Bucs LT Tristan Wirfs – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
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Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds answers your questions from the @PewterReport Twitter account this week in the Bucs Mailbag. Submit your question to the Bucs Mailbag each week via Twitter using the hashtag #PRMailbag. Here are the Bucs questions we chose to answer for this week’s edition.
QUESTION: SR, why did the team not wear their pewter jerseys this season? Did they simply opt not to? Did they retire them? And could we see any sort of new alternate helmet next season and or 50th Season jersey patch like 2015?
Former Bucs QB Tom Brady and WR Chris Godwin – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
ANSWER: That’s a great question. And the folks at Pewter Report love the pewter jerseys, of course. The Bucs debuted the alternate pewter jerseys in 2020 to comprise an all-pewter look when paired with the team’s pewter pants and pewter helmet. The team wore the pewter jerseys three times that year – first in a win at Denver, then a home loss to the Rams and in the season finale victory against Atlanta. In 2021, Tampa Bay wore the pewter jerseys just once in loss at Los Angeles against the Rams. In 2022, the Bucs wore them just once in a home loss to the Bengals, and then once in 2023 at Indianapolis versus the Colts in a road loss.
In 2024, the team did not wear its pewter alternate jersey as the team’s emphasis has been on the orange creamsicle uniforms, which returned in 2023 after a decade-long absence. A quick look in the official Bucs store at the stadium shows lots of red, white and orange jerseys, and it looks like the pewter jerseys have been de-emphasized as the alternate. When it comes to jersey sales, the pewter lags far behind the nostalgic orange creamsicle jerseys and I think the team is capitalizing on the return of Bucco Bruce alternates, which is trendy right now.
What I’ve been told is that if the Bucs wear the pewter jerseys again, it will most likely be as a road alternate, so the chances we see that jersey again are slim. Most teams wear a team color jersey at home instead of white, but there are a few exceptions. The Cowboys wear white jerseys as much as they can, including every home game. But with the Bucs – Cowboys game last year being in prime time, the organization wanted to wear its original red jerseys before a national audience for branding purposes rather than an alternate jersey.
Bucs WR Mike Evans – Photo by: USA Today
So the Dallas game was really the only possible game to wear the pewter jerseys because the NFL has what’s called the “colorblind” rule. The NFL mandates that one team must wear a white jersey in every game to serve those in the audience who are colorblind. Yet the Bucs wore pewter jerseys when they played the Broncos, who wore orange in 2020, and the Colts, who wore blue in 2023, so I don’t know if the colorblind rule was something new in 2024, or if there was enough difference between the pewter and orange and pewter and blue to adhere to that rule.
The Bucs wore white for every away game except for the Cowboys game last year, and I was told that if that game were not in primetime, the team might have worn the pewter jerseys. We’ll see what the schedule holds for the pewter jerseys in 2025. Tampa Bay typically wears their white jerseys in September and October at home due to the heat – with the lone exception of early season home primetime games, in which case the Bucs typically wear red jerseys at night. Then the red jerseys make their home debut either in late November or early December depending on the date and the weather.
And of course the annual creamsicle game occurs at home now, and that seems to have taken the place of the Bucs wearing all-pewter at home for an alternate look. The Bucs will have a 50th-year patch this year. As for a new alternate helmet for 2025? I haven’t heard of anything as of yet.
QUESTION: Lots of discussion regarding what position Tampa Bay should draft in the first. Do you think with Todd Bowles deploying his soft zone scheme fairly often that it takes away from the ability of true shutdown corners to utilize their skill set? So perhaps not taking one early?
Bucs HC Todd Bowles And CB Zyon McCollum – Photo by: USA Today
ANSWER: Even when the Bucs were zone heavy in the Monte Kiffin era when Tampa Bay’s defense deployed the Tampa 2 scheme, Kiffin would often draft cornerbacks with a man coverage background in college. He told me that it was so much easier to teach a man cornerback how to play zone defense rather than to teach a zone cornerback how to play coverage at the NFL level. I think that’s something that head coach and defensive play-caller Todd Bowles believes in, too.
The Bucs have drafted plenty of man coverage cornerbacks in the past, including Carlton Davis III, Sean Murphy-Bunting and Jamel Dean, who helped the team win Super Bowl LV in 2020. Current starter Zyon McCollum also played some man coverage back in college at Sam Houston State. Just as important as a cornerback’s coverage background in college is length when it comes to Bowles’ scheme. He prefers outside cornerbacks that are at least 6-foot or taller.
Murphy-Bunting is 6-foot and played primarily in the slot, while the 6-foot-1 Davis and Dean played outside. McCollum is 6-foot-2 and has long arms, which has helped him record 27 pass breakups in his three-year Bucs career, including a team-high and career-best 17 last year.
East Carolina CB Shavon Revel Jr. – Photo courtesy of ECU
I think the Bucs will draft a cornerback early – either in the first round or on Day 2. Vernon Hargreaves III was the only first-round cornerback the Bucs have selected in the Jason Licht era, which began in 2014. Hargreaves was drafted in 2016. Since then, Licht has sought out cornerbacks in the second and third rounds, where he has drafted Murphy-Bunting, Davis and M.J. Stewart in the second round and Dean in the third round.
I’m not sure there will be an ideal fit for the Bucs at No. 19 at the cornerback position. That might be a little early for East Carolina’s Shavon Revel Jr., who has ideal size at 6-foot-2. Texas’s Jahdae Barron, who is listed at 5-foot-11, and Notre Dame’s Benjamin Morrison, who is listed at 6-foot, are candidates to be there at No. 19 when Tampa Bay is on the clock, but neither has ideal length to play outside in Bowles’ scheme and Morrison is coming off a serious hip injury. We’ll see what happens. Pewter Report had Revel as Tampa Bay’s second-round pick in our latest 2025 7-Round Bucs Mock Draft.
QUESTION: Scott, what’re your predictions for the Bucs in free agency? Will they go after some big names like Josh Sweat, Khalil Mack, Charvarius Ward and Zack Baun. I expect – and hope – Chris Godwin returns. We’ve got to fill some major holes before the draft.
Bucs GM Jason Licht and former QB Tom Brady – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
ANSWER: I think Jason Licht will continue to look for value free agents, as he’s had more success there with players like outside linebacker Shaq Barrett, running back Leonard Fournette, wide receiver Antonio Brown and quarterback Baker Mayfield. Each of those players were “change of scenery” guys who signed one-year, prove-it deals in Tampa Bay.
That’s actually the same approach the Super Bowl champion Eagles took with each of their starting linebackers, Zack Baun and Oren Burks. Baun was signed to a one-year deal worth $3.5 million after being an edge rusher in New Orleans and became an All-Pro linebacker last year. Burks was initially signed as a backup behind Nakobe Dean on a one-year, $1.125 million deal, but started for half the year, including the postseason, when Dean was lost due to injury.
Yet with the Bucs’ Super Bowl window being open, I could see Licht open the checkbook for one big free agent signing, in addition to re-signing wide receiver Chris Godwin to a multi-year extension, likely around $20 million per year again. Whether that’s for a starting cornerback like San Francisco’s Charvarius Ward, a starting inside linebacker like Baun or San Francisco’s Dre Greenlaw or a starting edge rusher like Josh Sweat or Khalil Mack remains to be seen.
Licht has had success with big free agent signings before like quarterback Tom Brady and center Ryan Jensen – although Brady was a low-risk, no-brainer. But there have been some notable misses like wide receiver Russell Gage, who signed a three-year deal worth $10 million per year and players like defensive end Michael Johnson and left tackle Anthony Collins dating back to his first year as general manager in 2014.
The Bucs do have several holes, especially on defense where the team needs at least one inside linebacker, an impact, pass-rushing outside linebacker, an upgrade over Jordan Whitehead at strong safety, and a starting-caliber cornerback if the team plans on replacing Jamel Dean, as I believe it will. Not all of those needs can be filled in the draft and some will need to be addressed in free agency. Offensively, the Bucs need to re-sign Godwin and attempt to re-sign Ben Bredeson, otherwise a hole will be created at left guard.
QUESTION: Scott, if the Bucs don’t land a big time edge rusher in free agency which names could you see them targeting in round one? Hopefully Mike Green and Donovan Ezeiruaku are at the top of the list whether at 19 or with a trade back to gain more picks.
Boston College Edge Donovan Ezeiruaku – Photo by: USA Today
ANSWER: Pewter Report had Marshall’s Mike Green as the Bucs’ first pick at No. 19 in our first Bucs mock draft. Unfortunately for Tampa Bay, he blew up in a couple of Senior Bowl practices and proved to be worthy of a Top 20 pick. In fact, Green, who was the nation’s leading sacker last year with 17, will likely go in the Top 15 – just out of the Bucs’ reach.
However, Boston College’s Donovan Ezeiruaku, should be there at No. 19. He’s regarded as a late first-round or early second-round selection. Whether or not he merits being picked at No. 19 might depend on how he performs athletically at the NFL Scouting Combine. I really like him, and he was easily the second-best edge rusher in Mobile. He had 16.5 sacks last year, which was right behind Green, and three forced fumbles.
While he’s a bit undersized at just over 6-foot-2, 248 pounds, Green is just over 6-foot-3 and weighs 251 pounds. Ezeiruaku may not be a fit as a 4-3 defensive end for teams that like bigger edge rushers, but he certainly fits Todd Bowles’ idea of a 3-4 outside linebacker. What Ezeiruaku lacks in height he makes up for in incredibly long arms. His 34.5-inch arms were the longest of any edge rusher at the Senior Bowl. Green’s arms are just over 32 inches by comparison. And Ezeiruaku’s massive wingspan was just over 6-foot-10 compared to Green’s, which was just over 6-foot-5.
If the Bucs can’t select Green in the first round and still have a need for an edge rusher after free agency, I would certainly welcome the selection of Ezeiruaku, who would pair nicely with Yaya Diaby on the outside with Chris Braswell rotating in as well. The Boston College stud has some Shaq Barrett-like qualities about him.
QUESTION: The Eagles again proved pass rush wins championships. Rushing four and generating not just pressure, but sacks with two high safeties again was the formula for beating Patrick Mahomes. The Bucs deployed a similar approach in Super Bowl LV. Jason Licht definitely needs to add more legitimate pass rushers.
Bucs HC Todd Bowles and OLB Yaya Diaby – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
ANSWER: That’s a fact. Philadelphia’s Super Bowl LIX game plan against Kansas City was very reminiscent of what Todd Bowles and Tampa Bay’s defense did to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in the Bucs’ Super Bowl LV rout. Both the Eagles and the Bucs played a good deal of either Quarters or Cover 2 with two deep safeties and got to Mahomes with constant pressure with a four-man rush.
In order to have success playing Cover 2 or Quarters coverage, defenses must get home with a four-man rush. That certainly wasn’t the case last year in Tampa Bay. The Bucs’ top three defensive tackles, Pro Bowler Vita Vea, Calijah Kancey and Logan Hall, combined for 20 sacks, whereas all of the team’s outside linebackers only totaled 12. That has to change in 2025 and Bowles must not be forced to blitz as much as he did last year because of a lack of pressure off the edge.
There are multiple avenues that general manager Jason Licht can take this offseason to find an alpha edge rusher to pair with the ever-improving Yaya Diaby. Will Licht trade for a premier pass rusher like Cincinnati’s Trey Hendrickson or will he target a big-name free agent like Khalil Mack or Josh Sweat, who is fresh off a dominant Super Bowl performance with 2.5 sacks?
Or will Licht once again turn to the draft and select a young pass rusher and hope that George Edwards can develop him? I discuss the dilemma ahead for Licht this offseason in a new Pewter Pulse video on our PewterReportTV YouTube channel. You can watch the video below.
