Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht had some things to work on this offseason with regard to the team's defense from a season ago.
The Bucs' defense struggled with pressure on the quarterback, in pass coverage and taking the ball away in 2024.
Licht addressed the pass rush part of that by signing free agent Haason Reddick early in the offseason.
NFL.com's Tom Blair named Reddick as the Bucs player that we should root for.
"Reddick was quite the pass-rushing mercenary between 2020 and 2023, stacking up 50.5 sacks over four seasons with three different teams," Blair wrote. "That run came to a spectacular halt last season, with an ultimately fruitless pursuit of a better contract swallowing up most of his brief stay with the Jets. Now he's with the Bucs, a team on the upswing that also happens to roster a good number of likable players on feel-good career tracks. One thing they've missed since the Golden Age of Baker Mayfield commenced in 2023, however, is a consistent pass-rush presence on the edge; Shaq Barrett was the last Tampa player to tally more than 7.5 sacks in a season, back when he posted 10 in 2021.
"Reddick can restore his reputation as one of the NFL's preeminent QB-chasers-for-hire while keeping Mayfield, Mike Evans, Todd Bowles and Co. relevant in our lives as football fans, and that would be a win-win as far as I'm concerned."
Licht got Reddick on the cheap this year and it's with a good reason, as CBS Sports' Garrett Podell described.
"A contract dispute with the Philadelphia Eagles that turned into a trade to theNew York Jets last season derailed Reddick's production," Podell wrote. "His holdout led to him not making his Jets debut in 2024 until Week 8, and he only registered one sack in New York's final 10 games of the season. That chipped away at the 30-year-old's ability to command a multiyear deal in free agency this offseason, which is why he settled for a one-year, $14 million deal with $12 million fully guaranteed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
"There's certainly a chance Reddick could return to stardom with a regular offseason in Tampa Bay this year. "