable — leading all NFL tight ends in snaps since 2023 (3,716-plus total). The hope is that rookie Bauer Sharp and backup Payne Durham can finally take some of the "iron man" workload off Otton's plate, freeing him to play fresher and lean into his strengths as a trusted, sure-handed target (just 2 drops on 61 catchable targets last season) rather than grinding through nearly every offensive snap.
On defense, the Bucs stay with their typical 3 White players, just a different cast. Alex Anzalone signed a two-year, $17 million deal with Tampa Bay to fill the void at weakside linebacker, and he's already exceeded expectations — teammates voted him a captain and handed him green-dot play-calling duties before he'd played a regular-season snap. His game (strong coverage against backs and tight ends, sharp zone instincts, vocal leadership) fits exactly what the Bucs needed, and at 32 he projects for a career-high in pass-rush opportunities as Tampa Bay's new defensive anchor (has played 100% of the defensive snaps so far).
Now here come the part where I b1tch and complain. Anthony Nelson is a beast of an OLB at 6'-7" and is always disruptive when he plays. No matter who comes and goes, Anthony is on a lifetime White apprenticeship entering his 8th season with only 22 starts over that time. He's typically in the 1/4 to 1/3 of the defensive snap percentage which is a crying shame and waste of his potential. The other gentleman getting screwed by the Bucs is Christian Rozeboom, who was assumed a starting ILB when he signed in the offseason, but has so far remained the backup to a black rookie. Across his 2024-2025 seasons as a full time starter, Christian averaged 128.5 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and 1 interception per season, with 0.5 forced fumbles per year over that two-season stretch. That's in the upper echelon of LB production but I guess if you are White it doesn't impress NFL coaches and its back to the bench for WT.
So that the 53 man, but take a look at the practice squad too. Its 9 of 17 White right now so that bodes well for depth as the season progresses. My favorite 3 players to keep and eye on are Garrett Greene, Silas Walters and Caden Fordham. All very talented, however I want to highlight Walters. The Miami Ohio alum played great in the preseason for the Ravens (active tackler, an interception, etc). However, cue an image in your head of Bobby Bowden manically laughing if you thought a White UDFA safety would make the coal Ravens.
So there you have your 2026 Bucs. I'll certainly root for them to turn things around, but only once Mayfield returns. They can crash and burn with their backup QB....