Tampa Bay Buccaneers News Updates

For the first time in team history, the Buccaneers are three times defending division champions, which have now topped the NFC South in 2021, 2022 and 2023. The oddsmakers don’t expect to make it four in a row.

The Atlanta Falcons haven’t won more than seven games in a season since 2017 and will have a new head coach in Raheem Morris in 2024. While that brief description doesn’t resemble the pedigree of a division favorite, the Falcons made a dramatic move earlier this season that has oddsmakers quite optimistic about their fortunes. They signed quarterback Kirk Cousins.

It’s early, of course, but the Falcons are currently the betting favorites to win the NFC South, with the Bucs a somewhat distant second. Early win projections have the Buccaneers at 8.5, which is close to matching their nine wins from 2023. However, the Falcons are projected to win 10.5 games.

Of course, the Bucs are familiar with this situation. After winning the South with an 8-9 record in 2022 and watching Tom Brady retire, the Bucs were given a projected win total of around six for 2023. The Bucs are also perfectly in order with this national perception.

“That’s fine with me,” says general manager Jason Licht. “I like being the underdog. This team likes being the underdog. And I like keeping receipts.”

The Bucs’ nine wins in 2023 may have been the lowest total among the eight division winners, but the team surged to a 5-1 finish in the regular season and then defeated Philadelphia in the Wild Card round before moving Detroit to the brink of the Divisional final went. round. A year ago at this point, the Bucs thought they may have a suitable replacement for Brady, but aren’t entirely sure. After Baker Mayfield’s stellar performance in his first season in Tampa, the Buccaneers have reason to be more confident in their chances than they were last spring.

“Honestly, I feel a lot better than last season knowing what this team is capable of,” Licht said. “We kept getting better and better as the season went on. It’s not like we’re going to stay with the status quo. I think the players we have will get better, the team will get better and so will we.” add some more youth during the draft, so I’m really excited.”

Barring a major addition to the roster or an untimely injury, the Bucs’ expectations for the 2024 season likely won’t change much between now and the start of the season. And the Bucs will happily play the role of underdog until it’s time to prove on the field whether they can capture the fourth straight division crown or not.

“It’s no different,” Todd Bowles said. “You talk about respect – Aretha Franklin is probably the only one who understands that. Everyone else, you just go with the flow. We’re not trying to win the offseason, we’re trying to win the season. So our focus It will be for many of us are the same. It gives energy to the players. We are getting ready to come back and defend our title, like we did (in 2023).

CLICK HERE to listen to Todd Bowles’ lengthy meeting with the media at the NFL Annual Meeting.